Moruya woman Jules McConnel throws herself our of planes for a living. With a parachute, of course.
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McConnel, who is heavily involved with Skydive Oz in Moruya, was rewarded for her bravery with a berth at the 2018 World Parachuting Championships on the Gold Coast in October.
She qualified by winning the national championships back in Victoria in March.
McConnel will compete in the canopy formation event, a team event which involves linking parachutes together in mid air.
“I’ve been competing in canopy formation since 2007,” McConnell said. “Even regular skydivers think we’re a little mad.
”It’s very exciting, and we’re being trained by a French coach has come over. He trained us for nationals, and now he’s back for worlds to hopefully improve our skills and average.”
McConnel is a very experienced “jumper”, and now travels around the country as a high-qualified coach.
“I’ve been jumping for 23 years now,” she said. “I’ve traveled all around the world thanks to skydiving.
“I also teach skydiving for a living, both canopy formation and canopy piloting.”
Despite a large amount of experience, McConnel admits she still gets nervous on the plane.
“As a team, we tend to be quite nervous on our first training jump,” she said. “After the first one, I think we get into our groove.
“There’s always a bit of a sense of fear, and that keeps you on your toes, but it’s not as intense as before your first jump.
“Generally there’s a lot more nerves before the first jump of a competition as well. You put a bit more pressure on yourself.”
McConnell and her team will soon start their final preparations for the event, where they will take on at least four other nations.
“We’ve got one last training camp just before the championships,” McConnel said. “We’re hoping to do another 40 jumps that week in the lead up whilst being coached.
“We’re going to be training with all the other canopy formation teams as well, so there will be at least a dozen of us training together.
“I’ve just got to keep my fitness up in the meantime, and try and stay as active as possible.”