The Staff

COMPANY DIRECTOR - Grant Richards
Grant made his first Parachute jump in 1980 and since then has jumped over 7000 times. After serving for 22 years in the Royal Air Force as a Parachute Jump Instructor he joined forces with Jason Thompson and now co-owns UK Parachuting (Sibson) and UK Parachuting (Beccles). Grant is an AFF & Tandem instructor as well as the Club Chief Pilot. Along with this Grant also runs the booking office with support from his wife Susie. Grant is originally from Gloucester and is a keen supporter of Gloucester Rugby Club and enjoys some friendly banter with Chris McCann, the Club Chief instructor who supports arch rivals Leicester Tigers! Grant also loves cooking, music and spending time with his family.

CHIEF CLUB INSTRUCTOR - Chris McCann
Chris has been skydiving for 12 years and as well as being the Club Chief Instructor at UK Parachuting Sibson, he is also an AFF and Tandem Instructor, CSI, Examiner, to list but a few. Originally from Newcastle he spent most of his career in the Parachute Regiment before entering the world of sport parachuting. When he is not skydiving he loves to spend time with his family and is a very keen supporter of The Leicester Tigers. Chris also enjoys the odd pint and slice of cake which means he has to go running when he can! Not shy of a bit of fun, Chris once paddled down the River Trent in a rubber dingy for charity with a group of skin heads and raised around £5000! He loves being an instructor and helping people progress through the sport as well as taking people on tandems and giving them that one off experience they will never forget.

CAMERA FLYER & COMPANY DIRECTOR OF SKYDIVE IMAGES - Sarah Hall
I did my first tandem skydive in Australia in 1999 when I went travelling over there and got immediately hooked! I did my AFF course soon after and returned home a year later with over 200 jumps. I’ve always been a keen photographer so becoming a camera flyer seemed like a natural thing for me to do. Filming people jumping out of a plane for the first time is fantastic – I love seeing the look on their face! I’ve competed in Freeflying a few times and even got myself a couple of medals!! I’ve skydived all around the world and have been working at Sibson since 2003. I now have over 3500 jumps and I’m a FF/FS coach, CH coach and I’m working towards becoming an AFF instructor – can’t wait! This sport is awesome – you never stop learning! When I’m not skydiving I love tunnel flying, mountain biking, photography, running, hanging out with my friends and drinking mojitos. I make the best ever Cuban mojitos . . . had lots of practise! :o)

TANDEM/AFF INSTRUCTOR & CAMERA FLYER - Mark Harris
My first jump was in 1992 and since then I haven’t looked back. I have been skydiving full time since 1997 mainly working here at Sibson, I also had an 18 month stint skydiving in Spain which was great fun. I’ve also been lucky enough to skydive in some amazing places around the world, and one of the most memorable would be down the side of the Eiger in Switzerland. I teach everything from Static line, AFF, Tandem, Canopy handling and Piloting, formation skydiving to wingsuiting, as well as being Sibsons Display Team Leader. I have also been heavily involved in organising and filming several large wingsuit formations in the UK, Europe and America. As well as being a part of the organising team and one of the camera men for the current US national record for largest wingsuit formation. One of the most random things I’ve had to do as part of the job was co-ordinating, and safely jumping with someone sitting in a barber’s chair having a shave while free falling for an advert. When I’m not skydiving, I enjoy snowboarding, photography, mountain biking and flying my paramotor.

CLUB MANAGER, TANDEM/AFF INSTRUCTOR & CAMERA FLYER - Paul Dorward
I have been regularly skydiving for over ten years and am an Accelerated Free Fall Instructor, Category System Instructor, Tandem Instructor, FS Coach, CH Coach and a Canopy Piloting Coach. I also take great pride in looking after and helping the Basic Instructors get through their training. I have been competing since 2001 and have attended every nationals and most Grand Prix's winning medals in every category from Junior to Seniors. My favorite part of skydiving is teaching people AFF and high speed canopy piloting. I am also an avid photographer and have had skydiving and other photos published in national and international press. When not skydiving I am keen ammeter astronomer and also a secret bedroom guitar hero (a real one not a play station one!) I write and record my own music and play all the parts (guitars, drums, bass and keyboards) in my home recording studio (the mothership). I am yet to hit it big time but who knows next years X Factor might have a skydiving guitar god..

TANDEM/AFF INSTRUCTOR - Nick Davison
Nick has been skydiving for 10 years and is a Tandem and Accelerated Free Fall Instructor, a Free Fly, CP, CF and Tunnel Coach and a CSI. He has skydived all over the globe as he spent several years on the 'Red Devils' Free Fall Team. This was one of the perks of being in the Parachute Regiment! Originally from sunny Sheffield in South Yorkshire, Nick is married with two gorgeous daughters. When he isn't skydiving or having quality family time he takes parts in triathlons and enjoys the odd pint! Nick loves skydiving not only for the thrill of free fall and flying his parachute, but meeting new people coming into the sport and giving them the experience of a life time.

TANDEM INSTRUCTOR - Marc Fletcher
Marc has been skydiving for 7 years and is a Tandem Instructor, Accelerated Free Fall Basic Instructor plus a CH, FS and CP coach. He has skydived in the USA and Spain but at the moment prefers the gorgeous weather and views that Cambridgeshire boasts! Originally from Cambridge he is currently studying a PhD in Physics (Semiconductor Quantum Computing Technologies). When he is not revising for exams or skydiving he loves snowboarding, waterpolo, lacrosse and sailing. Marc loves skydiving because it makes him much less of a geek plus it sounds pretty cool when chatting up girls!

TANDEM & STATIC LINE INSTRUCTOR - Dawie du Plessis
I did my first jump on 15 October 1995 in South Africa and it took me only 3 jumps to realise that skydiving was how I wanted to make a living. It took 4 years to build enough jumps to achieve that goal and I have been filming skydiving and doing tandems since then. I'm about 6500 jumps later now and can not get enough of it all! I've been involved in filming National Skydiving teams in 5 countries. I have competed in virtually every skydiving and parachuting discipline from formation skydiving to skysurfing on National level and also represented South Africa at a World Meet. I was part of the Guinness Book of record's "Most parachutists to jump from a Hot Air Balloon" record in the UK in 2001. I've been asked to plan, co-ordinate and execute numerous Hollywood and Bollywood stunts for skydiving and BASE jumping both in front of and behind the camera. My current skydiving interest hover around flying my wing suit and extreme canopy piloting. I also qualified as a Tandem Instructor recently.

TANDEM & STATIC LINE INSTRUCTOR - Guy Reynolds
Guy signed up for an Accelerated Free Fall Course in 1993 having tried a variety of other adventure sports. He fell in love with Skydiving during his first Free Fall and has since gone on to become a Tandem Instructor, Static Line Instructor, Formation Skydiving and Canopy Coach. He regularly travels to California to skydive, and has also jumped in Europe and onto the beaches of Kenya. One of his most memorable skydives involved climbing out of the cockpit of a glider, shuffling along the wing and rolling of the leading edge. Known for his Skydiving fashion sense, Guy regularly gives fashion tips to other members of the UK Parachuting team! Guy's goal is to share his love of the sport, and to assist up and coming new jumpers to have fun and be safe.