Golden Knights Win U.S. National Skydiving Competition

September 20, 2010—“Be All You Can Be.” “Army Strong.” “Winning the Gold.” Winning the Gold? No, it’s not a past or current slogan for the U.S. Army. But it should be, at least for the Army’s parachute team, the Golden Knights. That’s because the Golden Knights’ eight-way competition team took top honors last week in the 2010 U.S. National Skydiving Competition at Skydive Chicago.  The Knights finished the 10-round, eight-way competition with 199 points and a national championship. GK8 topped the reigning national champs, Arizona Airspeed, who finished with 191 points. The 14-day competition, the largest annual skydiving event in the world, continues through Friday as more than 550 competitors vie for the top spot in a variety of categories such as accuracy landing, vertical formation skydiving, canopy formation and more. It’s a constant flurry of activity, with individuals and teams of up to 16 jumpers competing simultaneously in both freefall and canopy disciplines. Less than two years ago, SFC Brian Krause formed the current Golden Knights eight-way team along with two other experienced Golden Knight competitors SFC Matt Davidson and SSG Sean Sweeney. With five brand new competitors on board, the young team began the long process of training to become competitive on the national and international level. SFC Kurt Isenbarger joined the line-up early this year and brought with him several years of past eight-way experience, replacing a member who took time off with the early arrival of his baby girl. The Golden Knights also performed well in other competitions. The Knights took second place with 68 points and set a new U.S. National 16-way record with 21 points on round 4. In addition, two team members—SSG Reese Pendleton and SGT Jen Schaben—competed in Vertical Formation Skydiving, or VFS, in the advanced class, and placed third, earning a bronze medal for the team. It marked the first time that anyone from the Golden Knights had competed in VFS, where on a freefall jump, four-person teams perform acrobatic maneuvers on upright and upside-down axes to complete as many pre-designated formations as possible in time. Click here to view the scores.

GK8 walks off the dropzone after round 10 of 8-way at the 2010 US Nationals Skydiving Competition. Photo credit: U.S. Army Members of the US Army Golden Knights 8-way team received Gold Medals at the 2010 US National Skydiving Competition. From left are SFC Brian Krause, SGT Mike LaRoche, SSG Justin Blewitt, SSG Drew Starr, SSG Matt Acord, SFC Larry Miller, SFC Matt Davidson, SSG Josh Coleman, SSG Sean Sweeney, and SFC Kurt Isenbarger. Photo credit: U.S. Army Members of the Golden Knights took third-place honors in vertical formation skydiving. From left, they are Ivan Castillon, SGT Jen Schaben, SSG Reese Pendleton, Steve Vogdes, and Greg Shelton (flying video). Photo by Chad Wilcox

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