Team Competes at U.S. Collegiate Nationals

Sport Parachute Team Brings Home 27 Medals

The sport parachute team traveled to Rosharon, TX to Skydive Spaceland to compete in the U.S. Collegiate Nationals Competition. The team won 27 medals and beat Air Force in Individual Sport Accuracy, Novice & Intermediate Classic Accuracy, and 2-Way Formation Skydiving. The team set a new record in 2-Way scoring an astounding 55 points and Firstie Orlando Zambrano scored a first ever 0.0 in Sport Accuracy.

Parachute Team LIVE on ESPN

Veteran's Day Jump onto The Plain, 11 November 2009

Video Courtesy of ESPN

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Parachute Team Tests CadetCam

CadetCam Test Jump 22 OCT 09

Video - CadetCam, Smartronix

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West Point Parachute Team attends U.S. National Skydiving Competition

CDT Matt Palange, SSG Tom Melton, CDT Josh Cook, CDT Orlando Zambrano, and CDT Trey Wheeler represented West Point at the U.S. Parachute Association National Championships in October 2009. The team took 12th place overall and continues to train for the Collegiate National Competition held in December.

Team Hires Civilian Coach Tom Falzone

The team is looking forward to the arrival of Tom Falzone as their new Coach. Tom Falzone has been working with the team the last 5 years and is looking forward to coming on board full time. Tom has been jumping for 23 years and has over 10,000 jumps. He holds countless medals and is a champion skydiver and competitor. He brings many years of coaching experience to the team!

AIAD 2009

After 50 years of training new team members using a Static Line method, the West Point Parachute Team trained the Class of 2012 using a more advanced method called Advanced Freefall Progression (AFP). Under this method, students conducted 3 tandem training jumps with experienced Non-Commissioned Officer Coaches and graduated to Accelerated Freefall where they jumped from 14,000 ft. with first 2 and then only 1 skydiving instructor. The new method allows for much more freefall time and after 50 jumps, the cadets have already shown remarkable “flying” skills both in freefall and under canopy.
The West Point Parachute Team is made up of 36 members – 12 from each class (minus 4th Class Cadets). The tryouts for the team are held in the 2nd Semester – usually in February. The team jumps into every home football game as well as many local events and also competes at the National Collegiate Parachuting Championships held over Christmas break. Over the course of 3 years, cadets make over 500 jumps. The team is supported by 3 full time Non-Commissioned Officers and several volunteer Officer Representatives. The team trains Monday through Saturday (except Thursday) on Maddock DZ at Lake Frederick on the West Point Military Reservation. Despite their rigorous training schedule, the cadets of the Parachute Team average over a 3.5 Cumulative GPA. You can sometimes see the cadets jumping onto The Plain in preparation for home football games and reviews. The team was founded in 1958 by LTC (Ret.) Henmar “Gabe” Gabriel whose story can be found in a recent Association of Graduates Article published in March/April of 2009.

Class of 2010

The class of 2010 is preparing to jump the football into every home game at Michie Stadium. The Firstie 4-way is also preparing to attend U.S. Nationals at Skydive Spaceland, Rosharon, Texas. You can check the schedule and keep up with events HERE.

Parachute Team - In the News

Link: USMA Sport Parachute Team celebrates 50 years
Link: Cadet Scoutmasters Jump With Sports Parachute Team
Link: Cadet Sport Parachute Team Trains New Members