Freefly Skydiving Ratings - What they are and what are the requirements to obtain them.
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BPA Freefly / Freestyle Coach

A BPA Freefly / FreestyleCoach is licenced by the BPA (British Parachute Association) to teach qualified skydivers about freeflying and take them through their FF1 (headup) and FF2 (headdown) qualifications.

For a skydiver to become a BPA Freefly coach they must have first gained their BPA FF1 & FF2 qualifications, has a minimum of 300 jumps, been involved in the sport of skydiving for at least 2 years and has some formal teaching experience and qualifications. As well as this they must also be recommended by their CCI (Chief Club Instructor) as being able to carry out these duties safely.

From here, a prospective Freefly coach will be taught and evaluated by an experienced FF coach or an appropriate BPA advanced instructor. They would be evaluated on everything from their ground preperation to freefly skydiving skills and in air safety.
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Freefly / Freestyle Skydiving 1 (FF1)

Freefly / Freestyle skydiving 1 is all about learning to fly in a headup (sit/stand) orientation. This involves vertical flight and typically means much higher freefall speeds than 'belly' flying. The FF1 qualification is designed to prove that you can safely freefly with others, who also have the FF1 qualification, in a headup orientation.

You will learn many skills in an FF1 course but the main requirements, set by the BPA (British Parachute Association), to gain this qualification are:
* Be able to fly in a controlled sit/stand position
* Be able to control fall rate in a sit/stand position
* Be able to control horizontal movement (forwards and backwards) in a sit/stand position
* Be able to control turns, in both directions, in a sit/stand position
* Be able to fly relative to others in a sit/stand position
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Freefly / Freestyle Skydiving 2 (FF2)

Freefly / Freestyle skydiving 2 is all about learning to fly in a headdown orientation. This involves inverted vertical flight and can be very disorientating, especially at a high speed. The FF2 qualification is designed to prove that you can safely freefly with others, who also have the FF1/FF2 qualification, in a headup / headdown orientation. You must already have the FF1 qualification to complete the FF2.

You will learn many skills in an FF2 course but the main requirements, set by the BPA (British Parachute Association), to gain this qualification are:
* Be able to fly in a controlled headdown position
* Be able to control fall rate in a headdown position
* Be able to control horizontal movement (forwards and backwards) in a headdown position
* Be able to control turns, in both directions, in a headdown position
* Be able to fly relative to others in a headdown position
* Be able to display independent body movement in a headdown position, e.g hand claps / docking
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