What if a group skydive didn’t end at breakoff? Momentum and Ascend‘s first Half & Half event at Skydive City, where angle flying met canopy flocking in a seamless, all-in-one complete skydive.
The Concept
There’s been a shift in our sport toward enjoying full, connected skydives from exit to landing. We’re learning how to make a jump last as a team, not just through the traditional sequence of freefall, breakoff, and set up to land or swoop. Instead, we are beginning to explore ways to build and fly together under canopy, extending teamwork all the way to landing.
At the forefront of this shift is team Momentum, led by Matt Leonard. This past weekend at Skydive City in Zephyrhills, Florida, Momentum and Ascend hosted Half & Half, a concept event that merged angle flying with canopy builds and team landings.
Photo by Felicia Sturgeon
Structure and Flow
The event grouped participants in a fresh, experimental way. Rather than strictly sorting by skillset or wingloading, participants are a bit of a mixed bag of flyers coming together to meet somewhere in the middle of canopy compatibility and freefall ability.
The first two days focused on foundation: one day dedicated entirely to canopy flocking and another to angle flying, giving participants time to refine breakoffs and adjust to some fundamentals of group flying.
For the final two days, we bumped the altitude to 15,000 feet. From 15k to 8k, groups focused on angle flying, deploying at 7k. From there, the jumps transformed into canopy builds. Depending on the coach, some groups flew dynamic lines, while others drilled static formations to strengthen fundamentals or prepare for team landings.
The Experience
Because groups weren’t built around identical skillsets, participants rotated daily, flying with new teammates and coaches. This is also unique to events within our sport, which is a nice twist and builds an even tighter group feeling in the event.
Every jump included a videographer giving each group the opportunity to have high quality outside footage. The camera talent included Felicia Sturgeon, Javier “Buzz” Ortiz and Michael Klashna.
Photo by Javier “Buzz” Ortiz
The Team Behind It
Half & Half’s coaching team combined solid experience across both angle flying and canopy disciplines.
- Matt Leonard
- Jake Carlton
- Jesse “Tex” Leos
A New Energy in the Sport
While there may still be some things to iron out for future events, as a first of its kind concept event, Half & Half brings a big rush of new energy and passion to a sport where skills camps have become quite saturated and same-samey. I’d bet all my jump tickets on whatever team Momentum is up to next will be just as inspired.
For updates on future events, visit Momentum’s website or follow them on Instagram.
