Defending their sport against criticism that it’s too dangerous, parachutists took turns leaping off the world’s tallest buildings on Sunday at the start of a rare tournament of extreme skydiving.
Fifty-eight jumpers, each geared with a single canopy, launched off the 452-metre nickel-plated Petronas Twin Towers, thrilling hundreds of spectators on the first day of the Malaysia-International Championship of Extreme Skydiving.
Blown off course by gusty winds, some divers failed to navigate their descent to their targeted landing — a circle about 7,6 metres wide on a grassy patch. But most were ecstatic simply to be in an event that some other countries might not have
approved.
Their brand of skydiving is called base jumping – leaping from bridges, buildings, mountains and the like — and can put aficionados in conflict with authorities in many nations who try to stop them, fearing liability in case of death or injury.
Participant Johnny Winklekotter (34) a skydiving instructor from Salt Lake City, Utah, said skydivers needed little more than swift reflexes to avoid getting hurt.
”Base jumping is really very safe,” said Winklekotter, who beat 50 other contenders in last year’s competition in Malaysia. ”It’s only in the people’s mind that it’s dangerous.”
Magnus Svensson (37) said there were no base jumping competitions yet in his home country of Sweden. But he hoped Malaysia’s hosting of four major extreme skydiving events so far since December 2000 would continue to help legitimise the activity.
The competitors, who have all signed insurance waivers, come from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Finland, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States.
Dann Lee, chief executive of Skyventure Productions, the organisers, said the response had been ”overwhelming,” adding that Skyventure planned to hold similar events in neighboring Singapore and Thailand.
The skydivers had one day of practice jumps Saturday for the tournament, which concludes January 6. Carrying a single parachute — since there probably wouldn’t be time to deploy a backup — they jump from a custom-built metal ramp on a balcony 298 meres high on the 73rd level of the 88-floor twin towers.
Under competition rules, divers must freefall for between four and six seconds before opening their parachute. From leaping to landing, the ride takes less than one minute.
Jumpers receive scores based mostly on how their canopies fly open and where they land — 20 points for inside the circle and 10 points within 20 metres of it. – Sapa-AP