Freestyle skydiving


Freestyle skydiving is a competitive skydiving discipline where one member of a two-person team performs acrobatic manoeuvres in free fall while the other films the performance from a close distance using a helmet-mounted camera. The scoring relies heavily on the video captured by the camera flyer, making the teamwork and camera angles a critical part of the discipline.

History

The first international skydiving competition was held in 1990, directed by the World Freestyle Federation. By 1995, the sport had gained global popularity, with 62 teams from over 24 countries participating. This growth led to the first World Cup of Skydiving in 1996.
Freestyle was popularized by Deanna Kent and others for her husband Norman Kent's 1989 film From Wings Came Flight. Notable pioneers like Dale Stuart further developed the sport's technical difficulty with moves like the "Oblique Daffy," helping it become a competitive discipline in the early 1990s. It became an official FAI sport in 1996.

Indoor freestyle skydiving

With the development of vertical wind tunnels, a parallel discipline known as **Indoor freestyle skydiving** emerged. Unlike the outdoor version, which requires a camera flyer, indoor freestyle is viewed live by judges through the glass walls of the tunnel.
Notable competitions for the indoor discipline include the FAI World Cup of Indoor Skydiving and the Wind Games.
Amy Watson was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records at age 11 by completing 44 360-degree horizontal spins in one minute.