Lise Hernandez Girouard (born January 29, 1975) is a Mexican-Canadian indoor skydiving competitor. She is known for her role in introducing music into indoor freestyle skydiving competitions, a format she termed "indoor skydancing".
Early life and education Born in Mexico City to a Canadian mother and Mexican father, Hernandez Girouard began formal figure skating training in 1984 at Skatorama in Lomas Verdes. After moving to Ciudad Victoria in 1992, she later relocated to Nuevo León to study communication sciences at the Universidad de Monterrey. She continued her figure skating training during this time and competed at the national level.
Skydiving career Hernandez Girouard began skydiving in 1995 while attending university. She initially focused on formation skydiving and was part of the 102-person Canadian national record set on July 13, 2012, in Farnham, Quebec. In 1997, she traveled to Florida for skydiving training and experienced a vertical wind tunnel for the first time. She later transitioned to freestyle skydiving.
Indoor skydiving and musical integration In 2013, Hernandez Girouard relocated to France. She subsequently shifted her athletic focus to indoor skydiving and secured a "passeport talent profession artistique et culturelle" visa from the French government, enabling her to remain in the country to develop her artistic project. To address the challenge of hearing music inside a wind tunnel—which operates at approximately 100 decibels—she developed a technical setup using custom-molded ear seals, integrated monitors, and a wireless transmission system that allowed both the athlete and the audience to hear the music in real-time. She termed this musical format "indoor skydancing" as a tribute to outdoor freestyle pioneer Deanna Kent, who was known as "Skydancer".
Performances and judging In March 2014, Hernandez Girouard performed a musical freestyle routine at the 2nd Canadian Indoor Skydiving Championships in Montreal. In November of the same year, she competed at the 1st Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Cup of Indoor Skydiving in Austin, Texas. Official FAI records note she flew in tune with her own music during the artistic events. Following these performances, the FAI adopted music as an optional element in its freestyle rules.
In January 2016, she was invited to organize the freestyle discipline at the Wind Games, which became the first major international competition to mandate a routine performed to music. Hernandez Girouard drafted the competition rules, advised on the technical use of audio equipment, and served as the head judge for the event. Following the 2016 Wind Games, musical freestyle became a standard category in international competitions.
See also Indoor freestyle skydiving Wind Games Bodyflight
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