Ellington-Based Parachute Competitor Earns Spot On National Team

MANCHESTER, CT – June 9, 2016 – Manchester resident Kevin Thompson has earned a slot on the U.S. Parachute Team that will compete at the World Parachuting Championships in September outside of Chicago.

He jumps out of Ellington.

Thompson earned the slot at the U.S. Parachute Association National Parachuting Championships last week at the Florida Skydiving Center in Lake Wales.

He will compete as part of the U.S. Style and Accuracy Team at the World Championships, according to the U.S. Parachute Association.

In accuracy competition, jumpers exit an airplane more than 3,000 feet in the air and then steer their parachutes and try to land on a dime-sized dot on a landing tuffet.

For style, an individual jumper performs a pre-determined series of loops and spins in freefall as quickly as possible.

Thompson, 59, works as an electrical test person for Eversource Energy. He has completed 3,000 skydives and trains at Connecticut Parachutists Inc. in Ellington.