We’re in an unforgiving sport. We’re made aware of this each time we sign a liability waiver, every time we read an incident report.

The camaraderie, the spirit of competition and the drama keep jumpers returning to Nationals year after year, but it’s also more than that. The reasons people attend Nationals are as varied as the disciplines showcased at the event.

Members of the various freefly teams who competed in the TeXas Speedway freefly vs. bellyfly event at Skydive Spaceland-Houston in Rosharon, Texas, get together after the competition for an angle dive.

Jamie Miller follows Ryan Uldrich out the door as he leads an angle jump at Skydive Cross Keys.

Jumpers participate in the Virginia state sequential formation skydiving record attempts—which nearly completed before one of the planes experienced mechanical trouble and ended the attempts—at Skydive Suffolk.

For more than a year now, USPA has been on a crusade to increase incident reporting, not only by instructors, but also by the everyday jumper.

After opening their main canopies, jumpers tend to spread out and keep a respectful distance from one another until they all head for the same landing area.

A good incident report gives a thorough account of what happened without glossing over unsavory information or leaving out crucial facts.

Justin Fuller performs a gear check on Alyssa Buron before boarding the plane at Skydive Tennessee in Tullahoma.

David Robinson (red and white rig), D-33346, and friends celebrate his 70th birthday with a 17-way formation of the number 70 at Skydive Arizona in Eloy.

On June 8, canopy manufacturer Performance Designs released its latest canopy, the Sabre3.

Photo by George Katsoulis | USPA #93010

On their return to the sky after the lifting of lockdown orders, Bob Compton, Terry Dauplaise, Eric Knight and Celine Pelletier launch an open accordion at Skydive Perris in California.

While at Mile-Hi Skydiving Center in Longmont, Colorado, celebrating the 50th anniversary of his first jump, Bill Boles, D-2907, poses in the landing area with his daughter, Kristin, who is an AFF student and accompanied her father in the plane for the occasion.

From June 19-21, Sisters in Skydiving members had a phenomenal weekend at West Tennessee Skydiving in Whiteville’s 5th Annual SIS Boogie.

On June 6, Bridget Mahoney and Greg Nore were united in marriage in Winterset, Iowa, at the Des Moines Skydivers drop zone. 

What an improbable occurrence took place June 13. No, dogs didn’t lie down with cats. No, Yankee and Red Sox fans didn’t decide that it didn’t matter who won the game, as long as everyone had fun.

Coach Jeannie Bartholomew of the Alter Ego Project comes in for landing while leading a canopy skills camp at Skydive Tennessee in Tullahoma.