International Jumping Champs call Waterville Airport “Home”

Skydivers are being told to pack up their chutes and hit the road.
April 23, 2014
WATERVILLE, NS – Cole Harbour is not the only community in Nova Scotia turning out high profile athletes these days. There’s a new breeding ground for champions in Nova Scotia and it can be found at the Kings County Municipal Airport in Waterville, Nova Scotia.

One of Canada’s pioneers in wing suit flying and a teacher of the art to others is Ralph Armstrong. Ralph is based out of the Atlantic Skydiving School at the Waterville Airport, and in 2011, Ralph and his team became the world record holder for largest wing suit formation in a skydive.

And speaking of record holders, a national women’s record holder for skydiving in the category of largest, all-female group formation is none other than Valley-based Lynda Sellon.

World-class freefly instructor, Rob Heron, is an internationally known wing suit base jumper and has been featured on many international extreme sports show and can even be found on a German beer commercial – http://thinkbigmedia.de/warsteiner-with-rob-heron/?fb_action_ids=10202079580054492&fb_action_types=og.likes

Brittany Bell got her start at the Kings County Municipal Airport and is now one of the few female Tandem Masters in the world. She is currently living in the UAE and working at one of the world’s most popular skydiving schools, Skydive Dubai.

Peter Kozak is a member of Team Canada’s Canopy Piloting team. He competes internationally at a world-class level. Andrew Pertus, a skydiver from Halifax who started diving in Watervile, is currently serving in the Canadian Forces and was part of the CF skydiving team, the SkyHawks.

These people and countless others have been able to realize their dreams of flight and world travel because of the Waterville Airport and the Atlantic School of Skydiving. Skydiving is a sport rich in memories and friendships, not in hard cash dollars. While it might appear skydivers are daredevils, they take safety very seriously. Skydiving attracts people of all ages wishing to accept the challenge to experience something different or make skydiving part of a healthy active lifestyle. Without the airport at its current location, skydiving in Nova Scotia runs a risk of ceasing to exist.

------ Then where will the next wave of professionals come from ------