iFLY Seattle, the wind tunnel in Tukwila, welcomes intl. parachute competition.Two judges are pictured in bottom photo, right, Hannah Betts of the United Kingdom, and Travis Fienhage. They are professional skydivers. They earn a living instructing soldiers and civilians, and they do stunt work. Two, four-person teams are pictured competing in horizontal skydiving called "formation skydive".
On Tuesday and Wednesday night, iFLY Seattle, that bright red tower in Tukwila just east of the Southcenter Mall, joined San Francisco, Hollywood, Orlando, Montreal and Moscow iFLY vertical wind tunnel facilities in the 2012 International Bodyflight Association, or "IBA" Tour. The IBA is tied into the Austin-based iFLY franchise, SkyVenture, and claims over 500 instructors worldwide. There are 22 iFLY locations including one in Singapore and two in Dubai. The Highline Times covered the Sept. 23, 2011, grand opening of iFLY Seattle here.
Competitors choose to compete on all the stops or limit themselves to certain locations.
The instructors, staff, and enthusiasts take this indoor skydiving stuff seriously.
"We are not a carnival ride," said Brazilian-born Elle DaSilva, iFLY Seattle General Manager, Tuesday night. "We definitely teach people how to fly and how to maneuver their body in the wind. Today is the first day of the two-day competition here. This is the third stop of the tour. We have four teams tonight, eight teams tomorrow night (Wednesday). Tonight is the horizontal competition we call 'formation skydive'. Tomorrow night is vertical.
"Tomorrow night I compete with Jeanna Lee in the two-person competition. Our team is called the 'Sexy Ninjas'. Teams are judged on how many points they make based on their formation, and how fast and smooth they go. You have rookie, intermediate, advanced, and 'open' which is for the most experienced divers."
Local competitors are pitted against others who dropped in from places like Colorado and Arizona.
Competitor Nico Inzerella lives in Greenwood. His four-person team is called "3D1C" meaning "Three dudes, one chick". He got involved in the wind tunnel after skydiving from airplanes, at Skydive Snohomish out of Harvey Field, and Skydive Kapowsin at Sanderson Field in Shelton.
"I did a tandem skydive for my buddy's bachelor party a couple years ago and haven't stopped since," he said. "I've done 300 to 400 jumps. We come here (to iFLY) more in the fall and winter, but still come here year-round."
iFLY Seattle supports Leap For Lupus Foundation.
