Download our Application, send it to us with a CV and 2 written references, by post, email, or fax.  Make sure you send us an email at admin[at]skydivingnz.com to let us know you’re interested and we’ll let you know if you made it in time.

What are you waiting for?  It’s your chance to fly!

We have new signs at the Entry to Pudding Hill on Highway 72, and at the Dropzone.  A new fireplace in the reception area, a new staff car park with an improved guest car park, and a new outdoor area with 6 tables for the guests and students to watch the skydiving landings.  We are accepting bookings for everyday of the week, and we encourage anyone to stop by and have look at all of the recent improvements.

At the start of April we offered the first Diploma in Advanced Skydiving Course filling four out of the possible five slots for the course.  As the first course of this Qualification, we couldn’t ask for a better bunch.  With the Diploma in Commercial Skydiving, or the equivalent experience, as a pre-requisite, we have 2 students who passed the Diploma, and 2 students who have equivalent experience in skydiving.  It adds to our learning environment to have 4 more experienced skydivers around to help out all of the new students for the Diploma in Commercial Skydiving.

The Diploma in Commercial Skydiving had 18 students join us in April, and we’re expecting the July, October, and next January courses to fill up fast, so be sure to get your applications in at least 8 weeks in advance to help secure your place.  With the influx of so many new students, we’re now in the process of building a new student lounge to give the students a place of their own to enjoy.

The January ‘09 Course is off to do their work placement soon, we’ll be sad to see them go, but they must all leave the nest eventually!  Best of luck to the crew:

Maybe the biggest news of all, we’re getting a Caravan!  All the skydivers rejoice!  If you don’t know what this means, check it out:

SkydivingNZ operated two dropzones, one in the heart of the City, and one in the heart of the Southern Alps.  Now, with Wigram Aerodrome closing on the last day of February 2009, all operations will move out to Pudding Hill.

Pudding Hill is located just over an hours drive from Christchurch, and only 10 minutes outside the town of Methven.  Methven is famous for the Mt Hutt Ski Area, which is the largest ski field in Canterbury.

From Christchurch, the Pudding Hill location is only 5 minutes past the turn off to Mt Hutt Ski Area from Highway 77.  It is a beautiful location with amazing views from the Southern Alps out to the Ocean.  It is also an adventurous area, with a multitude of tourist activities within minutes of each other.  Come out for a skydive and then hike through the native bush around Sharplin Falls.  Or keep your adventure day going with a jet boat ride through Rakaia Gorge.  Or relax on the Methven Golf Course, or head over to Terrace Downs for a luxurious day of Golf, horseback rides, and more.  The area is packed with options, and it all starts with jumping out of a plane!

We offer a shuttle from the Tram Stop at Christchurch City Centre at 830 am for advanced bookings only, so be sure to visit our bookings page or give us a call.  We will also offer transport from the Methven I-site at the Town Centre, but either way, it’s a beautiful drive through rural Canterbury that will only add to your entire experience.

Make an online booking or call 03 343 5542 to see what slots are still available.

Starting March 1st, all skydives will take place a Pudding Hill Airfield with views from the majestic Southern Alps out to the ocean.  Transport from Christchurch City Centre to Pudding Hill will be available, for details please call 03 302 9143 after March 1st.

Hayden’s final skydive will be on 13 February 2009 at the Skydive School, Pudding Hill where in April 2007 Hayden’s dream and passion for skydiving began.

Michael, Hayden’s brother, has followed in his brother’s footsteps and he also completed his skydive course in April this year.  Michael will be scattering Hayden’s ashes over Pudding Hill.

All friends and relations, Hayden & Michael’s course mates, skydiving colleagues are invited to Hayden’s final skydive.  We plan to have the ash dive on 13 February but if the weather does not permit you may need to allow for Saturday 14 February as well.

Venue:             Skydive School, Pudding Hill 15km from Methven

 Date:               13 February 2009

 Time:               Approximately 10 am

 Enquiries:        Kathy Rowan

                         phone (03) 317-9058 (home) or (03) 318-7721

                         or email – kathy.rowan@hotmail.com

 There are various accommodations available –

At Pudding Hill Lodge  - right next to the skydive school (140 bed lodge accommodation, campsites, camper vans)  http://www.aatravel.co.nz/main/listing.php?listingId=50934

  or Methven http://www.aatravel.co.nz/new-zealand/Methven_Accommodation.html

 NB:  If anyone wishes to do a tandem skydive on the day, please let Kathy know as the skydive school may need to organize extra tandem jump masters.

The New Zealand Skydiving School is pleased to welcome Stephan Lipp from the Arizona Flight Club as a visiting coach for our participating students from 21^st February – 29th^th April.  In support of the sport we would like to offer all skydivers the opportunity of experiencing coaching at this level.  In addition, for those who pre-book, we will offer scheduled slots at a discounted rate of $35 (reduced from $45) & Stephan is happy to coach at US$35 plus the slot rate.  He’s available 7 days a week so make the most of this opportunity.

