'It’s high-flying fun': Calgary hosts 2023 Indoor Skydiving Championships

Calgary hosted the West Canadian Indoors Skydiving Championships Saturday at iFly Calgary

Athletes from across Canada strapped on their helmets and suited up in Calgary on Saturday to compete in the West Canadian Indoor Skydiving Championships.

The event, held at iFly Calgary at Deerfoot City, welcomed some of the most talented skydivers and tunnel flyers competing in various disciplines including solo freestyle, vertical and team formation disciplines.

Calgary general manager Amanda Fahlman said 38 teams entered this year accounting for about 76 competitors of all ages.

"That's one of our biggest things is we want to share the dream of flight with everybody and for all abilities. It's an afternoon of high flying fun," she said.

"This is the second competition we’ve put on and we’ve been training people for a long time for events like this, lots of people come very often to our facility, they fly weekly and now they're competing."

One of those younger athletes is 19-year-old Kate Bayda who only began learning about indoor skydiving just a couple of years ago.

She now has dreams to compete internationally and win championships on the world stage as she continues to improve her freestyle skills.

"I really love that this is such a young sport because there's so much that's open to accomplish unlike other sports that have been around for a very long time.

"With this sport, it’s so new, it's fresh. You create your own thing every day. You can really express what you want to do there, which is really nice."

Other athletes like 15-year-old Matteo Fontana are also new to competing, but he’s found that the sport is giving him more confidence as he grows up.

"It’s all about believing in yourself, I know it sounds cheesy, but then you can definitely perform at your very best in the tunnel," he said.

"Your routine definitely needs a certain type of headspace and once you get there, it’s the best feeling in the whole world."

Some competitors even arrived in Calgary to compete this weekend from as far as California.

Neal Bryant made the trip from Los Angeles and said he’s found a new appreciation for the growing community of indoor skydivers beyond just his own country.