Florida adrenaline junkies find success in extreme skydiving

Florida’s Fourth Estate

Curt and Jeannie Bartholomew’s jobs are anything but ordinary.

They are both competitive skydivers with a combined 22,500 jumps and belong to a DeLand-based team with the most world titles in the history of the sport.

So, what exactly is competitive skydiving?

“It’s called canopy piloting and our slang term for that is called swooping,” Jeannie Bartholomew told Matt Austin and Ginger Gadsden on the Florida’s Fourth Estate podcast.

“Basically we take the smallest parachutes that they make and we dive them at the ground going 100 miles per hour, bring the parachute out of the dive, go across the water and navigate different courses over a body of water and basically we have four different events that we compete in.”

They start at a much lower altitude than regular skydivers and say it takes about two-and-a-half minutes from jump to touching the ground.

Curt Bartholomew has the most individual world titles in the event.

“This is one of the best places to skydive in the country,” said Bartholomew. He points to Florida’s year-round warmth for being the reason he decided to stay in the Sunshine State after graduating from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Jeannie Bartholomew wanted to skydive since she was six years old after seeing her older sister do a tandem jump.

“When I saw the video, I started making my own parachutes out of sheets, blankets, pillowcases, Mary Poppins umbrella — I jumped off of everything and drove my parents crazy,” said Bartholomew.

Even with their room of medals and trophies, the Bartholomews do not earn a living off competitive skydiving.

Most of their paid gigs involve coaching, tandem jumps, shooting videos and training with the military in Sebastian, FL.

You can learn more about the Bartholomews’ competitive skydiving career, including the technique behind their 18-person jump in Dubai on Florida’s Fourth Estate. Just download the episodes from wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also listen to Florida’s Fourth Estate anytime on News 6+.

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