Skyleague

Profile

Up Close & Personal

name: Jennifer Davidson

email: gkjend@gmail.com

age: 40

education: BA in International Studies and BS in Software Applications

family & marital staus: Married to Matt Davidson, stepmom to Lauren

number of jumps: 9,000

years in Sport: 18

teams: XP8, XPG4, GK4, GK8, GKF4

slot(s): Point (4-way), Tail (8-way)

favorite competition: USPA Nationals 2012

funniest moment in skydiving: 10way at US Nationals is always a good time after the initial formation is built. One jump that particularly stands out to me was at Nationals in 2019. The formation was the Raeford Dragon, and after we got it built, I climbed on top and rode the dragon, a la Khaleesi in Game of Thrones. I don't remember ever laughing quite that hard on a skydive.

skydiving mentor(s): Sandy Grillet was one of my first skydiving mentors. I started jumping at a small DZ in Iowa, and he did a lot with the local NPSL competitions. He helped me find my first pickup rookie team for one of the meets, and helped me get my application for the Golden Knights ready. Brian Krause, Kirk Verner, Matt Davidson, and of course THE Eliana Rodriguez have had a big impact on my career as well.

hobbies: Since becoming an Army helicopter pilot, I've been absolutely obsessed with helicopters. It feels pretty similar to how I felt when I started skydiving. I, of course, fly for the Army, but I started flying an R22 at a local airport here as well. Also, as anyone that knows me at all can tell you, I'm super into escape rooms. I've done an embarrassing amount, and I'm always checking to see if there's any good ones around when I travel. Other than that, I enjoy traveling, reading, board games, rock climbing, and wood working.

favorite book(s): The Power, by Naomi Alderman, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, by V.E. Schwab, and Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

favorite music: I have a super eclectic taste in music though I generally enjoy more high energy stuff, be it country, rock, pop, or whatever else sounds good.

favorite movie(s): Its not a very original choice, but probably Top Gun Maverick. It was so well done, and some of the flight scenes were absolutely amazing.

favorite place: I don't think I'll ever move back, but theres a special place in my heart for back home in Iowa. My parents and siblings still live there so I try to go back once or twice a year, especially now that I've got a bunch of nieces and nephews.

Where will you be ten years from now? I've stopped trying to guess because its always wildly different than what I would imagine. I'd love to eventually get a civilian job flying helicopters but thats a long way off while I'm in the hours building stage of my flight career.

best kept secret: Its not much of a secret, but I'm a huge nerd. You may have picked up on that from my hobbies listed above. I've dragged most of my friends to an escape room at some point.

favorite quote:

"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. Its an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential, Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.""

- Adidas Olympic Campaign Slogan

Jen Davidson belongs in the same category of female world-class competitors as Jeana Billings and Michelle Karamon who were recently added to the NSL Profiles. It is probably no surprise that they eventually all ended up together in the 4-way Women world champion lineup of XPG4 at Crystal Coast 2024. However, Jen Davidson won her first world championship title when Jeana Billings and Michelle Karamon were still at the beginning stages of their journey to the top of the formation skydiving competition world.

Her competition career peaked for the first time after six years with the 4-way Women team of the U.S. Army. The only complete female 4-way lineup of the Golden Knights in history won the FAI gold medals in 4-way Women at Skydive Chicago 2016.

Robinson 22 Helicopter

Jen Davidson then continued with the Golden Knights 8-way team and won her first 8-way gold medal two years later in Australia 2018, together with her husband Matt Davidson in the lineup. She also became the first female member of the Golden Knights 8-way team.

She interrupted her skydiving career when she decided to become an Army helicopter pilot, and the new job eventually became a hobby and passion. She says that she has been "absolutely obsessed with helicopters". It feels similar to her to the feeling when she started skydiving in 2007. She flies helicopters for the U.S. Army now, but she also started flying a small Robinson 22 helicopter at a local airport near her home in North Carolina.

4-way Women awards at Crystal Coast 2024

Jen Davidson is still flying big helicopters for the U.S. Army and small helicopters for her own pleasure, however, she decided to resume her skydiving competition career, as well.

XPG4 needed a female 4-way competitor to replace Anna Brunner for the 2024 season, and Jen Davidson did not have much time to get ready for the highest level in 4-way Women and facing China and NFTO as their direct opponents at the FAI Indoor World Cup 2024. XPG4 ended up in 3rd place after a tie-breaking extra round with NFTO. The new lineup's team record average in China (27.6) still only motivated XPG4 to continue and take on the overwhelmingly strong indoor experts from China again at the outdoor world championship the same year in October. That's when Jen Davidson won her second 4-way Women outdoor gold medal, eight years after winning in 2016.

8-way awards at the FAI Indoor 2025

Jen Davidson was also official alternate for the GKXP8 lineup who won the FAI gold medals at Crystal Coast, while she competed with XPG4. Her 4-way team mate Jeana Billings was an active member of the 8-way team, and together they began to think about 8-way continuation after GKXP8.

A new XP8 lineup, including Jeana Billings and Jen Davidson, then competed at the Paraclete XP Indoor Championship 2025 and have plans for the near future. The GKXP8 lineup competed one more time for the U.S. delegation at the FAI Indoor World Championship 2025, once again with Jeana Billings and alternate Jen Davidson. The new 8-way lineup, now with active member Jen Davidson, carry on for Paraclete XP8 and have to defend the world's top position in this event. Jen Davidson and Jeana Billings both bring in the experiences of several 4-way and 8-way world championship titles.

"Jump-off" with DNR in 2012

Jen Davidson's favorite competition was still not any of the events where she won her world championship titles. She remembers best the USPA Nationals 2012 when her Golden Knights 4-way Women team where in contention for USPA medals:

"It was the first time I had ever had a chance at a podium slot at Nationals, and we were tied with DNR going into Round 10. It would either be the first time a women's team or an amateur team podiumed in the United States, so it was very hyped up. They had live judging and the place went crazy when the scores were finalized. It was maybe the first time that I was in a jump-off type situation, though I have found myself in them more often since then than I'd prefer! We ended up winning Round 10 and getting 3rd place. I will always remember that feeling."

Jen and Matt Davidson in Australia 2018

Jen Davidson met her husband Matt Davidson when she was trained to become a Golden Knights member in 2008. They did not work much together at that time, as she was not in the competition team.

Matt Davidson himself was not an 8-way world champion yet, even though he was training and competing with the Golden Knights 8-way team. Arizona Airspeed and France were dominating 8-way competition after the "Golden Decade" of the Golden Knights.

He was selected for the active U.S. Army 8-way lineup in 2009, a year after meeting Jen Davidson at the Golden Knights training center in Laurinburg, and then won six 8-way gold medals between 2012 and 2024. They began to spend more time together when she was finally selected for the competition team, as well, and their personal relationship began to grow to a different dimension.

Jen and Matt Davidson got married in October 2013, one year after Matt's first 8-way gold medal in Dubai 2012, three years before Jen's first 4-way Women gold medal in 2016. Last and not least, they finally joined forces in 8-way and won their first world championship gold medal together in the active lineup of the Golden Knights in Australia 2018, five years after their marriage.