World’s Most Exciting Aerial Sport “Swoops” Arrives at the Waterfront
Canopy Pilots “swoop” across the water at speeds reaching 90 miles per hour at last year’s Fédération Aéronautique Internationale Swoop Freestyle World Championships.
The world’s most dynamic and visually spectacular skydiving event heads to downtown San Diego, September 14-15, as the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale Swoop Freestyle World Championships comes to the Embarcadero Marina Park South. Eighteen of the world’s best canopy pilots will fly their parachutes mere inches above the water at speeds approaching 90 mph, and spectators will have a front-row seat for the high-speed action!
In canopy piloting, often called “swooping,” skydivers fly high-performance parachutes that can generate intense vertical and horizontal speeds. By performing speed-inducing maneuvers, these skydiving pros can glide inches above the ground and water for hundreds of yards, while showcasing dynamic and complicated moves.
Free to attend and open to the public, the world championships will also include a variety of entertaining air, land and water demonstrations, including a Friday night exhibition – with solo and team canopy swooping, wingsuit skydiving, powered paragliding and more – live music, athlete meet and greets, and food vendors. Here’s the full schedule:
Schedule of events (subject to change based on weather conditions):
Friday, Sept. 14
- 5-7 p.m.: Training
- 8-9 p.m.: Friday Night Display
Saturday, Sept. 15
- 1-3 p.m.: Qualifying
- 4-6 p.m.: Finals
Spectators can enjoy all the adrenaline-fueled action firsthand throughout the two-day event, and audiences around the world can watch the action broadcast and streamed live on multiple digital and social media channels. A. Sports is organizing the event and working closely with the City of San Diego, the San Diego Tourism Authority and the Port of San Diego. Previously, the championships were held on the downtown Copenhagen lakes with a live audience of more than 100,000 people.
“The high-adrenaline sport of swooping is growing rapidly in popularity and is a thrilling spectator sport,” says FAI President Frits Brink. “Following the success of 2017’s inaugural Swoop Freestyle World Championships, the FAI is delighted to work with A. Sports again to showcase swooping in 2018.”
For more information about the event, visit www.swoopfreestyle.com.
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