STAFF WRITERS
LOCAL primary school teacher and skydiver, Kallan Fitzclarence, achieved great success at the Australian & New Zealand National Canopy Piloting Championships in Sydney last month.
Mr Fitzclarence clinched the overall gold medal in the intermediate category, showcasing exceptional skill across three disciplines: speed, accuracy and distance.
Having previously won a national championship in a different format of skydiving (Sports Accuracy) last year, Mr Fitzclarence took on the challenge of “swooping”, where competitors dive their parachutes towards the ground before planning out to skim over water at high speeds. He demonstrated precision and agility as he navigated his parachute through the challenging course, outperforming competitors from across the country.
“The competition was really fun and everyone is so supportive and encouraging… it was tight between Ronnie (South Australian competitor) and I but we’re all friends and are happy to see each other do well,” Mr Fitzclarence said.
Looking ahead, Mr Fitzclarence has set his sights on even greater heights in the sport.
His future ambitions include downsizing to a smaller and faster parachute, which will allow him to compete in the open category against some of the world’s best canopy pilots.
“I’ve got a few goals I still need to tick off before progressing to a smaller chute but I’m excited for the challenge,” he said.
“It’s probably a while away but I’d love to represent the country one day.”
