Canadian Ranger trying out for SkyHawks parachute team

Master Corporal Christine Kuizema

Canadian Ranger, Master Corporal Christine Kuizema has been skydiving for four years, with almost 400 jumps and her C licence. This month, she will become the first Canadian Ranger to try out for the SkyHawks, the Canadian Armed Forces’ military parachute demonstration team.

Canadian Ranger Lindsay Chung 
4th Canadian Ranger Patrol Group

Two years ago, Master Corporal Christine Kuizema became the first Canadian Ranger chosen to try out for the Skyhawks military parachute demonstration team.

The COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to her attempts to earn a spot on the team and jump under the SkyHawks’ distinctive Canada flag canopies in 2020 and 2021. But this month she is getting her chance.

CR MCpl Kuizema, the Second in Command of the Gold River Canadian Ranger Patrol on Vancouver Island, has left for training in Ontario.

SkyHawks demonstrator selection training includes six weeks of theory and practical instruction. Ground training, which is held at the Canadian Army Advanced Warfare Centre at Canadian Forces Base Trenton, will begin with the Parachutist Physical Training test, which includes a 1.6-kilometre run in 7.5 minutes, seven chin ups, and 31 sit ups.

Having gone through all the preparation for the selection training once before in March 2020, she is feeling ready.

In the two years since she was originally chosen for selection training, she has been jumping a lot, refining her skills, and learning new disciplines. She loves skydiving so much it hasn’t been hard to stay motivated.

“I think once you have a passion for something, then it’s kind of self-motivating. So over two years, I’ve gotten better at jumping and took on different disciplines and took some training courses,” she says. “It’s been pretty easy to be self-motivated in that sense. It’s a good community to be around as well, so it keeps the stoke high.”

She started skydiving four years ago and fell in love with it right away. Last summer she started wingsuiting – flying with a suit with wings that fill the space between the hands and the body and between the legs.

She has almost 400 jumps and a C licence in skydiving. As well, she is a coach, does videography, and some parachute rigging.

Last year, she joined the Canadian Sport Parachute Association Women’s Initiative Committee.

“I’m helping develop a mentorship program for the Women’s Initiative Committee for skydiving,” she says. “It’s one of those things that keeps you motivated and pushes you forward. I would love to have someone mentor me and down the road be a mentor. There are some pretty amazing women in the sport, as well as in the military, and SkyHawks and our whole para world. It’s really cool.”

She originally was interested in the SkyHawks because she loves skydiving, but she is interested in working on a different discipline within the sport.

“They do canopy relative work (CRW), so that’s something I’ve dabbled in a little bit. But to learn something new and then also to represent the Rangers as the first Ranger in the SkyHawks is a really fascinating opportunity,” she says. “From a female perspective as well, there are women in the sport, but they make up about 20 per cent of it, and I would be representing people in remote communities and putting us on the map.”

CR MCpl Kuizema, who has been a Canadian Ranger for five years, extends a thanks to BC Company Sergeant Major Master Warrant Officer Donald Clark for all his help during the application process.

“He has definitely helped me through a lot of paperwork and getting things ready and fine-tuning my skills to get paired up with the Reservists and the Reg Force and making sure I represent the Rangers well.”

Master Corporal Christine Kuizema

Canadian Ranger Master Corporal Christine Kuizema has been skydiving for four years, has almost 400 jumps and has a C licence. This month, she will become the first Canadian Ranger to try out for the SkyHawks, the Canadian Armed Forces’ military parachute demonstration team.

 

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