Othar Lawrence is an accomplished diving base jumper, “but what I accomplished in Jeddah last week is something I’ll cherish for the rest of my life,” the 34-year-old American told Arab News during the demonstrations he conducted alongside Saudi Aviation Club’s (SAC) sky diving championship.

“We gave several demonstrations during the championship in which 23 canopy pilots performed maneuvers,” said Lawrence, who headed the four-member Red Bull team. “The SAC was kind and invited us to jump at the Jeddah skydiving championship,” he said.

A large number of spectators witnessed the spectacle of diving from the air along the Corniche, from the world’s tallest fountain to down south beyond the Park Hyatt Hotel.

“Our final demonstration was when I jumped out of the helicopter near the King Fahd Fountain at 6.15 p.m. on Feb. 17. “It was incredible as I landed on a small raft in the Red Sea. It was a fantastic experience,” Lawrence said and thanked the SAC for giving him “this unique experience.”

Talking about the championship, he said the competition was great. 15 competing teams from the Middle East were super-friendly and encouraging each other. “The energy was a positive experience for everybody. There were two forms of the competition, Morocco winning one and Oman winning the other, he said, adding that the standard of the participants was great and the competition very close.

“This was my first visit to the Middle East. Learned about the land and its culture,” he said.

Asked what was his next project, Lawrence said: “My next project is how to come back to Saudi Arabia to meet friends and see places, and of course, exhibit my talent again, if possible.”

Lawrence has been in this field for 16 years. He took his first jump in the Salt Lake City when only 19. “I’ll continue to jump from the sky until I am an old man. This is not a passion or hobby for me. I want to do this for the rest of my life.”

His inspiration was his first instructor Chris Santacroce, an American. “Chris is just one of the best instructors. I was fortunate to have the gift of his instruction.”

The three other members of his team were Saudi national Omar Al-Hujailan who resides in Dubai, and Jeff Provenzano and Sean Naccornac, both Americans.

According to Lawrence, Omar is a champions’ champion. He is one of the most focused skydivers in the world. When he qualified from Accelerated Freefall (AFF), he said he would win world-class freestyle medals and went on to do just that.

Omar wanted to be one of the best at free flying and he certainly achieved and maintains that. Now, he is still pushing that classy free-fly envelope. He said he would teach well, and his medal-winning students are a testimony to that. He is a professional skydiver yet finds time for all, whether students, old friends, new or wannabe friends, Lawrence said.

“Omar was one of the original Free-fly Clowns, he has a chest full of medals and his flying in Patrick Passe’s Crosswind is inspirational. He’s funny, kind, stubborn, determined, and loves the sport.”