Women in Leadership Opportunity

#Rhythm Women’s Leadership Course

Women pervade the sport of skydiving, and there are amazing women performing at the top levels of the sport in all disciplines. However, currently, only 13% of USPA members are female. The women of Rhythm, Christy Frikken and JaNette Lefkowitz are committed to making a big change. We believe that a key to promoting more women in the sport is having more role models and mentors at various dropzones around the country.

We are excited to be offering an amazing opportunity that aims to increase the number of successful women within the sport of skydiving.

#Motivation

Getting more women to participate in skydiving is a challenge. At the moment, we are the clear minority. This is a self-perpetuating cycle because many women who are exposed to the sport implicitly get the message that this may not be a welcoming or comfortable community for them. Lack of women in leadership and teaching positions are clear contributors to this disparity.

This boot camp is designed to counteract this problem. We are targeting women candidates who are on the cusp of becoming leaders and instructors, especially in geographical areas within the US where female leadership in the sport is under represented. This course will give women the skill and knowledge boost they need to return confidently to their home dropzone as local organizers, leaders, and teachers. Being exposed to and learning from a network of successful and established women will help participants spread the excitement to other up-and-coming women, help more women obtain leadership roles, and cultivate an environment conducive to recruiting and retaining women in the sport.

#The Course

The course will be eight days (spread over nine days) of intense but incredible experiences. Participants will receive
• coached individual tunnel time
• coached jumps with video
• coaching in small- to medium-sized formation skydiving techniques (tunnel and jumping)
• in-depth instruction on gear
• canopy coaching
• Seminars on event planning, organizing, coaching, etc.
• Individual guidance in goal setting and making detailed plans for beyond the course
• Portions of Coach and AFF Instructor ratings courses and precourses, as appropriate.

Candidates will be flying and jumping continuously between morning breakfast lectures, one-on-one mentor meetings, and evening school. The exact breakdown of activities will be designed for everyone’s custom needs.

We hope that the course will significantly advance each candidate’s abilities and truly make a difference in her role in the sport of skydiving. Each participant will leave the course with a detailed plan for continuing their own personal goals and sharing their knowledge and expertise at their home dropzones.

Dates: May 7-15th
Location: Paraclete XP Windtunnel and Skydive Paraclete XP

The Paraclete XP wind tunnel is the largest tunnel in the US and provides the best environment for skydivers looking to learn.
Skydive Paraclete XP is 6 miles away, has a fleet of turbine aircraft and allows for great flexibility between jumping and tunnel training.

#Sponsorship

The most exciting part is that we have sponsorship available! The cost of the course may be dramatically reduced for those applicants who demonstrate the most potential to advance our goals. All US-based applicants will be automatically evaluated for a reduction in rate based on this potential and financial need.

#Applicants

Tell us your vision and how you would promote more women within the sport. Acceptance into the program and scholarship decisions will be done on a rolling schedule, so apply early!

#Future Coaches

A few women may be selected to shadow and assist our professional coaches throughout the program. This is a position for experienced flyers (>1000 jumps) already confident in their skills and interested in teaching others.

More info here

Note, the course is open to all women worldwide but the sponsorship is only offered to those living in the US. But, for something this special, applicants might be able to get their own!