Helping Australia’s high performance

The Australian Skydiving Team gears up for the world championships in Croatia. Photo provided by Capt Chad Hodgens

By Pte Luke Knights

AN ARMY captain contributed to the successful performance of the Australian Skydiving Team in the eight-way formation skydiving competition at the World Skydiving Championships in Croatia.

The Australians were placed sixth in the competition, which differentiate between professional and amateur teams. There is usually a clear distinction between the full-time career teams and those with members who work full-time in other walks of life.

Capt Chad Hodgens said the team made it through to the last round – better than any Australian team had done since 1999.
“We soundly beat the Poms and the South Africans, and it was an amazing experience for us as a new team to compete against the world’s best and end up placing so well,” he said.

“It certainly won us the respect of the professional teams.”

A total of 23 nations competed in the championships, in all disciplines.

Capt Hodgens said the team had such an amazing experience that they are considering competing to qualify for the next World Championships in 2006, which will cost at least $35,000 per team member – a difficult task without any sponsorship.

Anyone interested in learning to skydive can visit the Australian Parachute Federation site at http://www.apf.asn.au/apf_clubs/findaclub.asp or go to the National Skydiving Competition at Toogoolawah, South East Queensland from January 2-9 next year. ADF policy states that members participating in any sport without CO approval do so at their own risk and in their own time and therefore need to provide their own salary protection and compensation.