SPIRIT OF PATRIOTISM: A flag jump honouring HH the Emir. (inset) TEAM LEADER: Lt. Col. Fahad al-Ahababi, Team Director and Supreme Head of Delegation of Qatar Skydiving Team.

By Aney Mathew

Have you envisioned a more panoramic view of Doha?
Imagine this: You are flying securely and, in reasonable comfort. Then, at an altitude of 13,000ft, you decide to step out of the plane. You begin free-falling, descending at a rate of 125-200 mph.
Within split seconds your brain tells you it’s time for action — the camera has started rolling. You now begin moving to design: every shift measured, synchronised and to pattern, impeccably timed and, in complete rhythm with your teammates — as memorised. By this point if the brain is still in gear, you should actually get a pretty good view of the terrain below…and by the way, don’t forget to smile. Remember you are still on camera!
Sounds a bit extreme? Well this is the practise routine for members of the Qatar Military’s Parachuting Team (for sports) — the triumphant team that successfully represents the country, at International competitions and shows all over the world.
The young team which was formed just about five years ago, has an impressive record of accomplishments at competitions world-wide and is showcased as Qatar’s pride within the country for special occasions such as the National Day and important events.
“We currently have six teams: with two teams each for Formation Sky Diving, Accuracy Jumping and Canopy Formation. Each team has a videographer skydiving along with them, filming the entire sequence — for judging and training purposes,” Lt. Col. Fahad al-Ahababi, Team Director and Supreme Head of the Delegation, said.
“We are currently the Gulf champions in 4-way Formation Diving and have held this title for three years in a row — ever since our entry into the championship. We won the gold for 2-Way Canopy formation and silver for the 4-way Canopy at the Asian Championship held in China,” he noted with pride.
On the International stage, the team recently won the third place for ‘Formation Sky Diving’ at the 37th CISM — World Military Parachuting Championship — competing against 38 different military teams from all over the world. This is the first such victory by a team in the GCC or the Arab world, in this category.
The Qatar Skydiving Team is the brainchild of Lt. Col. Ahababi, himself a skydiver. “Sky diving competitions require the candidates to be very healthy, fit and mentally alert, with the ability for quick thinking. It also demands complete solidarity, friendship and trust between the team members. The biggest obstacle we currently have is that we do not have dedicated drop zone here in Qatar. Hence all the practice and training sessions are conducted in US or Europe.
“Our members absolutely love what they do. Some of them are choosing to remain unmarried at the moment, to dedicate themselves totally to this sport. They love, live and dream skydiving”, says the Team Director, smiling as he refers to how team members love parachuting to the point of being addicted to the sport.
Further to his military background, when Lt. Col. al-Ahababi was working with the ISF, the idea of a dedicated skydiving team (for sport) under Qatar Military was born.
“I was brought back to the military to build the new team. At this point, there were about 100 soldiers who had completed the basic skydiving course. But we had a long way to go. The best among these men had to be shortlisted and a lot more advanced training had to be provided in the US to improve and hone their skills. We spared no effort in providing the team with the best in every way”, he says alluding to the formation of the team in August 2009.
“The team is provided with only the best in every aspect, including equipment and uniform. Our Team Director is a very hard working leader and believes in ensuring his team works very hard, too. Our teams practice six days a week. They go through about 10 to 12 practice jumps each day, as against six to seven jumps which is the routine of most teams”, points out Isam El Sayed, the Team Manager, a former skydiver. He has been with the team since its inception in August 2009.
In addition to competitions, the team also has dedicated groups for demonstrations in styles such as Formation Skydiving, Canopy Formation and Flag jumping by the Accuracy team. Skydive demonstration with flaring — a performance with fireworks, is a recent add-on that has proved very popular with the spectators.
The team’s astounding demonstration of skydiving formations with precisely choreographed moves and spectacular effects with lights, fireworks and smoke, results in an incredible display.
Spectators have also been treated to demonstrations such as the 9-way diamond with streamers, the 2-way Canopy smoke war, flag jumpers carrying flags of HH the Emir and HH the Father Emir, 2-way downplane with flare, 9-way canopy with flare and more.

The Canopy of Success

“When we began in August 2009, we started with a team for ‘4-way Formation’, called the ‘Tiger Team’. Even in our infancy, I knew if we put in sufficient effort over the next three months, we could make it to CISM — the World Military Parachuting Championship — 2010 in Switzerland. With that goal in mind, we decided to conduct all further training in Germany.
“The competition was very tough, as we were a young team, formed barely a year ago, while the weakest competitor from among the 38 other participating teams, had at least eight years of experience.
“When we reached Switzerland for the actual event, we received a lot of encouragement from the organisers. To everyone’s surprise we took the 15th place and were labelled the Dark Horse of the event. All the hard work paid off”, the team Director said of the team’s very first competition experience.
Armed with the confidence from this event, the team next set its sights on the World Cup and Gulf Cup soon to be held in Dubai, 2010. Again plans were put together for two training camps, this time in the US. On completing training, the team headed straight to the UAE from the US, not even sparing time to visit their families here in Qatar.
Yet again the young team surpassed all expectations. They emerged first in the 4-way formation at Gulf level; a title they’ve successfully retained for the last three years. At the World Cup the same year, the team was placed ninth and, in 2011, moved up to fifth place.
The last few years have seen the team win several civilian and military competitions conducted in various countries, including the World and Asian Championships, the US open and the Gulf Cup.
As the teams prepare for the upcoming competitions and demonstrations this year, the Team Director focuses on an important objective, “We have worked our way through several challenges. Our greatest aim now is to have a dedicated drop zone in Qatar; we have been working towards that and hope to achieve it soon.”