SALISBURY, England, February 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
On the 25th May 2015 the first FAI recognised Wingsuit World Cup event will commence at Netheravon Airfield in Wiltshire hosted by the Army Parachute Association. An exclusive contingent of world class wingsuiting athletes will take part in the most exciting and technologically advanced competition to be introduced into the sport of parachuting in many years. At the world's longest continually operated airfield, wingsuiting elite will battle it out for the chance to be crowned World Cup Champion as the World Air Sports Federation recognises the discipline into the international world cup arena.
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Athletes from the Americas and all over Europe are currently making travel arrangements for their opportunity to appear on the world stage. Competitor numbers are expected to form one of the largest congregations of elite Wingsuit Performance Flyers the sport has ever seen.
As a recently recognised World Cup event the opportunities to set new world records are to be amongst the main attractions. These include performance world records for time, distance and speed along with potentially the largest ever Wingsuit 'Flock'. Some record attempts will even require the use of aircraft oxygen systems due to the lack of breathable air at high altitudes.
As World Cup stage events feature, the Army Parachute Association will seize the opportunity to display an impressive opening ceremony in order to commence this prestigious event. Taking part will be stuntman Gary Connery who 2.5 million viewers will recognise for his Wingsuit 'Box Stack' landing without a parachute. His more recent rise to fame saw him dressed as Her Royal Majesty, flying the Union Jack as he skydived in to mark the 2012 British Olympic Games opening ceremony. Gary will be joining the line-up, flying his patented Union Jack parachute canopy along with the Red Devils, the internationally acclaimed elite Parachute Display Team. Other World Class aerial display teams have also expressed interest and are to be confirmed.
Jackie Harper, current Wingsuit Performance World Series Winner and Army Parachute Association Secretary was pivotal in the FAI recognition process and attracting the event to the UK. "Wingsuit Performance Competition FAI status has attracted huge anticipation amongst not only the wingsuiting fraternity, but the skydiving industry as whole - a truly great achievement for the sport, and another badge of honour for extreme sports enthusiasts".
The Army Parachute Association welcomes all industry and wider press members along to witness this epic milestone, especially the greatly anticipated opening ceremony on the 25th May. Not to be missed will be the announcement of up to six new official world records for Wingsuit Flying along with new World Cup Champion.
Jackie Harper
ARMY PARACHUTE ASSOCIATION
Telephone: +44(0)1980-678377
Mob: +44(0)7969-891243
Email: apasecretary@netheravon.com
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