The British Skydiving Expo is takes place on 27th January at the East Midlands Conference Centre… here’s what to expect and why we think fun jumpers are going to want to stop by!
Free Mini Seminars at the Skydive Langar Stand
We’ll be at our stand throughout the day – find us in a corner spot for an array of goodies, the chance to chat to our instructors and for free ‘mini briefs’ each hour. Each one lasts 15 minutes and will give you a snapshot of a topic which you can then discuss in more detail with the speaker, if you wish:
09:30 Jan Zackl – Becoming an Instructor
Ever thought about becoming an instructor in skydiving? Jan did, and his journey saw him complete more than 900 skydives in 2023 alone – around 600 tandem or Category System instruction and 300 fun jumps. He’ll share his advice to help you take the first step on your path to working in the sport.
12:00 Kayleigh Garbett – CRW is Cool
Kayleigh will share her passion for Canopy Formations with you! Having won medals and achieved records in the sport of CF (also known as CRW, or canopy relative work), Kayleigh is now a CF coach and she’ll talk to you about what makes CF so much fun and how you can get into it.
13:00 Laura Hampton – Breaking Records
Laura was recently part of the World Record Total Break Sequential FS jump in Eloy, Arizona, and was part of the team that organised the British TBS record back in July. She’ll share her advice on how to get into bigway FS and to get yourself invited onto world record attempts.
14:00 Matt Cumming – Competing in Formation Skydiving
A national champion in 8 way FS, Matt is a passionate competitor and will share his story with you. You’ll hear all about how he got into competing in the first place and his next steps. He’ll give you advice on how to get into competition and eventually win medals of your own.
15:00 Ellie Marshall – Skydiver of the Year
Ellie recently won the title of Skydiver of the Year at the Skydive Langar awards, voted for by Langar jumpers. In recent years, she’s achieved her tandem instructor rating, her FF2 and was part of the new British women’s head down record. She’ll share her stories to inspire your skydiving journey.
What happens at the rest of the British Skydiving Expo?
The British Skydiving Expo is a conference aimed at providing student and experienced skydivers a place to learn, explore and get to know one another – culminating in an excellent party at night.
The daytime is focused around two things:
- Seminars and workshops; these are open to everyone and multiple tracks run alongside one another. As a guest, you can choose to attend any of them and if you miss one, you can catch up later because they’re recorded, too. Most topics are specifically skydiving related, while others explore topics surround our sport, such as accessibility, inclusivity and stories from other sports to inspire or educate us
- The Exhibition; this happens in the main hall and comprises lots of stalls hosted by skydiving manufacturers, brands and drop zones – including us! You can visit the stalls to try on gear, get special Expo deals and, if you visit our stand, there will be goodies and inspirational talks to enjoy
The party in the evening is also open to all; you can choose to buy a ticket to the meal, or choose to eat elsewhere, and then everyone gets together to enjoy the band (which this year is Winging It, featuring our very own Swoop!).
The AGM (Annual General Meeting) part of the day is where British Skydiving presents their report for the previous year and plans for the year to come.
Is it worth going?
In short, yes, very much so. There is so much to learn at the Expo from all the seminars and workshops, plus visits to the stalls are always great to see what gear is available to you and to get some great deals.
What’s even more special about the Expo is that it brings together skydivers from across the country (and the world!). The skydiving community is arguably the best part of our sport (aside from the actual jumping out of planes, of course) and it’s a great thing to be part of. By attending the Expo, you’ll have the chance to meet lots of amazing people.
What to expect at the Skydive Langar stand
We’ll be hosting a stand again this year and you’ll find us in the main Expo hall.
You can expect:
- Inspirational talks
- Skydiving videos
- Goodies and prizes
- Information from our lovely staff
Be sure to come by and say hello!
Can we jump during the Expo?
You can indeed. Weather permitting, we’re open every day except Christmas Day so you can come and jump with us on the 27th January just as any other day. If you do choose to come and jump, the Expo videos will be available to watch later, and once the sun sets, we’ll be heading down to the Conference Centre to join the party.