June 29th 2008

At the age of 83 years old, Juanita Valentine dove out of an airplane at an altitude of 1800 ft at the Abbotsford skydiving center. Juanita didn’t do it alone! She was accompanied by two of her friends—Penny and Allison. The skydiving experience started off with a brief hands-on training session with the skydiving instructor to whom the skydivers were securely harnessed to during the dive (noone dove alone!). Next, a crew of experienced people helped the skydivers put on their jumpsuits and harnesses. Final instructions were given to the skydivers before they made their way to the airplane. The thrilling sequence of events took no more than 90minutes with all divers safetly returing to the earth.

When asked what compelled her to engage in this activity which most people would consider insane Juanita said to CBC reporter Deborah Goble, “I did it for the Special Olympians…its not about me.”

Please visit the SOBC Burnaby photo album for more pictures.