Photo supplied by Airborne Petawawa
Airborne Petawawa hosted a three-day United States Parachute Association coach course at the Pembroke and Area Airport earlier this month, giving local skydivers an opportunity to pursue advanced training closer to home.
The course ran from Sept. 5 to 7 and was led by Angie Aragon, the USPA’s national director, as well as a coach, Accelerated Freefall examiner and Tandem examiner. She worked alongside the Airborne Petawawa team.
The USPA Coach Rating is the first instructional rating for many skydivers and serves as an important step toward more advanced instructor qualifications.
Three candidates took part in the course, each with at least 100 skydives and a USPA B Licence. All three also came from military backgrounds, with previous experience in structured training, instruction and leadership.
Over the three days, the candidates studied USPA training standards and teaching techniques before completing practical ground and in-air evaluations.
The evaluations included teaching emergency procedures, freefall dive flows, advanced group manoeuvres and canopy safety, followed by two evaluation jumps with an examiner.
All three candidates successfully completed their evaluations on their first attempt and earned their USPA Coach Ratings.
Airborne Petawawa says hosting the course in Petawawa allowed Canadian skydivers to pursue USPA professional development without travelling to the United States.
The organization says the course also reflects its ongoing commitment to expanding USPA training opportunities in Canada.
(Steve Berard)
