Teenager Amy Watson wins big at Penrith’s Australian Indoor Skydiving title

High-flyer Amy Watson’s sport is taking her from the Sydney suburbs to competitions around the world and a new home in a foreign country.

Indoor Skydiving competitor Amy Watson, 14, with dad Allan and mum Muay. Picture: Troy Snook

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There’s generally nothing much a teenager likes more than proving their parents wrong.

And Amy Watson has done a world class job of it according to her dad Allan.

When Watson became involved in indoor skydiving Allan had his doubts about where it would take her.

“I didn’t think it was a sport. I though it was like bungee jumping, just something you do,” Watson said from the iFLY Indoor Skydiving Downunder centre at Penrith where his daughter competed at the 5th Annual Australian Indoor Skydiving Championships on the weekend.

“I said to her ‘Amy, are you quite sure about this because it’s not going to take you anywhere.’

“But boy did she prove me wrong.’’

Amy Watson is the junior freestyle world champion for indoor skydiving.

In fact indoor skydiving is now taking the young gun and mother Muay to live in Thailand thanks to a sponsorship from the Thai Military

Watson can compete for Thailand at the Asian Games which for many countries are as big as the Olympics.

“I will complete in freestyle which is like a gymnastic or jazz routine you perform to music for one minute and 30 seconds,’’ said junior Freestyle world champion Watson, 14, who holds a Guinness world record for spinning on her stomach for a minute — 44 times to beat the old record of 27.

Amy Watson, 14, competing in the AA Formation Skydiving 4-Way event at iFLY Indoor Skydiving during the Australian Open Indoor Skydiving Championships at Penrith.

Watson, who has won multiple national and international titles, started indoor skydiving when just nine and took to it instantly.

“I started it for my ninth birthday and it was just such a fun experience,’’ she said.

“Then I got addicted.

“I just like the feeling of it, it’s something very different from other sports.’’

“I dream of it making the Olympics but it didn’t make it for 2024 (Paris).”

At the Penrith event, Watson won junior freestyle open, gold on dynamic two-way intermediate, silver on open freestyle (any age) and a bronze on dynamic.

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