The Drop

The 2024 United States Parachute Association National Championships were held at Skydive Chicago on August 31^st – September 26^th. AXIS Flight School’s Brianne Thompson and Niklas Daniel competed in Speed Skydiving, which ran from the 16^th to the 18^th. In total there were 19 competitors, the largest turn out in US history for the discipline. Among the competitors were 5 females (two juniors) and 14 males (two juniors). The weather was perfect, and the competition aircraft was a twin otter. The Speed Skydiving Judges line up included: Ted Chen (Chief Judge), Michael Cooper, and Toby Adams.

Nik continues to hold onto the number one spot with a third consecutive national title and some new personal competition-bests. His average speed over eight rounds was 518.10kmh (321.93mph), highest scoring round of 522.31kmh (324.55mph), and a competition total of 4144.81kmh. Excluding round 1, where “stuff” happened, Nik was able to remain extremely consistent over the duration of the competition with a standard deviation of only 0.892. Nik broke a total of 9 records, including:

• Highest Overall Average: 518.10kmh / 321.93mph

(Illinois State, National, North American Continental)

• Highest Average Speed: 522.31kmh / 324.55mph

(Illinois State, National, North American Continental)

• Maximum Vertical Speed without Drogue: 531.9kmh / 330.51mph

(Illinois State, National, North American Continental)

Nik’s ISSA Global Eternal Ranking remains at #2 behind Marco Hepp from Germany.

Brianne brought her best performance to date and is now the world’s fastest female speed skydiver. She broke 11 records, two of them World, and tying 1 World in the process. Her average speed over eight rounds was 487.75kmh (303.07mph), highest scoring round of 497.80kmh (309.32mph), and a competition total of 3902.02kmh. Brianne’s standard deviation over 8 rounds was 5.796, and her record performances include:

• Highest Overall Average: 487.75kmh / 303.07mph

(Illinois State, National, North American Continental, World)

• Highest Average Speed: 497.80kmh / 309.32mph

(Illinois State, National, North American Continental, World)

• Maximum Vertical Speed without Drogue: 500.9kmh / 311.24mph

(Illinois State, National, North American Continental) – Tied World.

Brianne’s ISSA Global Eternal Ranking has moved up from #34 to #20.

All records are under review and pending ratification.

A tight race for third place unfolded between Brianne and Matt Fry who were only 2 kmh apart going into round 8. In the end, Matt took the bronze with a 6.5 kmh lead. Both came incredibly close to joining the 500 Club.

Congratulations to all Speeders who participated!

The 2025 World Cup USA Speed Skydiving Prachute Team

Special shout out to Air Force Academy members Katy Felix, Kate Cardinal, and Chad Henderson! This is the first time that Air Force cadets have qualified for a world level event. We look forward to competing with you in Hohenems, Austria (Aug 25-30, 2025)!

Team AXIS trained hard this season, but the USPA Nationals was only a short stop before the upcoming  2024 World Championships in Beaufort, North Carolina October 4^th – 12^th.

AXIS thanks all of its sponsors and supporters who make chasing our dreams possible. In no particular order: Skydive Arizona, Skyventure Arizona, Performance Designs, UPT, Cypres, Cookie, Vertical Suits, L&B Altimeters, FlySight, and Althoff & Voeller.

To check out more USPA Nationals media coverage, visiting the USPA’s YouTube Channel.