posted Aug 9th, 2024 - It has happened a few times in the history of FAI World Championships of Formation Skydiving since 1985 that the International Skydiving Commission (ISC) of the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) selected a scenic hosting site for the event. Teams and competitors usually visit skydiving centers or airports where the logistics and facilities for a skydiving competition are naturally available.

The FAI/ISC delegates often don't have a lot of choices, as the selection and assignment of the hosting site happens after the completion of a bidding procedure, which defines high-quality standards to be provided by the host. It becomes an even larger effort for the host to run the event at an unusual location, while it is more attractive for participants and visitors.

Well known and popular events at unusual and scenic locations were held in 1985 at the shore of the Adriatic Sea in Mali Losinj, Croatia. Two years later, the athletes traveled to Brazil, where the world's largest waterfalls in Foz do Iguacu were nearby and in sight from the jump planes. One of the more recent world championships at similar event locations took place in Dubai 2012, where the Palm Jumeirah island in the Persian Gulf of the Arabian Sea was the backdrop for each competition round. Then the Gold Coast, near Brisbane on Australia's eastern shores of the Pacific Ocean, offered a scenic backdrop of the competition videos in 2018.

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FAI World Championship 2018 at Gold Coast Australia

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The participants in Australia 2018 had to be transported from the landing area in a large sports facility to a small airport nearby, which was the boarding area for the jump planes, while Dubai had built a runway right next to the event site on the shore of the Persian Gulf.

World championships in the United States have been hosted only by professional skydiving centers in the past, Skydive Arizona in 1993 and 2022, Skydive Chicago in 2016. This year's FAI event was originally supposed to be hosted by Israel at another scenic location, the shore of the Dead Sea, as the NSL News reported on 13 March 2022.

However, the original 2024 host eventually withdrew, and FAI/ISC had to launch a new bidding process. Skydive Paraclete XP and Skydive Chicago partnered to launch their substitute bidding campaign and came up with a special idea how to present a new location for the 26th FAI World Formation Skydiving Championships.

Result of the cooperation between two of the major skydiving centers was the decision to host the event at a location that can keep up with all other scenic hosting sites of the past, the Crystal Coast on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean in North Carolina. Crystal Coast Skydiving is running their operation at the Michael J Smith Field, which is a public airport in the City of Beaufort. That's the place where Skydive Paraclete XP and Skydive Chicago together will welcome the teams and competitors in October.

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FAI World Championship 2012 in Dubai

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The view of the Atlantic Ocean and Its beautiful shores in this area is just as fascinating and eye-catching as the few previous scenic locations where world championships have been hosted in the past. It can easily be a distraction for the competitors who have to focus on their performance.

The hosting group, with highly experienced competitors putting together the logistics for the event, are aware of the distraction that the scenic environment can create. They offer training opportunities prior to the event, and the participants can become familiar with the aerial view of the Crystal Coast area.

Crystal Coast Skydiving will be operating every day beginning on September 28th, and the registered teams have seven days before their arrival day for training at the competition site. Skydive Paraclete XP and Skydive Chicago together will provide enough aircraft (Twin Otters) to accommodate all teams for enough training and the competition. The event at Crystal Coast will be the first world championship in the United States at a scenic location, and it would be no surprise if visitors extend their event time and add vacation to the competition, or return to the area later again.