A 52-year-old man is dead after an incident at a skydiving competition in Westlock Saturday.

Westlock RCMP say the man was in the middle of a "high-performance technique" at the Edmonton Skydiving Centre, located at the Westlock Airport, but was unable to land properly.

"I believe it was a high-performance canopy piloting competition," said RCMP Sgt. Marlene Brown.

Emergency crews responded but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Canopy piloting is a kind of acrobatic parachuting that involves the skydivers coming in at high speeds with their chute open and flying low over water elements to display control of their canopy before aiming for targeted landing areas.

According to the World Air Sports Federation, the sport is scored according to speed, accuracy and distance.

"To maximize the accuracy," their website says, "the competitor must successfully navigate the water section before landing as close to the centre of the target as possible.

The maximum score for speed goes to the parachutist flying the course in the shortest time and the best score for distance will go to the parachutist controlling the canopy to fly the maximum distance."

Calls for comment to both the Edmonton Skydiving Centre and the Alberta Sport Parachuting Association were unsuccessful.

Police are now investigating.



dlazzarino@postmedia.com



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