The Glendale Star
16
December 30, 2021
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Glendale parachutist is flying high again BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI
Glendale Star Executive Editor
Nick Batsch strives to push the limits of human flight. The 40-year-old Glendale resident recently took home the gold medal in canopy piloting at the 2021 U.S. Parachute Association National Championships in Eloy. Along with the gold, he finished second in distance and zone accuracy and fifth in speed. He secured a spot on the U.S. Parachute Team, where he will represent the nation in international parachuting competitions. Batsch also earned a bronze medal in freestyle canopy piloting. Not bad, considering Batsch was told he might never walk again. He was at a career high with four world champion titles under his belt when he sustained a devastating injury during a training canopy dive with a buddy. “My parachute flies very fast — almost 100 miles per hour,” he said. “That’s about 150 feet a second. If you pull out your parachute too high from the dive, you can’t recover from it. I got low and couldn’t get my canopy out for the dive. I hit water quite substantially. My left leg couldn’t withstand that type of impact. “It was unfortunate for me, personally. I had just won four world titles in a row. It was a real shame. I felt like I was at the top of my game.” Batsch was determined to not let his injury win, as he was told he may not walk again, let alone parachute. Walking was painful, but he pushed hard
to recover — without reinjuring himself. “For the longest time, I didn’t plan to parachute again for competition,” he said. “What we do with parachutes is extremely high speed. It can result in a fatal accident or a nonfatal accident. It’s the most amazing sport in terms of feeling alive and enjoying every moment. It’s quite exhilarating.”
(Above) Nick Batsch of Glendale is a multi-awardwinning parachutist who has competed throughout the world. (Left) Glendale skydiver Nick Batsch recently competed in the 2021 U.S. Parachute Association National Championships in Eloy. (Photos courtesy of Nick Batsch)
However, he admitted that after a four-year hiatus to recover he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder because it’s “such a high-speed sport.” “It’s a risky game, but it’s well worth the reward,” he said. “It brought me back to a place where I’m more comfortable again. I had a lot of issues. For me, the parachutes I fly are extremely tiny.” When he recovered, Batch returned to Eloy in October for the 2021 USPA National Championships, which attracted more than 600 competitors in
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19 events in 26 classes, spanning seven disciplines. The top performers in each discipline were selected for the 2022 U.S. Parachute Team to compete at the 2022 Fédération Aéronautique International World Parachuting Championship, where they will face off against the best skydiving athletes from around the globe next Oct. 20 to Oct. 26 at Skydive Arizona. Batsch has been skydiving for 15 years and has competed over 12,000 skydives. He is a five-time world cham-
pion, 10-time world record holder, and holds 33 world championship medals. He has been passionate about the sport since he tried it in his home state of Missouri. He enjoys educating the public about skydiving, and his career has been spent coaching other skydivers how to become better canopy pilots nationally and internationally. “I get to choose my own schedule and decide which facilities I want to use,” he said. “I get to travel around. I’ve traveled internationally a lot in the past. In the last two years, COVID-19 has started to put a damper on that.” Batsch and his wife, Danielle, moved from Colorado to Glendale when she started a certified registered nurse anesthetists program. “We were in Colorado together for almost eight years,” he said. “It’s ironic how my injury had the same timing as her starting school again.” Batsch is a member of “Team Thunderstorm,” a parachuting demo team for the Denver Broncos. He and other team members exit above the Empower Field at Mile High with pyrotechnics and swoop onto the field in front of 76,000 football fans for every home game. “I fell in love right away after one jump,” said Batsch, who competed in the Dubai International Parachute Championship in December. “I went again the same day for my second jump. The sport is like an adult playground.”
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