sky diving

sky diving, sport of descending partly by parachute from an airplane or similar craft. Engaged in for both recreational and competitive purposes, sky diving involves three phases of activity: the free fall, the descent with open parachute, and the landing. In competitive sky diving, participants are judged according to their style in free fall and their accuracy in landing near a designated point. During the descent, divers can control the accuracy of their landing by manipulating the open parachute as a type of sail; skilled parachutists with good equipment can travel horizontally up to 10 mi (16 km) per hr during a normal fall. For reasons of safety, sky divers are required to open their parachutes at about 2,200 ft (670 m). Sky diving became a competitive sport after World War II. In 1951 the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (founded 1905), the world organizing body for most aeronautic sports, sponsored the first world championship of sky diving. In the United States the U.S. Parachute Association (founded 1957) sponsors an annual national championship.