Dave Smith takes us back in time to see how the APF petitioned to have parachuting and skydiving included in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

In order to get a new event into the Olympics, the host country must express its wish to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to have the sport included as an exhibition sport or new discipline. Sports like break dancing and skate-boarding took that approach in 2022, probably at the request of France.

Wind back to circa 1994. Many members probably don't know, but the APF petitioned the Australian Olympic Committee to have parachuting and/or skydiving included in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. 

Some might remember the 1988 Seoul Olympics opening ceremony included an Olympic five-rings logo formation skydive. It was a spectacular opening to the games, broadcast worldwide using air-to-ground video. Few people would know it included one Australian jumper, Laurie (Truck) Sams, one of our Masters of Sport Parachuting, who sadly recently passed away.

Based on the success of exhibiting skydiving at the Seoul Olympics, APF decided to demonstrate to the Australian Olympic Committee that Australian skydivers could complete the five-rings logo over Sydney. It was hoped this might see parachuting included in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games as an exhibition sport or, better still, as a sport discipline.

Jumpers were chosen based on their freefall skills. APF organised and paid for jumpsuits to match the colours of the five rings and seven practice jumps were completed over Wilton (now Picton DZ). Every jumper involved donated their time free of charge as it was a considered a great honour to be involved.

Come 19 April 1994; on a clear and sunny day, air traffic cleared the airspace over Sydney CBD and the jump took place. The exit was over the Domain, the freefall over the city, Opera House and Harbour Bridge, and the landing area was on a disused wharf, where Barangaroo now sits. The alternate landing area was the Domain.

All went well and the formation completed except for one person missing their slot. Fortunately, unless one looks closely, it’s not obvious one person is missing from the formation. Our very own Shane Sparkes was the photographer on the day and, incidentally, like Truck Sams, is now another of our Masters of Sport Parachuting.

As we know, parachuting didn’t get into the Sydney 2000 Olympics and although it isn’t likely to be included in future Olympics , we have its own international equivalent – the FAI World Air Games - so that’s pretty good outcome anyway!

About The Author

Dave Smith is an Australian Parachute Federation Board Member, with over 50 years of skydiving experience, as well as being a pilot. His series of articles, titled "Looking In The Rear View Mirror", will give examples of how far the Australian Parachute Federation has come since it began, and what it has achieved for its members. 

If you would like to submit an article, or have a topic request for the APF Blog, please email [email protected]

[Image Source: Shane Sparkes]