Curt Bartholomew, a five-time canopy pilot world champion, and his partner Jeanie Bartholomew, the top-ranked female canopy pilot in the U.S., showcased their world-renowned talent to Edmonton skydiving enthusiasts this past weekend.
“Curt is like the Wayne Gretzky of canopy piloting,” said Joey Allen, an instructor at the Edmonton Skydive facility and a Canadian national team member.
The dynamic duo were founding members of the high-performance skydive team, Alter Ego, Fastrax.
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Curt holds over 60 gold medals from 90 competitions while Jeanie holds multiple U.S. national records for her skydiving abilities. The couple’s knowledge and expertise are in high demand globally as the two push the envelope of parachute flight.
Canopy piloting, an event where elite skydivers fly high-performance parachutes which initiate speeds of up to 160 km/h at heights of 1,000 feet is not for the faint-hearted. The extreme and high discipline sport is expanding and Jeanie is paving the way for females in a heavily male-dominated sport.
“Her successes acknowledges that gender does not limit achievement and performance,” Allen said.
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The two shared their coaching expertise with three nationally recognized Canadian canopy pilots at Westlock Airport over the weekend. The competitors soaked up the knowledge shared as they face off against their former mentors later this month at the world champs in Wroclaw, Poland.
“It’s events like these that enable us to have three of five National Canopy Piloting team members representing Canada and Edmonton Skydive at the World Championships,” Allen said.
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