Formation Skydiving
On a freefall jump, teams perform a designated formation or a sequence or series of formations drawn from the dive pool. A videographer records the formations made and the video is given to the judging panel.
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Official rules: Skydiver's Competition Manual Chapter 9
Belly Formation Skydiving Events
4-Way:
A team of four and their videographer exit the plane from 10,500 ft. Above Ground Level (AGL). They have thirty five seconds from their exit to complete as many of the scoring formations for that round as possible. Each round has a separate draw of formations. There are ten rounds in 4-way Formation Skydiving. There are four competitive classes: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced and Open.
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8-Way:
A team of eight skydivers and one videographer exit the plane from 13,000 ft. AGL. They have fifty seconds from their exit to complete as many of the scoring formations for that round as possible. Each round has a separate draw of formations. There are ten rounds in 8-way formation skydiving. There are three competitive classes: Intermediate, Advanced and Open.
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10-Way:
A team of ten skydivers and one videographer, exit the plane from 11,000 ft. AGL. A line is marked on the floor from the front edge of the door to the opposite wall at the rear edge of the door. The videographer must record an image of the line on the floor prior to the team exiting the aircraft. The team must line up behind the line, and no members of the team, except the videographer, may cross any body part over the line until they are beginning their exit. Once the plane of the line has been crossed, their working time of forty seconds begins. During this time, they must complete the required formation as quickly as possible and hold the formation for a minimum of five seconds. Each team receives a score (in seconds) for the completed formation. There are six rounds in 10-way formation skydiving.
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16-Way:
A team of sixteen skydivers and one videographer exit the plane from 13,000 ft. AGL. They have fifty seconds from their exit to complete as many of the scoring formations for that round as possible. Each round has a separate draw of formations. There are six rounds in 16-way formation skydiving. There are three competitive classes: Intermediate, Advanced and Open.
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Vertical & Mixed Formation Skydiving Events
Mixed Formation Skydiving (MFS):
A team of two and their videographer exit the plane from 13,000 ft. Above Ground Level (AGL). They have thirty five seconds from their exit to complete as many of the scoring formations for that round as possible. Each round has a separate draw of formations. The formations in MFS include non-belly to earth body orientations. There are ten rounds in Mixed Formation Skydiving. There are two competitive classes: Advanced and Open.
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Vertical Formation Skydiving (VFS):
A team of four skydivers and one videographer exit the plane from 13,000 ft. AGL. They have thirty five seconds from their exit to complete as many of the scoring formations for that round as possible. Each round has a separate draw of formations. The formations in VFS include head-up or head-down orientations. There are ten rounds in Vertical Formation Skydiving. There are three competitive classes: Intermediate, Advanced and Open.
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