Four days, sixty skydivers, and four epic 60-way completions at Skydive Arizona.
Over Memorial Day weekend (May 23-26), sixty talented formation skydivers gathered at Skydive Arizona for the 29th Arizona Challenge, a signature invitational event featuring complex formations and coaching from Arizona Airspeed. What followed was one of the most successful Challenges in recent memory—including four 60-way completions in a single day.
This year’s group was led by current Airspeed members (Joey Marshall, Chris Kuhlmann, Alisson de Vargas, Doug Hendrix) and alumni (Niklas Hemlin, Mark Kirkby). Media team members Mark “Trunk” Kirschenbaum, Alex Swindle, and Willy Boeykens all took part in capturing the action.
During the first two days, jumpers broke into four groups to do fun and fast 16-ways. Unlike many big-way events, these first two days are less of a warm-up and more of a free-spirited skydiving carnival. Participants get to take part in interesting, creative jumps that are only possible with a group of this caliber – from dueling 4-ways, to multi-point sequentials, to giant compressed accordions. In fact, many veteran attendees say that the first two days are often their favorite part of the event. All participants got to add numerous multi-point jumps to their logbooks this year.
On Sunday, the group shifted into 60-ways, traveling to 16,000 feet AGL in a 3-plane formation expertly flown by Skydive Arizona’s pilots. The group easily completed the first point of a 60-way formation before moving on to more intricate designs. The organizers introduced a bipole jewel formation and prepped the group extensively on build order, grip lines, and outfacing discipline. After one attempt, it was time to wrap-up the day, but the participants arrived Monday morning warmed up, prepped, and ready for a day of completions.
For the first jump on Monday, the group repeated the bipole jewel jump, incorporating improvements from their Airspeed sector coaches – and achieved a completion! From there, the group moved on to a skydive that blended swiss bears and donuts, carrying forward many of the lessons and the disciplined mindset from the bipole jewel jump. After a solid first attempt, the coaching team led the group through improvements that would help recoup five additional seconds that were needed to complete the formation in time. On the second attempt, the group executed the jump beautifully, with a couple of seconds to spare.
Next, the organizers introduced a special jump titled “Desert Rose,” which was based on a design created by Alisson de Vargas’ young daughter. The coaches and participants worked out the details in the ground prep, allowing them to complete the formation in just one attempt.
With one jump left for the event, the organizers took advantage of the positive momentum to attempt a 60-way star using a technique that has been attempted at a few recent Airspeed events. After briefing the group on the plan, participants flew up to altitude one last time – and completed the star! Videographer Willy Boeykens flew into the center of the round to capture some smiles on level.
As the event closed out, spirits were high from four days of fantastic skydives with a talented team. At the start of the event, Airspeed member Joey Marshall encouraged participants to put the big-way team first, let go of ego, and have fun. Throughout the event, participants brought a great mix of skill and positivity, making this a very special and memorable Arizona Challenge.
