Following the success of the So You Think You Can Fly! Reality Series in 2014, iFly Singapore launches a school edition that will see students from participating schools compete in the first inter-school indoor skydiving competition.
The company plans to award winners and their respective schools a total of S$35,000 worth of cash and flight scholarships, as well as a chance to become iFly Singapore’s new youth ambassadors. Cash prizes will go toward the school’s Financial Assistance Scheme.
Students can now take part in the famed So You Think You Can Fly Competition. The celebrated campaign last year saw 5 Singaporean celebrities and YouTube personalities compete against one another to win SG$35,000 worth of cash and prizes for their selected charities.
With a total investment worth SG$170,000, the competition kicked off with island wide school visits in September where iFly Singapore delivered assembly talks on indoor skydiving and introduced students to the adrenaline-pumping sport in an educational and fun manner.
Actress and winner of the inaugural So You Think You Can Fly competition, Hayley Woo shares:
“It was a great experience to be part of the inaugural So You Think You Can Fly competition last year. It was there that I developed a love for indoor skydiving, and have been regularly flying with iFly Singapore ever since.”
“I think extending the competition this year to schools is perfect as these students will develop great skills that they will remember for a lifetime”.
iFly Singapore’s commitment to education through sports
Indoor skydiving has been increasing in popularity, globally, since 1964 when Jack Tiffany earned recognition as the 1st person to try out a vertical wind tunnel. Since then, awareness of the sport has grown exponentially, even being featured as part of the 2006 Winter Olympics’ closing ceremony.
So You Think You Can Fly: School Edition is one of many initiatives by iFly Singapore to engage and motivate the youths in Singapore. Similar to studying in school, indoor skydiving requires unwavering perseverance, determination and devotion to succeed. iFly Singapore hopes that besides competing, these students will be inspired by the sport and take away life lessons learnt from the competition that can be applied in their student and future lives.
Managing Director and Founder of iFly Singapore, Lawrence Koh shares:
“Through the launch of So You Think You Can Fly: School Edition, iFly Singapore wishes to advocate that indoor skydiving is not only a tourist attraction, but also a fun, safe and adrenaline-pumping activity for all ages.”
“It has been proven to be a remarkably effective form of exercise that challenges all parts of the body and is also an international sport with competitions held all over the world. ”
Team Firefly takes flight
Current youth ambassadors and home grown indoor skydiving duo of Kyra Poh, aged 12 and Choo Yi Xuan, aged 13 (Team Firefly) are true testaments to the benefits of taking up indoor skydiving as a sport. Through the sponsorship and support by iFly Singapore, Team Firefly has soared to great heights and has put our little red dot on the global indoor skydiving map. Team Firefly has been flying at iFly Singapore since 2011 and competing internationally since 2012.
Within a short span of 4 years, the duo has amassed multiple accolades such as winning several Guinness world records in indoor skydiving and placing 3rd in the Bodyflight World Challenge 2015 competition held in UK.
To nurture the next batch of youth ambassadors, iFly Singapore will create a training program adapted for these students. 12 students from different schools will undergo strict training, designed to take them through the fundamentals of indoor skydiving to enable them to maneuver freely in the wind tunnel.
So You Think You Can Fly: School Edition
The students will be competing against each other through a series of competitive rounds in the grand finale happening on 19th November 2015. Two students will stand a chance to be iFly Singapore’s new youth ambassadors and win a flight scholarship worth more than SG$15,000 each, and the overall winner will bring home SG$5,000 worth of cash and prizes for their school’s Financial Assistance Scheme.
Confirmed participating schools include Clementi Woods Secondary School, Yishun Town Secondary, Dunearn Secondary School, Tanglin Trust, Woodgrove Secondary School and Nanyang Girls’ High School.
Principal of Dunearn Secondary School, Boo Hian Kok, said:
“The introduction talk given by the iFly Singapore team has been an eye-opener for our students. It has provided them with an opportunity to learn about more about indoor skydiving and has also allowed them to see how the science concepts that they are learning in classes can be applied in real life.”
“We are pleased that our students, who will be representing Dunearn Secondary School to participate in this competition, will gain an excellent and rare opportunity to learn a new sport and build confidence from it.”
All participants of So You Think You Can Fly: School Edition will go through a complimentary iFly Singapore Indoor Skydiving Foundational Training Course worth SG$5,000 each and all participating schools will receive an iFly Singapore Physics Education Tour for 40 pax worth SG$5,000. Official results from the competition will be released on the 19th November 2015.