Stephan Lipp – Arizona Flight Club - www.FlightClub.Tv

Born: July 5, 1973; professional skydiver & BASE jumper; # jumps: 13.900+;

Experience: Interim Vice President, Coaches Certification Course Conductor for Skydive University, Inc, (1998-2002);

Accelerated Freefall Instructor, Coaches Certification Course Conductor for United States Parachute Association (since 1998) Co- Founder & Director AZ Training Center, Eloy, AZ, USA (2002-2004), IBA Instructor (2008)

Competition & Awards:

FAI World Record, skydiving competition, Team AZ Airspeed Blue, Eloy, AZ, USA (2001); FAI World Record skydiving exhibition, 300- way World Team, Eloy, AZ, USA (2002);  US National Champion, 16- way Formation skydiving, Team AZ Airspeed Blue, Eloy, AZ, USA (2001) & Chicago, IL, USA (2002); Bronze medal, 8-way, US National Championships, Team Elsinore Matrix, Eloy, AZ, USA (2001); Certificate of Appreciation, US Department of Defense, Army Parachute Team Golden Knights;

Former Technical Advisor/ Training Partner to the following National- & World Champion skydiving teams & US Armed Forces special tasks groups:

AZ Airspeed 4-way (USA); US Army Parachute Team Golden Knights 8-way; US Navy Parachute Team Leap Frogs; US Navy Seal Team 5; US Bureau of Land Management Smokejumper Battalion Alaska & Idaho; Elsinore Matrix 8 (USA);

About Skydive Arizona, Eloy & the Flight Club

Mecca of sport skydiving & home of the world’ s largest & most modern fleet of turbine aircraft. FlightClub, LLC offers licensing & progressive skills development courses in all disciplines of the sport & for all experience levels. All training is conducted by US National Champion skydivers & in compliance with United States Parachute Association regulations.

All coach jumps will be recorded in Full HD quality. 

The Hayden Rowan Award of excellence has been developed in recognition of a student’s outstanding performance in all areas of the Diploma in Commercial Skydiving.   The recipient will be the highest overall achiever, demonstrating excellence in skydiving ability, academic achievement and attitude.  A recipient of this award will stand out as someone who has consistently demonstrated a high standard of attributes an employer seeks when engaging staff.

The Hayden Rowan award was kindly donated to the school by Hayden’s family following his death in a plane crash in Tanzania, in February 2008. Hayden had just successfully completed a Diploma in Commercial Skydiving, which his family say were very happy days for him.  Hayden was a star pupil making an award of excellence an appropriate achievement. 

Michael, Hayden’s brother is currently studying at the school.  His intake will be the first intake eligible for the award with the result being announced in February next year.

It should be noted that each intake will not automatically be allocated an award.  Should no one in the intake meet the required standard to receive this award, an award will not be given.  All award recipients will receive a certificate and be listed on our website.  In addition an email will be sent to all dropzones owners on the school’s mailing list commending the student on their achievement.

We thank Hayden’s family for this very special award.

Media release

New skydiving diploma another world first for New Zealand

New Zealand Skydiving School has created another world first with the introduction of a Diploma in Advanced Skydiving, a qualification designed to train skydivers to take tandem passengers.

“Everyone dreams of making a career out of an activity they feel passionate about and we want to ensure that skydivers are well qualified and take advantage of all the exciting opportunities worldwide,” says New Zealand Skydiving School chief executive Kirsty Smith.

Kirsty and husband Steve’s Queenstown and Rotorua dropzones last year won New Zealand Tourism’s supreme award and a Wanaka based dropzone this year took out the small business award. The New Zealand Skydiving School is based in Methven near Christchurch.

“Young people can not only turn their passion into a viable career but also follow a structured career path. There is a huge demand for qualified skydivers overseas and here in New Zealand,” says Kirsty Smith.

Nearly all (96%) of the New Zealand Skydiving School graduates found work within the industry after completing their qualifications.

Graduates have also been highly successful at international competitions with former student Leigh Ainsworth named 11th in the world at the recent World Skydiving Championships in France. Leigh completed her Diploma in Skydiving at the Methven-based school in 2001 and travelled with another former student Rhys Kempon who was her camera person during her jump.

“Adventure tourism and tandem diving, in particular, have grown significantly in its popularity over the past few years, which has resulted in a skills shortage in qualified staff within the industry,” says Kirsty.

New Zealand takes the most tandem passengers of any other country in the world except the United States and does 75,000 tandem jumps a year.

The New Zealand Skydiving School has already attracted international attention and recognition with the development of its Diploma in Commercial Skydiving, says Kirsty Smith.

New Zealand is recognised as a world leader in the international skydiving industry, she says.

Half the school’s students are from overseas and Spain, the United States, Canada and Australia all participate in work placements as part of the Diploma in Commercial Skydiving.

“We receive calls from all around the world looking for our students to work at overseas dropzones. They are also sought after employees in New Zealand,” says Kirsty.

Many operators, she says, are reluctant to dedicate time to train their own staff and there is also a continuing trend of losing the wealth of knowledge and experience of experienced skydivers as they burn out and leave the industry, she says.

The New Zealand Skydiving School was established seven years ago and recently added the Diploma in Advanced Skydiving which provides an increased level of skydiving skills including tandem and jumpmaster ratings. The majority of students complete the Diploma in Commercial Skydiving before taking on the advanced qualification.

“The qualified skydivers who leave the New Zealand Skydiving School get work internationally and this is the key to developing the skydiving industry both here and overseas.”

The diplomas have also been approved by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority so Government subsidies and funding are available.

For more information about the New Zealand Skydiving School visit www.nzskydivingschool.com or telephone 03 302 9143.