Special-needs students break indoor tandem skydiving record at iFly Singapore
SINGAPORE — Thirty-one special-needs students from AWWA School, aged between seven and 16, set a new Guinness World Record in indoor tandem skydiving on Friday (24 May).
They were part of a team of 80 – including teachers, volunteers, para-athlete Suhairi Suhani and indoor skydivers – who performed 300 continuous tandem indoor skydives within four hours, from 9am to 12.30pm, at iFly Singapore.
This meant floating up and down, under the guidance of instructors, on air blasting through the 17-metre high wind tunnel on Sentosa island.
The previous record of 227 flights was achieved by iFly Singapore on 3 June, 2016.
Part of iFly’s 8th anniversary celebrations
Part of the skydiving centre’s eighth anniversary celebrations, the event was organised to raise funds for building AWWA’s second school.
“By empowering the students of AWWA School to soar past their inhibitions and limitations, we hope it gives them the confidence to embrace their dreams,” said iFly Singapore’s chief executive officer Lawrence Koh.
A total of $50,900 was raised by the end of the event. The school is planning to raise $1.2 million for the new school, set to open in 2021. When ready, it will be able to admit 300 students, aged 7 to 18 years old, primarily with moderate to severe autism spectrum disorder.
“The biggest victory from today’s attempt is not just the Guinness World Record, but the bravado demonstrated by everyone including our students, who have worked hard to spread an inspiring message that ‘anyone can fly’ indeed,” said AWWA School’s CEO, J R Kathikeyan.
Nurturing culture of volunteerism
Guest of Honour and Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin also took part in the event by performing the 300th flight on Friday.
In his speech after his indoor skydiving attempt, Tan spoke at length about the importance of nurturing a culture of volunteerism to build a “Singapore that is more compassionate, caring and inclusive”.
The joint attempt by all 80 participants from different backgrounds showed that “nothing is impossible as long as our hearts, minds and spirit are united in a common purpose of doing good”, he added.
“This is important in a society like Singapore where we celebrate diversity and recognise the contribution of individuals from all walks of life,” said Tan.
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