Like Cyndi Lauper once said, "Girls just want to have fun!"

On 20-21 September, SA Skydiving was taken over by the female jumping community of South Australia and beyond, for the return of the "Fly Girls" initiative. Founded by Jana Fitzpatrick, the initiative aims to support and grow an environment for female skydivers, that is safe, supportive, inspiring and fun.

With jump numbers ranging from 10  to 5,500 jumps, the 24 participants covered a range of experience levels and all got their own unique experience from the event.

Friday Night Champagne Meet & Greet

The weekend started with a Friday evening Champagne meet and greet with a grazing platter, giving everyone the opportunity to meet new faces and plan out the weekend.

Aimee Southwell flew in from Queensland to coach the event and gave a welcome to everyone, outlining the history and goals of the event, as well as introducing her fellow coaches, Yvonne Ullmer and Ariel White, who were both taking on a coaching/load organising role for the first time. Aimee also spoke of the event founder Jana Fitzpatrick and how the event honours her and her vision for supporting female skydiving.

Saturday Jumping & Panel

Saturday's weather held out for most, with 15 coached loads sent and only those on student restrictions unable to jump.

After jumping, a panel discussion took place, put together by Tiarne Easley, Louise Hosking, Aimee Southwell, and for a male perspective, Zack Rosser. The panel session discussed and explored the opportunities, challenges and experiences of female skydivers in their skydiving journeys. The discussion was extremely valuable and inspiring for all involved.

Prom Night

Then it was time for a dance! The DJ decks were spinning, dresses were on, and the "girls just want to have fun" party was underway.

The dress theme was "prom/that dress you've never had the right event to wear", and unsurprisingly for most, the boys on the dropzone got around the theme in full force too.

Sunday Jumping

Sunday morning saw a few loads sent before mother nature had other plans. But bad weather at a drop zone always poses a great learning opportunity, which was taken advantage of with an informative seminar on clouds and cloud jumping operations being delivered.

This event really brought the female community together, saw progression in multiple disciplines, and gave two local jumpers the opportunity to step up into coaching roles.

An all round success and we look forward to the next one!

What The Fly Girl's Thought

 "Just want to say thank you so much to everyone involved with Fly Girls 2025…meant so much to me being able to attend and listen to such a good panel share and watch all of the women progressing in this amazing sport. I feel blessed to be beginning my entry into this amazing sport, I felt supported and empowered all weekend. There was such a great passing of knowledge and experience from a group of strong, intelligent progressive women! Thank you so much, this weekend was super special to me and I will take it with me into my future.”

 "Had an absolute blast and am so grateful to every one of you!! It was an amazing environment."

 "It. Was. Perfect. Such an amazing group of people! Cannot wait for the next one. Also have been inspired to just have a crack at my next BRELs when I am over next. And even if I fail I am working on those skills! Thanks to the panel members for the inspo!"

SA Skydiving would like to thank all the skydivers, instructors, coaches, pilots, ground crew and sponsors.

Thanks to SA Skydiving for their contributions to this article.

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[Photo sources: SA Skydiving]