New cadet club aims to establish parachute competition team

When they jump from a plane at 14,000 feet, they plunge through the air for about 60 seconds. They fall at a rate of about 17 miles an hour, and when their feet touch the ground, they hit hard, usually at about 13 miles per hour.

To do that solo takes coordination, precision, training and planning. And it is all part of the thrill of parachute jumping, according to Cadet Tyler Miller. The senior cadet helped lead the formation of The Citadel Skydiving Club during the 2021-2022 academic year. The club has about 70 members and is now actively raising funds to help underwrite this impressive yet expensive activity.

“I like jumping out of airplanes, and I wanted to create something exciting for cadets to participate in that wasn’t the norm,” said Miller.

The goals of the club are to help members work toward U.S. Parachute Association licenses if they wish and eventually to create a competition team. “Some of us have jumped before,” said Miller. “Some of us may jump if we are going into the military. I think as we become more and more proficient, we might be able to have a competition team.”