Barnstormers traveled every year throughout the United States to promote parachute awareness and perform aerial
maneuvers.
As early as after World War I, parachute landing was already seen as a sport. The first contest of accurate landing was
held in USSR in 1930. The first parachuting world championship was organized and held in Yugoslavia in 1951. This would be
the signal of the start of skydiving sport that we know now.
Parachute jumpers started calling the sport skydiving. They also started modifying the military issued parachutes to make
it more maneuverable and easy opened. Domina Jalbert, a French Canadian kite builder designed the ram-air design in 1964.
Jalbert patented his parafoil design in 1966 that led to a modern, multi-celled, rectangular, gliding parafoil.
Skydivers constantly tested new and revolutionary designs and materials. Currently there are equipment for two-person and
four-person tandem jumping, smoke designs that aim to put firefighters into remote forest fires from low altitude.
Different aerial maneuvers and variations of skydiving are constantly being performed. For aerial acrobatics, Gary
Partnor was credited for his difficult and awe inspiring skydiving maneuvers called skydive surfing. He started skydive
surfing in mid 1960s. Year after year the maneuvers and performance became more and more difficult.
Some people consider skydiving as an extreme sport, meaning it is a risky recreational activity. Even so, many people
simply enjoy the heart pumping experience and the adrenalin rush that they feel. Nowadays, there are international
competitions to showcase the extraordinary things that these people can do while falling.
Their adventurousness made them a part of an ever-evolving sport history.
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