The Raffle That Brings the Skydiving Community Together
Every year, the Performance Designs Factory Team holds a gear raffle that’s unlike any other. It is the only giveaway within the skydiving community where the grand prize winner walks away with a full set of custom skydiving gear.
But to the team, this annual event is more than just a raffle. It’s a tradition they’ve continued to carry on since it first began in 2013. With the help and generosity of their sponsors, they are able to give back to the skydiving community in a way that both celebrates our sport and opens up opportunities for one lucky winner to truly take on the sport without the financial constraint and investment of obtaining gear. “I know people like to win stuff and show their support. That’s what our raffle is, a way to support people in the sport as well as win an amazing prize,” says Justin Price.
The thrill of entering the PD Factory Team Gear Raffle, the anticipation of the draw and then actually winning brand new gear from the best manufacturers in this industry was a game-changer in my skydiving career. Beyond the upgraded equipment, it introduced me to an incredible community and for all of that I am forever grateful.
2021 raffle winner, Ziva Matus
If you haven’t yet, watch the unboxing of Ziva’s prize here!
Though the purpose and intention of the raffle has remained the same throughout the years, it has grown from offering prizes from a few manufacturers, to now involving 9 skydiving companies including: Performance Designs, Flight-1, Sun Path Products Inc., Airtec, Cookie Composites, Liquidsky Sports, Alti-2, Chutingstar, and Phreshair. It’s the biggest raffle in skydiving.
Mike Gruwell, founder of ChutingStar, has sponsored the raffle since 2014. He says, “ChutingStar has supported the PD Factory Team and Flight-1 from day one because their philosophy of helping skydivers become safer canopy pilots aligns with our focus on skydiver education. We treasure our relationship with them, and love supporting the work they do throughout the world. We look forward to donating our time, gear and services to the annual raffle and seeing the reaction videos of the winning skydivers every year!”
The latest winner is Sandy Holland of Skydive Arizona, who won the raffle in 2022. While she’s still waiting for her PD canopies and Sun Path Javelin container, she has already received her Cookie helmet and is thrilled.
“I got a G35 and I really love it… And super grateful to Chuting Star for all the things – I mean, it’s an amazing prize that covers EVERYTHING even rubber bands, which made me chuckle. And the gear store points meant that I could trick out the new Cookie helmet!” says Sandy.
Grand Prize
ALL THE GEAR, ALL CUSTOM, ALL YOURS
- 1 custom color main canopy from PERFORMANCE DESIGNS (suitable to experience)
- 1 Optimum reserve from PERFORMANCE DESIGNS
- 1 custom Javelin Odyssey with all the options from SUN PATH PRODUCTS INC
- 1 Cypres 2 Expert/Speed from AIRTEC
- 1 G4 or G35 helmet from COOKIE COMPOSITES
- 1 Mercury Crimson altimeter from ALTI-2
- 1 jumpsuit from LIQUIDSKY SPORTS
- 1 custom PDFT jersey from PHRESHAIR
- 1 t-shirt from PHRESHAIR
- A ton of swag from CHUTINGSTAR including: 50,000 ChutingStar SuperStars Points (worth $500), Gear Bag, T-shirt, gloves and much more.
Funds raised from the raffle go towards the team’s training budget. By partnering with their sponsors, they also offer 2nd and 3rd place prizes. More information about the raffle and a list of prizes can be found here.
