Your Inside Look at the 2025 USPA National Skydiving Championships
The aircraft door slides open. Below, landing zones wait. Above, jumpers are poised for action. The 2025 USPA National Skydiving Championships aren’t just about winning; they’re about pushing the limits of precision, skill, and speed in every discipline.
Whether you’re a competitor, a coach, or an enthusiastic spectator, this guide will walk you through the main competition disciplines, how they’re scored, and what makes each unique. By the time you’re at the DZ in Eloy or Elsinore, you’ll know exactly what you’re watching—and why it matters.
Competition Formats and Scoring – The Basics
Skydiving competition is built on two foundations: technical execution and time.
- Technical execution: Judges evaluate grips, body position, smooth transitions, and how well the team or individual completes the required formations or maneuvers.
- Time: In most events, working time starts as soon as you leave the plane and runs until a set limit (usually 35 to 50 seconds).
Judging is done through in-air video, which means every move is recorded and reviewed. The USPA’s official rules for each discipline are published in the Skydiver’s Information Manual and updated annually to reflect the sport’s evolving standards.
Formation Skydiving (FS)
Formation Skydiving (FS), also known as Relative Work (RW), is a belly-to-earth discipline where teams link together in predetermined formations as quickly and cleanly as possible. Success depends on precision, smooth grips, and flawless transitions within the working time.
- 4-Way FS: Four jumpers build and transition between random formations in 35 seconds.
- 8-Way FS: Larger teams, more complex formations, and even tighter coordination.
- 16-Way FS: A true spectacle, rare outside of Nationals.
Why it’s unique: The speed and precision are jaw-dropping. One missed grip can cost valuable points. See it in action with the Arizona Airspeed: 2022 USPA Formation Skydiving 4-way Open.
Vertical Formation Skydiving (VFS)
Same concept as FS, but vertical. Competitors fly head-up and head-down in high-speed formations.
Teams of four transition between vertical formations during working time. Requires advanced freefly skills and absolute spatial awareness.
Why it’s unique: Speeds can exceed 160 mph. It’s both a technical and physical test unlike anything else in competition. For a taste of this high-energy discipline, watch highlights from the 2022 USPA National Skydiving Championships – Vertical Formation.
Mixed Formation Skydiving (MFS)
Mixed Formation Skydiving (MFS) involves two performers who may fly in horizontal or vertical orientations—including belly, back, head-up, or head-down, and switch roles while building formations. The discipline tests adaptability across multiple flying positions within the working time.
Why it’s unique: MFS challenges both performers and the videographer to fly in every orientation, belly, back, head-up, and head-down. These rapid shifts in body position change speeds dramatically and add significant difficulty.
Check out the Elsinore Dust Devils, 2024 USPA National Championships, Mixed Formation Skydiving for real-world competition footage.
Artistic Events (AE)
A blend of performance, creativity, and technical skill.
- Freefly: Two performers and a camera flyer create dynamic routines across multiple orientations.
- Freestyle: Solo performer showcasing gymnastic and dance-like elements in freefall.
Why it’s unique: Artistic events are often compared to ballet in the sky, where smooth, flowing moves meet technical precision. Judges balance creativity with execution, art and sport truly collide in mid-air, making it one of the most visually captivating disciplines.
Canopy Piloting (CP)
Also known as swooping. Competitors fly high-performance parachutes through a course just feet above the ground.
- Speed: Fastest time through the course wins.
- Distance: Longest swoop after crossing the entry gate.
- Zone Accuracy: Land as close as possible to a target while maintaining speed and control.
- Freestyle: Pilots perform creative maneuvers such as rolls, carves, spins, and drags across the pond surface before sticking the landing on their feet. This event emphasizes both precision and artistry—judges evaluate technical canopy control, execution, and style to deliver a true crowd-pleasing performance.
Why it’s unique: Canopy Piloting is often described as a precision drag race just feet above the ground, demanding split-second judgment and advanced canopy skills. Within CP, the Freestyle event has become a true crowd-pleaser, as pilots carve, roll, and perform creative maneuvers close to the surface, combining technical mastery with showmanship. It’s a discipline where speed, control, and artistry collide, making it one of the most exciting to watch.
Wingsuit Performance & Acrobatic (WS)
Flying in a wingsuit turns the body into a human airfoil. At the 2025 USPA National Skydiving Championships, wingsuit competition is divided into two events:
Wingsuit Performance (WS-P)
- Time: Staying aloft as long as possible.
- Distance: Covering the greatest horizontal ground.
- Speed: Fastest horizontal flight over a set course.
Wingsuit Acrobatic (WS-A)
- Teams of two performers and a camera flyer execute pre-designed dynamic routines.
- Judging evaluates precision, creativity, and synchronization between flyers and camerawork.
Why it’s unique: Wingsuit events showcase two very different aspects of human flight—performance, which highlights efficiency and aerodynamics, which brings creativity and teamwork into the mix. Both are judged under official USPA SIM guidelines, ensuring consistency and safety.
Accuracy Landing
The most traditional discipline. Competitors must touch down on a landing pad, aiming for the bullseye that is just 2 centimeters wide.
Why it’s unique: Demands absolute canopy control, from opening to final flare. Every centimeter counts.
Speed Skydiving
It’s exactly what it sounds like: fastest freefall wins. Competitors streamline their bodies to hit terminal velocities well above 200 mph. Let’s relive this impressive speed skydiving experience.
What Makes Each Discipline Unique for Spectators
Even if you’ve never made a skydive, the range of disciplines at the 2025 USPA National Championships means there’s always something worth watching. From the elegant symmetry of Formation Skydiving to the high-speed drama of Canopy Piloting, each event reveals a different side of the sport.
For exact dates and competition schedules, the Skydive Arizona events calendar is a great resource. And to stay fully up to date with official announcements, results, and changes, make sure to visit the USPA website, where the USPA calendar provides the most accurate and current information.
Closing Thoughts
The 2025 USPA National Skydiving Championships bring together the very best skydivers in the United States to push the limits of what’s possible in freefall and under canopy. Whether you’re tracking scores online or watching from the edge of the landing area in Eloy, understanding the events makes every jump more exciting.
Next Up → Training and Strategy – How Competitors Prepare for the USPA Nationals
Blue Skies,
Skydive Arizona Team