By now many athletic organizations have embraced the role of technology in today’s sports. American football, for example, has done well to integrate the use of video footage and instant reply in a way that is relatively seamless and effective. This is in stark contrast to FIFA, the international governing body for soccer, who have yet to allow the use of the camera as an aid to officiating its games. Depending on who you ask, the use of technology can either be viewed as a valuable asset or a threat to the spirit of the game.

In skydiving, however, there’s no other real way for judges or spectators to truly appreciate the dive of a competitor outside of the use of video technology, unless, of course, they too were also a part of the same jump. This would be highly impractical for several reasons. First of all, in skydiving competitions, there are usually several jumps for every competitor or team of competitors. If there are not a set amount of jumps then there is usually a standard amount of decided time for all parties. This standard amount of time most often requires several dives. In these situations you are often dealing with different teams, multiple jumps, and different competitive events. Usually there is a panel of judges or one judge per competitive event. Forcing the judges to jump would make the evaluation process difficult and highly impractical.

This is without even beginning to discuss how impractical it would be for competitions to actually send out a numeric amount of potential spectators along with every competitor, on every jump. Though it may sound like a lot of fun, this kind of approach would be inconvenient and potentially dangerous, especially considering that many skydiving spectators are not quite ready to take jumps for themselves. Thus documentation is another way in which skydiving requires the best of technology.

Skydiving competitions aren’t always about winning something. For most participants, competitive outlets provide the opportunity to excel and perform while creating something beautiful.

Due to the nature of skydiving, some form of video documentation is essential to compete. Since skydiving competitors are subjectively evaluated by judging panel, proper videography and footage is a must in most contexts. Thus, competitions in skydiving are great providers of various types of skydiving media. This media is often produced by highly experienced videographers. The footage is then often made available after the fact through various outlets including the Internet.

Much of this video documentation is likely to be found quite remarkable by most enthusiasts, even those who are not affiliated with the skydiving community. There are canopy and non-canopy formation styles comprised of groups working collaboratively. The team sizes most commonly range from two-way to eight-way while some cases have actually included hundreds. There are also many female and co-ed only competitions, even competitions for age categories including over forty and beyond.

Video footage of work in these categories usually exhibits an impressive amount of athleticism, technique, and collaborative discipline. Completing formations in rapid succession is very difficult for even the most skilled and experienced skydivers. Formations in canopy are often quite challenging and dangerous for different reasons. When in canopy, one always runs the risk of collision or entanglement with a fellow jumper. The level of skill and training involved at this level is often no less than astonishing. Thus it is often very enjoyable to watch.

Freestyle skydiving competitions, on the other hand, are often the most alluring due to their artistic and improvised nature. This category of competitive skydiving can often be described as the high altitude equivalent of modern dance or figure skating. In the end, skydiving competition video footage is worth watching where you can find it.