This Friday and Saturday (24/25 August) iFLY Indoor Skydiving Sydney West will play host to the Australian Open Indoor Skydiving Championships. A family friendly, spectacular event FREE for all Sydney-siders to come and enjoy.
iFLY Indoor Skydiving (Sydney, Gold Coast & Perth) prides itself on offering facilities and experiences that are 100% accessible and inclusive for all people of all abilities, and is thrilled to have Australia’s first all-ability competitors, Peter Pellegrini and Bek Cramp, confirmed to compete.
—
Peter Pellegrini
In 2015 Pete was involved in a tragic workplace accident resulting in the loss of his right leg and leaving him wheelchair bound. 2 years ago Pete turned to indoor skydiving as an alternative form of aqua-therapy and cardio exercise.
“I was unable to do the aqua-therapy because of risk of infection, but indoor skydiving {I believe} worked better in helping me build strength in my muscles. It also helped with the cardio aspect of exercise which I couldn’t gain from other training methods due to my mobility limitations.” said Peter.
“Indoor skydiving has not only taught me to fly all over again, but has shown me how to LIVE all over again. I want to meet other all-ability people and share my story with them and hopefully encourage them to think ‘I can do that too!’. Choosing this sport has changed my life and I hope changes the general public’s views on disabilities.” continues Peter.
“I am humbled and extremely proud to be able to push a mandate that promotes including all-abilities in sport and not pushing us away or segregating us from main stream events,” states Peter. “iFLY Indoor Skydiving approaches it with a no boarders, all-inclusive attitude, which is so rare for people like me; to be included as an equal is so important and what iFLY is doing for this community is indescribably awe-inspiring”.
Bek Cramp
Bek’s first flight experience was on 3rd December 2017 at the “Gift Of Flight For All Abilities” event where
iFLY gave away 100 free indoor skydiving experiences to people living with a disability in celebration of International Day of People with Disability – more information here.
“I was hooked instantly. We have flown at least twice a month ever since.” said Bek.
“I love how genuinely dedicated iFLY is to promoting inclusion for all people regardless of age or (dis)ability. I’ve met some amazing people who have encouraged me to learn to fly my body my way. Since losing a lot of my mobility I have missed being active and flying at the tunnel has allowed me to feel part of a sporting community again. Flying at iFLY gives me periods of freedom.” continues Bek.
“I have truly loved watching friends of mine with various disabilities try flying for the first time and watching their abilities be fostered and their flying improve with each flight. Ladies Night has kept me coming back with Elise and Izaya being amazing motivators and some awesome women who jump in to fly with me. I have relished the opportunity to train intensely with Laurence and the team learning about 4 way formation flying and am sure taking part in the Australian Open Indoor Skydiving Championships as part of one of the All Abilities teams is going to be a genuine highlight.”
—
24th August 2018
Peter and Bek will be competing in the 4 Way Formation Skydiving (Rookie) category on Friday, 24th August from 10am.
Peter Pellegrini and team – 7 Left Feet
Bek Cramp and team – All My Spoons
25th August 2018
Peter & Bek will be performing an All Abilities Flying Demonstration at 1:30pm.
FREE TO WATCH – We invite everyone to come down and check out the competition and see how indoor skydiving is a safe, accessible and inclusive sport for people of any ability.
We will also be LIVE Streaming the competition via the iFLY Indoor Skydiving Facebook page, which you can follow here: www.facebook.com/iFLYdownunder/
—
Who: iFLY Indoor Skydiving Sydney West
What: Australian Open Indoor Skydiving Championships
Time: 9.00am – 6.00pm (local time)
When: Friday 24th August and Saturday 25th August
Where: 123 Mulgoa Road, Penrith
Parking: Plenty of free parking outside of venue
