Icarus participants drop from the sky

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/07/2002 (8585 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

IF you have ever dreamed of skydiving, now’s the time to give it a try. You can also support people living with HIV at the same time.

Icarus 2002, the seventh annual skydiving event in support of Village Clinic’s Emergency Assistance Fund, is set for Aug. 2 to 4 at the airport in Gimli, Mb.

To date, Icarus has raised over $50,000 for the fund. The money is used to help people living with HIV and AIDS to meet financial demands, including food, shelter, transportation, personal needs and and medicine.

Participants must be at least 18 years old, and are required to raise at least $225 in donations to take part in the event, says Carolyn Rickey, Icarus 2002 co-ordinator.

“Many people jump for a variety of reasons,” says Rickey. “Some of our jumpers have been in their 70s. We take every precaution to make it safe.”

First-time jumpers are required to take four nights of instruction by representatives of the Winnipeg Skydiving Centre. Then, before they are permitted to exit an airplane that’s flying 3,000 feet above the ground, they must take a written test, sign a waiver and pass a doctor’s exam.

Icarus was the Greek god who flew too close to the sun despite his father’s warnings, and his wings melted. He fell into the sea and drowned. The event’s name is most appropriate, says Rickey, because the story of Icarus is a warning to all that although we always take risks in life, we should be taking intelligent ones and making the choice. That goes for putting ourselves at risk for HIV by choosing not to have safe sex, and for skydiving.

Go for it!

Local radio personality Amber Anderson was working at CJOB a few years ago when she was first asked to take the jump. She decided to go for it, and can now say she has jumped from a plane with a host of others, including Premier Gary Doer. Anderson has done the jump twice, but this year she will be on the ground at the event, cheering on her FREQ 107 colleague, sales representative and local drummer, Rob Reimer.

“It was amazing,” says Anderson. “The training was intensive. It was about more than just jumping from a plane. You had to learn procedure, and to think about safety precautions.”

She remembers her first experience, going up in the small aircraft on a loud, bumpy ride, listening to the wind through the doors, the sound a scary distraction as she looked out over Gimli.

“I was jitterish about heights and afraid to jump,” Anderson admits. “But I faced my fears and conquered them. Up there, I thought about my own mortality. But that’s something that people living with HIV and AIDS deal with every day.”

When it came time to go for it, Anderson remembers feeling overwhelmed by the sound of the wind and her own adrenaline rush.

“I tried to focus, to concentrate on what I was doing. It was the most awesome experience. You hang by your hands from the strut of the plane for a few seconds and then you let go. You freefall for four or five seconds. I was scared to death. But then you see your parachute open, and you fly for four or five minutes.”

Anderson attached a tape deck to herself during her first jump and was surprised to listen to the recording afterwards, to hear herself say things she didn’t remember saying. The tape was aired on CJOB.

Doing something that terrified her has made her a stronger person and increased her sense of self-confidence, says Anderson. It also introduced her to a lot of new people, and allowed her to be involved in supporting a great cause.

Rob Hutchinson, chief instructor at the Winnipeg Skydiving Centre, has hosted Icarus for the past six years. He acts as chief instructor for the jumpers. Hutchinson, 39, has over 5,300 skydives to his credit over the past 22 years.

The Winnipeg Skydiving Centre trains 600 to 700 people a year, including those who take part in Icarus. And, two or three Manitobans per year obtain their solo certificate from the Canadian Sport Parachuting Association.

“It’s not for everyone,” says Hutchinson. “But if you are going to do it, quit waiting and come out and do it.”

To register for Icarus 2002, call 453-5770.

PHOTO LINDA VERMETTE/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS