A PROFESSIONAL sports skydiver from Exeter has been lucky enough to secure a place in a top World Record Attempt being held in California this year.

Maddy Heath Kelly, a newly qualified mental health nurse from Exeter, applied for the event back in June but didn’t think she’d hear any more about it until an email came through a few weeks ago; “it explained that I’d been selected as one of the ladies to represent the UK and I couldn’t believe it!” said Maddy, 26.

Maddy is believed to be the only person from Devon to have earned a place at the event and is “over the moon” at the opportunity.

Maddy continues; “I just can’t believe they’ve chosen me after having so many applications! I’m buzzing but I’m also nervous as there’s a lot of pressure surrounding this event so I’m getting lots of practice in at the moment. I also have to find one or two generous companies who are willing to sponsor me so I can get to California to take part in the record attempt!”

Maddy, who’s been skydiving for over five years now, will be supporting a charity close to her heart; “I’ll be raising money for Alzheimer’s Society because sadly my mum has recently been diagnosed with dementia so it was the obvious choice for me. I also spent the last six months of my nursing training on placement at a specialist hospital in Exeter for older adults with dementia. I just hope I can get the sponsorship needed to actually take part so I can raise lots of money for the charity along the way. I have set up a fundraising page online and have already received some very generous donations from people”.

The event named the ‘P3 Skydiving Women’s World Record’ is taking place 12-18th October and has over 100 women taking part. There will be multiple skilled pilots flying several aircraft so all the women can safely exit from a high altitude of around 18,000ft and join together at the right time to perform a huge formation. Precision will be the key to breaking the current World Record and only the most skilled female skydivers have been selected from across the world.

Maddy explains that these particular records are not attempted very often; “The last all-female World Record of this kind was set in 2009 so I’m incredibly thrilled to be a part of this particular event. I’ve never been to California either and I’ll be traveling on my own so I’m quite nervous but it’s going to be an awesome experience as well”.

If your company would like to get involved by sponsoring Maddy’s amazing ‘extreme sporting challenge’ and to help support her chosen charity, please contact her directly at maddyheathkelly@gmail.com. Individuals can sponsor her via her fundraising link: http://www.youcaring.com/other/world-record-skydive-attempt-for-alzheimer-s-society/211325 or by going onto www.youcaring.com and searching for “World Record Skydive” to find Maddy’s page.