The WindGames (formerly The Wind Games) are annual indoor skydiving competitions hosted by Windoor, an operator of vertical wind tunnels.

History

The first WindGames event took place in 2014 at Windoor's indoor skydiving facility in Empuriabrava, Spain, where every event has been held since. The competition featured four main indoor skydiving disciplines: Formation Skydiving (FS), Vertical Formation Skydiving (VFS) and 2-way Dynamic (D2W).

The 2016 musical freestyle round In January 2016, the third Wind Games became the first indoor skydiving competition in history to mandate a musical interpretation round for all freestyle competitors. While international sporting bodies such as the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) had previously allowed music as an optional element, the 2016 Wind Games made choreographed musical flight a compulsory requirement for the event.

The concept began in August 2015 when Anne Maxwell, the creator of the Wind Games and former Pro Flyer manager at Windoor, contacted Mexican-Canadian competitor Lise Hernandez Girouard, who had previously pioneered musical integration in wind tunnels. Maxwell sought to introduce the solo freestyle discipline to the competition featuring a mandatory musical round. Hernandez Girouard organized the category, drafting the official competition rules and serving as the Head Judge.

The new freestyle format required athletes to perform three specific rounds: Low-Speed Flow: Evaluating body control and continuous artistic lines at lower wind speeds. High-Speed Flight: Evaluating technical power, speed, and vertical acrobatic transitions. Mandatory Musical Interpretation: Evaluating an original choreographed routine set to a chosen music track.

To score the musical round across both technical execution and artistic expression, the judging panel was hybridized to include technical freeflyer Adam Mattacola, professional dance choreographer Dolo Yglesias, and Hernandez Girouard.

Five athletes competed in the inaugural event. Russian athlete Leonid Volkov won first place with a highly theatrical routine, Polish athlete Maja Kuczyńska won second, and Canadian Guillaume Boileau won third.

Driven by the new musical format, videos of the 2016 performances achieved unprecedented publicity for the sport. The routine of Leonid Volkov was the first routine to pierce the attention of the media. A video of Kuczyńska's routine set to the song "Chandelier" by Sia went viral on social media, amassing over 100 million views and bringing massive mainstream awareness to the niche sport of indoor skydiving. This global viewership secured Red Bull as the main title sponsor for the event the following year.

2017 Format Changes In 2017, the Wind Games changed the freestyle format. The competition removed professional dancers from the judging panel and introduced mandatory flight elements for athletes to executeJames Dator, "Wind Games is the dopest, most beautiful sport you probably haven't heard of", SB Nation, 7 February 2017.Henrik Brandt, "Wind Games: Indoor skydiver goes viral with incredible freestyle routine", Daily Record, 6 February 2017 (video)., aligning the rules more closely with the technical standards of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI).

Recent History The 2021 WindGames indoor skydiving competition was cancelled due to an extended pause in operations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Following this pause, the WindGames resumed in 2024.. The next edition, the WindGames 2027, is scheduled to be held on January 28, 29, and 30, 2027.

The WindGames include Vertical Formation Skydiving, 4-way Formation Skydiving, 2-way Dynamic, 4-way Dynamic, Solo Speed, Freestyle and Freestyle Junior.

Events YearDateCityVideos201417–18 January Empuriabrava201523–24 January Empuriabrava201621–23 January Empuriabrava20173–4 February Empuriabrava20181–3 February Empuriabrava201931 January – 2 February Empuriabrava202030 January – 1 February Empuriabrava202423–24 February Empuriabrava202530 January – 1 February Empuriabrava

Medalists

Vertical Formation Skydiving

Year Gold Silver Bronze2014Team 4 SpeedTransfertElement2015Avalon Realfly Sion2016SDC CoreAvalon Realfly SionTransfert2017SDC CoreAmudyFlyspot Definition2018SkyRidersEsercito4 amigos2019Italy VFS TeamSkyRiders Flyspot VFSYcaro Speed2020Full SpeedEsercitoWindoor Team2024Windoor barcelonaVertical StormTop Top Quality2025Flyspot SynapsesVFS WarriorsGrip

4-way Formation Skydiving

Year Gold Silver Bronze2014NMP PCH HayaBusaArizona Airspeed2015NMP PCH HayaBusaArizona AirspeedGavroche20162017NMP PCH HayaBusaWeembi LilleRealfly Sion2018NMP PCH HayaBusaArizona AirspeedRealfly Sion2019NMP PCH HayaBusaWeembi High RollersArizona Airspeed2020NMP PCH HayaBusaArizona AirspeedSDC Rhythm XP2024Aethers MedjayQatar TigersNFTO2025Aethers MedjayNMP PCH HayaBusaTunnel Vision

2-way Dynamic

Year Gold Silver Bronze2014201520162017WindobonoHurricane FactoryWindoor Warriors2018VipersWindoor GBAspire201920202024FanaticsDodosEaglets20252WD WindoorWindoor's Warriors EagletsSiro Gravity Windwerk

4-way Dynamic

Year Gold Silver Bronze2014201520162017Windoor D4WFriends 4 EvaGuns & Waffles2018NemesisWindoor VengadoresWindoor Fighters201920202024Kings of the SkyWindwerkEaglets Fanatics Arena2025Windoor EmpuriabravaKings of the SkyGuardians of the Galaxy

Solo Speed

Year Gold Silver Bronze2014201520162017Kyra PohCesar RicoJamie Arnold2018Cesar RicoAndrzej SoltykNoah Wittenburg201920202024James RogersAdrien GallotLewis Hard2025Adrien GallotLewis HardCesar Rico

Freestyle

Year Gold Silver Bronze201420152016Leonid VolkovMaja KuczyńskaGuillaume Boileau2017Kyra PohJakub HarrerMaja Kuczyńska2018Kyra PohKaleigh WittenburgMaja Kuczyńska201920202024James RogersEvelina KaluginaDaphny Morali2025Daphny MoraliHarrison Noel MurdockJohannes Heptner

Freestyle Junior

Year Gold Silver Bronze2014201520162017201820192020Sydney KennettKai Minejima LeeMate Feith2024Sofiya KorkhinaFuyuki KonoTacy Giacometti2025Julia SchweizerMelania BociagaUliana Volynets

See also Bodyflight Indoor freestyle skydiving Lise Hernandez Girouard Leonid Volkov (skydiver) Maja Kuczyńska

References

External links Results (2014) Results (2015) Results (2016) Results (2017) Results (2018) Results (2019) Results (2020) Results (2024) Results (2025)