Vana Parker did not have the greatest start into her skydiving career when she made her first jumps in South Africa. In her first year of jumping, she had a bad landing accident where basically her ankle needed rebuilding. She remembers that the doctors were thinking about amputating it initially. ...

Pilcher's individual skydiving story is so closely connected to the story of DeLand Genesis/PD Blue that it is difficult to separate both stories.  And the whole story is almost like a skydiving fairy-tale.  As a skydiver, Pilcher grew up at the Freefall Ranch in Warm Springs, GA.  There he ...

I went looking for him when it was clear that his missing of a grip on the top of Block 2 meant that the first world championship title was gone for his team. I did not want to ask him stupid questions for the journalistic part of my visit in Dubai,I just felt terrible for him, and I was surely not ...

Eliana Rodriguez can brighten a room with just a smile. Young, intelligent and athletic, Rodriguez has become a shooting star in the world of skydiving competition since her first meet only three years ago. Rodriguez is a member of Synchronicity, the U.S. Women’s 4-way team that took the gold ...

It is coincidence that the four French skydivers on the current list of NSL Profiles are all coaches. Of course, they started as competitors, and each of them is a former 4-way or/and 8-way world champion. Jeremie Rollett has collected three gold medals, two in 4-way (2006 - 2008) and one in ...

Dr. Joel Shugar, one of the most passionate 4-way competitors and a true supporter of the sport, died in a skydiving accident in Eloy on May 26, 2008. It would fill books to cover his merits in his professional career as an eye surgeon and for skydiving as a sport. He will be in our minds ...

Imagine the opposite of a dare-devilish, adventure seeking, adrenaline-driven skydiver. Imagine a calm and casual thinker, a well educated and perfectly behaved gentleman, a healthy athlete in a great shape - simply a role model for other competitors. Imagine such an image turning into reality, and ...

I am not aware of many world meets since 1989 where he was not a member of the German national teams, either in 4-way or in 8-way. He has gone through all the changes in styles and techniques in his 45 years of skydiving that came along and required serious individual adjustments. He mastered ...

Eventually, he finalized his preferred 4-way lineup and embarked on the path toward a national championship beginning in 2023. The result was a USPA gold medal in October of last year, marking the start of a serious challenge to the French top favorites for the world’s 4-way crown at the World ...

Finally, he has also collected a new world championship 8-way gold medal at the FAI Indoor World Meet, and Paraclete XP8 aims at winning the USPA Nationals 2019 and compete for the U.S. delegation at the next outdoor world meet in Tanay 2020. Both the Arizona ...

Solly Williams is a full-time coach and part-owner of Skydive DeLand in Florida.  He competed with DeLand Equanimity, the South African national 4-way team.  At the World Championship in 1997, his team won the bronze medal.  Equanimity discontinued, but Williams remained in touch with the most ...