Congratulations to Don Cross on receiving the APF's highest award; Master of Sport Parachuting.
Master of Sport Parachuting
Don Cross is the latest recipient of the Australian Parachute Federation's highest award - the 'Master of Sport Parachuting' - recognising outstanding achievements, service and contribution over many years, that have had a positive and lasting impact on the sport at a national or world level.
Don received the award in May 2025 for decades of outstanding contributions and achievements in the sport, particularly in the areas of competition skydiving, safety and drop zone operations.
Don receiving the APF's 'Master of Sport Parachuting' Award at the 2025 Awards Dinner
Alongside his wife Louise, Don owned Skydive Nagambie in Victoria, running the much-loved drop zone for 23 years before they closed the business in early 2023 to pursue a happy retirement. The drop zone's farewell event was a testament to Don and Lou's endless work and dedication over the years, with over two hundred people from the community present as the sun set for the final time on a very important and cherished chapter of Australian skydiving.
Don’s vision for the future of our sport has not diminished post-retirement, as he continues to be an engaged APF member who recognises that the way forward is not always to repeat the past. He is still consulted from time to time by APF leadership as his words carry a great deal of weight and wisdom. Long may this continue.
To get an insight into Don's achievements in and contributions to Australian skydiving, we have republished an article on Don, written by John Swanland, that was originally published in the Australian Skydiver Magazine in 2018 (Issue 92, Vol 4).
Join us in congratulating Don on his truly inspirational career.
Don Cross Profile - ASM, Issue 92, Vol 4
By John Swanland
“One of the least visited places at Skydive Nagambie is Don Cross’ office. Few have cause to enter it, except for the rarest of occasions when a meeting is required where biscuits are most definitely not provided. This is partly because it is out of the way on the mezzanine level and gets no passing traffic, but the real reason is that you are more likely to find Don out refuelling the aircraft, or in the student area, instructing, coaching or watching openings and landings. He may also be found watering his precious patch of grass…and maybe, just occasionally, he might be found in the bar!
The office is therefore a place of mystery, and yet it provides a key to understanding where Don has been…and where he is going. Looking at the walls, it is immediately obvious that Don is proud of his time in the military; a career he started when he signed on the dotted line at the tender age of 19. It was whilst in the army that Don did his first jump at the Newcastle Sports Parachute Club in Elderslie in 1985.
He was hooked, and managed not only to make sports jumping a part of his social life, but also a part of his professional career. Don served with 3 RAR (Airborne) and Parachute Training School in many roles varying from Paratrooper, Marksman, Mobile Fire Controller and Parachute Jump Instructor, through to Warrant Officer of a rifle company. All in all, Don made 1,009 military descents, many of them at night and with combat equipment.
Outside of the army, Don gained his instructor ratings and worked his way up to becoming an active Chief Instructor in 1992, establishing drop zones such as Wings over Wollongong, Skydive Nowra and Skydive Moruya, before taking on Skydive Nagambie in 2000. The keen eyed amongst you will note than all these drop zones had an active sports scene, and this is no coincidence.
Alongside the seemingly never-ending job of a drop zone owner, he somehow also managed to find the time to provide his expert knowledge in a volunteer capacity, from local roles as Area Instructor Examiner and Area Safety Officer in New South Wales and Victoria, through to his appointment as APF Director Instructor for two years.
To this day, he continues to be consulted by high ranking APF officials on matters relating to safety, instruction, training and Chief Instructor responsibilities. Take the APF’s Cutaway training video which we’ve all seen. All the malfunctions were shot at ‘old’ Nagambie, where it was raining free bags for a week! Don works tirelessly behind the scenes to help make this happen, and it is his voice you hear on the video.
But Don’s passion for the sport is not all about instruction. Pride of place in his office are gold medals displayed from no less than seven Australian National championships, in both 4-Way and 8-Way competition. Don has competed at the highest level - representing Australia at four World Meets on two 8-Way teams; Rijidij and XLR8. The teams placed fourth each time - making them the best of the amateur teams at each event, an achievement which has not been equalled since.
When asked, Don names some of his highlight jumps as a 2-Point 60-Way over Bangkok and a 20-Point 8-Way at the 1999 World Meet in Corowa with XLR8 - an Aussie record that still stands to this day. And that’s not the only record; his 8-Way teams won every year they competed at the Nationals and finished with a 14.7 average - again an achievement that is yet to be beaten.
Once he decided to finish as a top level competitor, Don used his knowledge to player/coach two 8-Way teams - one Intermediate and one Open - both of which went on to win at the Nationals. Whilst the Open team then went on to the World Meet, Don retired from the team after the Nationals to spend more time running a busy sports drop zone.
Of Don’s 11,000+ jumps, approximately 3,000 of them have been 8-Way, and this remains his passion as do all Flat Fly disciplines. He takes every opportunity to share his experience and expertise in his chosen disciplines with anyone who asks.
It would be easy for someone with Don’s achievements to sit back and reminisce for the rest of his career. Sometimes it seems the opposite is happening. Don is not shy about sharing his vision of the future with others. He has chosen to strike out in a slightly difference direction from many other drop zones. The aim is for Skydive Nagambie to be the premiere sports drop zone in the country, as well as an organisation that is offering the highest quality jump pilot and instructor training. He wants to maintain and develop the ability to host major events such as the recent POPS World Meet and the Australian Nationals (which the new drop zone has already held three times).
The drive that appears to have always been there has simply been channelled into other aspects of the sport.
Like many Chief Instructors, Don got into flying and has achieved over 2,000 hours to date. He doesn’t just carry out jump flying but does aerobatics as well. He is a Jump Pilot Examiner and regularly runs courses for young pilots trying to break into the industry.
Don is not retiring, in fact he is a long way from winding down. He still bubbles with ideas and enthusiasm for everything relating to skydiving and even when we think he is just watering his grass, he is actually using that time to come up with new ideas. Not all these ideas come to immediate fruition, but over the years, the vision becomes reality. It seems that the drop zone is in a continuous state of improvement and occasionally visitors always remark upon the improvements that have been made since their last visit.
Until recently, there was one thing that could not be found in Don’s office. I think most people assumed that Don had been presented with an APF Service Award years ago. Certainly when I approached some of the all-time legends of the sport to write references, most initially told me that he already had a Service Award. However, that proved not to be true, and Don had never mentioned that he did not hold such a high honour.
A keen-eyed visitor to Don’s office today will notice the change. His prominent placement of the APF Service Award shows how highly he regards this honour, and whatever the future holds, I am sure that Award will continue to hold pride of place for Don.
Don has spent 33 years in the sport, let’s see what the future holds.”
Thank you to John Swanland for this article.
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[Photo Sources: Australian Skydiver Magazine, Don Cross]