Above: Photo by Sandy Jones.

On the evening of August 31, 2024, in Prostějov, Czech Republic, brightly colored flags of 27 different nations fluttered through the crowd as the opening ceremonies began for the 38th Fédération Aéronautique Internationale World Style and Accuracy Landing Championships and the 21st FAI World Canopy Formation Championships.

The U.S. Accuracy Landing Team faced fierce competition as they went heel-to-heel on the tuffet against some of the most decorated national teams in the sport. Molly Howsare and Natalia Velidtchenko proudly represented the U.S. in the female category, and Velidchenko's performance in the style event earned FAI North American Continental Records for Lowest Score after Five Rounds (40.51 seconds) and Lowest Single-Round Score (7.83 seconds). Edin Alisa, James Drummond, Venancio Guevara, James Hayhurst and Kris Hayhurst stood strong for the U.S. in the male category, setting a new FAI North American Team Accuracy Record with a score of 0.44m in eight rounds, placing ninth overall (for the United States’ first top-10 finish in over 20 years).

 “We’re proud, and we’re not done, but for now, we’re headed home,” said Kris Hayhurst at the conclusion of the competition. “It’s been an absolute honor to fly with the U.S. Parachute Team.”

The U.S. Canopy Formation Team experienced a few hectic days as several team members participated in multiple events. Each competition day involved completing in at least one jump in every event, and despite the physical and mental challenges that came with frequent canopy changes and weight belt adjustments, the U.S. teams maintained focus and precision.

Notably, the canopy formation 4-way sequential team earned the bronze medal, while in the 4-way rotations event, the U.S. earned both second and third place.

Full scores for both competitions can be found at https://results.worldskydiving.org/FrontEnd/CompetitionCollection/1062.

The live scoreboard for canopy formation is still viewable at intimescoring.com.