Sunrise skydive session kicks off first World Skydiving Day, fundraiser for mental health organization

Early morning hours did not stop dozens of people from falling 13,000 feet from the sky at speeds of more than 100 miles per hour this weekend.

Skydive West Plains started its first World Skydiving Day celebration just after 5 a.m. Saturday for a sunrise session and continued until the sun went down.

“We milled around with our eyes half closed and figured out what we were going to do and then realized the sun was coming up, so we had to gear up,” said Drop Zone manager Kara Menke. “We got excited … and got to jump at sunrise, which was really rad. I haven’t done that in a long time.”

The designated day honors the sport and gives skydivers the opportunity to attempt to break the world record for most skydives completed in a single day, said licensed skydiver Chelsea Owens.

“We’re just jumping in celebration of that,” Owens said of the new holiday set to repeat each year on the second Saturday in July.

The record-breaking attempt also served as a fundraiser for Failsafe for Life, an organization that focuses on mental health, Menke said.

“I appreciate what they do because I honestly think that everyone struggles at some point during their life,” Menke said. “They really focus on driving people to communities and getting people out of that dark space by connecting them to a community.

“They do an amazing job.”

Failsafe for Life aims to shift people’s focus away from social media and screens by keeping them involved with a real-life community, she said.

One of Skydive West Plains’ goals is to do the same.

“Sure, there’s an adrenaline rush, but (skydiving) is really about the community, and community is vital in skydiving and mental health,” Owens said.

One dollar from each jump will be donated to the organization, Menke said. Skydive West Plains will also donate tandem certificates to Failsafe for Life to use for auctions.

Owens said everyone has a different reason and motivation for skydiving, and everyone comes from different walks of life, but there is a strong sense of community that cannot be found in other places.

She nervously began her skydiving journey with a tandem, which is an experienced jumper who is attached and guiding an inexperienced skydiver. Owens said she recently received her license, so she can now jump on her own. She completed her 100th jump on Saturday.

“The general population’s exposure to skydiving is when there’s an accident, but the truth of the matter is we take a ton of measures to mitigate any potential risk,” she said. “When you’re crossing the street, you don’t just step out into the street, you look both ways. There’s risk, but we know how to mitigate that.”

Menke said a lot of people will see skydiving videos and think the activity is not for them because only thrill-seekers and adrenaline junkies jump out of a plane with a parachute attached to their backs, which is not the case.

“I think more people are doing this as (a way) to join in with the community and give them a space outside of their normal life, because when you’re up in the sky, when you’re free-falling, you can’t think about if the laundry is done,” she said. “You’re just thinking about the skydive, and it gives your brain a second to just be clear and experience the pure joy falling out of the sky.”

Licensed skydiver Lee Silcox jumped out of a plane three times Saturday, tallying 8,788 jumps over the last 50 years. He hopes to reach 9,000 jumps by the end of the season in December.

Silcox said he had been working a summer job in college when someone came to his work and talked to him about skydiving. After a week, he decided to see what the excitement about. He has now traveled to different countries to skydive. He said his favorite was Australia, where a group of skydivers started in Sydney and worked their way to the country’s east coast.

“We saw the sights, excursions, white water rafting, kangaroos, all that stuff,” he said. “That was a great trip because it was just a small group of us traveling together all over the country … It was an awesome experience.”

Owens said skydiving feels like the ultimate carnival ride, and the blast of air is a relief during the summer heat.

“It’s so refreshing,” he said. “When you fly back to the ground and it’s hot again, you’re ready to pack up and go back up there.”