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Do You Have to Be Physically Fit to Skydive?

Skydiving

Like any adrenaline sport, there are some requirements for you to make your first skydive – but they might not be as restricting as you’d think…

Check out our guide to skydiving requirements here. If you’ve got a special case you’d like to discuss, get in touch and a member of the team will be more than happy to help.

Making a tandem skydive

Tandem skydiving is the most popular choice among people trying out skydiving for the first time.

Believe us, once you’re strapped to one of our highly trained instructors and sat in the open door of the airplane, there’s no going back! Tandems are ideal for anyone who’s maybe a bit nervous about jumping, or those looking to give skydiving a go without going through all the training required to go solo.

There are various requirements for anyone making a tandem jump. These are:

  • To be at least 18 years old on the day of your jump
  • To meet our weight and height requirements for your gender, as described here

As long as you meet all of these criteria, we’re happy to discuss any specific cases. There have been skydivers jump in their 90s. People with physical challenges have made jumps with us. If you’re over 18 and meet the height and weight requirements, we’ll do our very best to get you in the air – as long as it’s safe to do so.

Making a solo skydive

Making a solo skydive is a thrill like no other. It’s impossible to describe the feeling you get when you jump out of an airplane under your own steam. It’s empowering. It’s exciting. And it can be the start of a whole new hobby for you, too!

The same requirements apply here as they do for tandem skydiving. You need to be at least 18 years old and meet our weight and height requirements, too.

On top of that, you’ll need to be able to flare a parachute. That means you’ll need to be strong enough to pull down on a handle (known as a toggle) in each hand, which will slow the parachute down ready for landing – it’s around 15lbs of pressure, so you’ll need to be comfortable with that.

You’ll need to be able to collect and carry your parachute back from the landing, so cardio fitness is important. Good eyesight and all round good health are essential for solo skydiving.

Competitive skydiving

Competitive skydiving is awesome to watch, even better to be part of!

Skydiving really isn’t just falling out of an airplane. There are thousands of skydivers throughout the world who compete regularly on a national and international stage, battling to prove they’re the best.

The main categories for competition are formation skydiving, where teams hold each other’s arms and legs to build different shapes, and the artistics, including freeflying (flying in three dimensional orientations) and freestyle (which is like gymnastics in the sky).

If you want to be the best in competitive skydiving, you’ll need great physical fitness. Training for competition means intense training camps, lots of running around, carrying kit, and then there’s the jumping itself – it’s physically very demanding.

With that said, it’s also one of the most rewarding things you’ll ever do. Whether competing in a solo discipline or as part of a team, there’s nothing quite like aiming for a goal and achieving your best.

If you meet the basic requirements for skydiving, book your jump today! If you’ve got a special case you’d like to discuss, get in touch and a member of the team will be more than happy to help.

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