Aug 10, 2023
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LeapFest!
(You can find this and other AMAZING photos of the 2008 LeapFest by Dave O'Brien here)
On Monday we heard about LeapFest, the parachuting contest that occurs every year in Kingston. Maybe you have seen the jumpers leaping out of a Chinook helicopter as you drove down 138. What you might not know is that the jumpers in the sky have come from all around the world to compete against one another. According to the event's website www.leapfest.com, last year's LeapFest featured teams from across the country: from Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut of course, but also Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, West Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina, Indiana, Kentucky, Florida, Texas, Utah, Washington and even Alaska. Internationally, Leapfest 30 hosted teams from Italy, the UK, South Africa, Morocco, Canada, New Zealand, Mexico and the Netherlands. Last year's champion was the 3rd Battalion Royal 22nd Regiment, hailing from Quebec, Canada. In 2004, Rhode Island celebrated hometown winners in the A Co. 2/19th Special Forces Group.
The task is simple in design and hard in execution. Teams of four (with one alternate) jump in rapid succession from a helicopter 1500 feet in the air and aim to land on a designated target area. Once the jumpers land, they must get themselves to the designated area as quickly as possible. The team with the shortest time wins. At the end of the competition, the teams with the highest scores as well as the best individual jumpers are honored. According to LeapFest organizers, the event is "the largest, longest standing, international static-line parachute training event and competition." The event also features training exercises for participants, practice jumps and "friendship jumps" with fellow competitors.
So next time you see signs start to go up for LeapFest (scheduled next year for August 2-4), make a little room on your calendar to see the aerial excellence of the world's top paratroopers. Find more information about LeapFest 2013 at www.leapfest.com