2025 FAI World Indoor Skydiving Championships Recap

World-Class Competition Returns to Paraclete XP

In a two-day competition held April 10-11, Paraclete XP had the honor of hosting part of the 2025 FAI World Indoor Skydiving Championships. This year’s event brought athletes from around the globe together to compete in four Formation Skydiving disciplines: 4-Way Formation Skydiving (FS), 4-Way FS Female, 4-Way Vertical Formation Skydiving (VFS), and 8-Way FS. 

While dynamic flying, freestyle, and junior categories were held at Airspace Indoor Skydiving in Charleroi, Belgium, Paraclete XP served as the U.S. site for the Formation Skydiving portion of the championships. 

As the largest vertical wind tunnel in the U.S., Paraclete XP was the ideal venue for high-level indoor skydiving competition. With a 16.5-foot-wide flight chamber and 54 feet of height, it’s one of the few tunnels in the world that can accommodate 8-Way teams at full intensity. Spectators packed the facility, and the energy was nonstop from start to finish. 

What Is an Indoor Skydiving Competition?

Indoor skydiving competitions take the skills of traditional freefall skydiving and bring them into a vertical wind tunnel. Teams or solo flyers perform routines judged on precision, speed, and execution. Events range from disciplined, technical formations to high-energy freestyle and dynamic routines.

How old is indoor skydiving competition? The first official FAI (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale) World Indoor Skydiving Championships were held in 2015, making it a relatively young event, but one that has grown rapidly. Today, indoor skydiving is widely recognized as a legitimate competitive discipline, requiring physical strength, mental focus, and hours of training. Does this mean indoor skydiving is a sport? Most definitely. 

Indoor Skydiving Disciplines

A skydiving “discipline” refers to the specific style or format of skydiving being performed. The two indoor skydiving disciplines featured at this year’s competition at Paraclete XP were: 

• Formation Skydiving (FS): FS involves teams flying in a belly-to-earth orientation, building a series of predefined formations by linking up in specific patterns. It’s fast-paced and highly technical, requiring flawless teamwork and awareness. 
• Vertical Formation Skydiving (VFS): VFS takes that concept to a new dimension (literally). Flyers perform similar sequences but in head-up or head-down positions, increasing both the speed and difficulty of each move.

Each discipline also requires specific gear, and the style of jumpsuit will vary depending on the discipline. For example, FS competitors wear suits with booties and arm and leg grippers to enhance control and allow teammates to grip precisely during formation transitions. VFS flyers, on the other hand, typically wear sleek, tight-fitting suits designed for speed and stability in vertical orientations. 

Indoor Skydiving World Championships: 2025 Results

4-Way Formation Skydiving (FS)

Often considered the marquee indoor discipline, 4-Way FS challenges four-person teams to complete a sequence of assigned formations within a 35-second working time. This year, France delivered a dominant performance, finishing with a total score of 329 and an average of 32.9 points per round. The USA claimed silver with 314 points, while Belgium earned bronze with 306. 

4-Way Formation Skydiving (Female)

In the female FS category, the competition stayed tight through all 10 rounds. China ultimately secured the top spot with 292 points, just ahead of France with 289. Team USA rounded out the podium with a consistent performance that earned bronze.

4-Way Vertical Formation Skydiving (VFS)

In VFS, teams execute vertical formations at high speeds. Poland led the charge with clean, fast rounds that earned them 282 points and the gold. The U.S. team followed with silver, and Italy closed out the podium with bronze.

8-Way Formation Skydiving

With eight athletes working in tight synchronization, 8-Way FS pushes team flying to the next level. The USA team led from the start, finishing with 325 points and an impressive 32.5-point average. France secured silver, and Qatar delivered a strong showing to take bronze.

Final Results

Inspired? Let’s Fly! 

From start to finish, the 2025 FAI World Indoor Skydiving Championships showcased the talent, focus, and discipline of the world’s best tunnel flyers. Congratulations to all the competitors, and a big thank-you to the judges, volunteers, and fans who made it possible.

For detailed scores and round-by-round breakdowns, visit the official FAI competition results page.

Feeling inspired? Book your tunnel flight today. You could be the next world champion!