QUB Skydive Club is a student club of the Queens University Belfast, Northern Ireland. Started back in the 80's and up until around 2006 the only university skydive club in Ireland, the role of the club is to bring the sport to the attention of students at the university and offer an introduction to skydiving. Support for students is provided by giving them the social side of being in a club rather than going at it alone and by providing students access to the sport at a cheaper group discount rate.

Who's Allowed to Join?

Currently we allow UU students to join as well as Queens students. This is due to Jordanstown/UU's refusal to allow a Skydive club of their own. However UU students can only take advantage of the discount student rate we receive and are not allowed any discount using club money.

Honorary/Associate membership is at the discretion of the committee and is usually only granted to students on gap years or who have been in the club but have graduated. No club funds can be used for associates and the only advantage is group discount RAPS tickets or club kit for experienced skydivers. However Queens members have priority on all club kit. If you don't join at the Freshers' Bazaar, which costs £3 then membership is as follow:

Queens Membership: £5
UU/Honourary: £10

Our Home Dropzone

Our home dropzone since the club began has been the Wild Geese Skydive Centre, Garvagh. The only permanent dropzone in N. Ireland and one of only a handful of permanent dropzones in Ireland. Jumpers will get to enjoy the scenery of the North Coast and the Sperrins, that's if your not too busy looking straight down. Equipped with a 5 seater Cessna 206 for student parachutists below 10 second delays and the larger, faster and more spacious Cessna 208 Caravan for students above 10s, experienced and tandem jumpers.

Learning To Skydive

Anyone already qualified or in RAPS training can join. Currently the club offers introductions to parachuting/skydiving through RAPS static line courses. After the first jump, students progress using the RAPS system. On completion of each level students will increase the height of exit and learn how to deploy their own canopy, turn in mid air, forward movement, perform back flips and dive exits from the aircraft. Completion of the RAPS system is known as Cat8 where you are no longer classed as a student parachutist and can jump without an instructor. Completion of Cat8 varies enormously between different people, some do it in under 30 jumps, others twice that number. Usually this is down to a combination of ability, effort and when it comes to the weather, alot of luck.

After Cat8

There is much more to skydiving than "just falling" as many non-skydivers like to label it. After completion of Cat8 you can work towards A, B, C and D licenses. These are made up of a required number of jumps and the achievement of other qualifications from a number of different disciplines such as formation skydiving, canopy handling, freeflying, canopy formations and skysurfing.