Burnley woman wins British National Skydiving Championships with team Chimera

Laura Hampton, who holds the position of ‘outside centre’ in Chimera, was part of the team that beat the silver medallists by 40 points to be named the top four way formation skydiving team in the country.

She said: “It’s been an incredible journey and we are so proud of what we’ve been able to achieve. It’s been a long road to this point, and we’ve had ups and downs along the way; to come out victorious this weekend was a genuine dream come true for us.

“We look forward to using our new title to inspire other people to try skydiving and to learn formation skydiving in particular.”

The team comprises five members - Laura Hampton, James Woods, Sarah Ashworth, Will Cooke and Pete Harries - with the four ‘performers’ holding on to each other to create shapes, or formations, and one camera flyer responsible for capturing the skydive using a camera mounted to their helmet.

Chimera regularly trains at Skydive Langar in Nottingham. They expect to continue their training there in the run up to the world meet.

A number of teams from Skydive Langar attended the competition, including Silver Linings, Alola, Eros, Winged Hussars, L3, DNF and Spread Eagles. The centre aims to be a centre for training excellence and has increased the amount of coaching available to skydiving teams in recent years.

Skydiving in the UK has grown significantly in popularity in recent years, with many citing the so-called ‘experience economy’ and the lockdowns as the reason for people seeking a new, exhilarating challenge.