Marley Nolan-Duncan has become the first Indigenous man to make the Australian Skydiving team, after a strong performance at the Australian championships back in April.
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Nolan-Duncan finished in the top 12 at the national championships on April 4 to 7 at Skydive Australia in York, Western Australia which was good enough to see him make the Australian team.
Nolan-Duncan - born in Moree but now living in Coffs Harbour - was lost for words when he realised he would be representing his country.
"It was a surreal feeling," he said.
"It's kind of unbelievable to be the first Indigenous person as well. I'm definitely not the last. It was a surreal feeling and still is now at this point of time."
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Nolan-Duncan competes in canopy piloting which is a high speed discipline held over a small stretch of water and involves small and agile parachutes.
There are three classic disciplines involved in canopy piloting including accuracy, speed and distance.
In the accuracy component, competitors must navigate the water section before landing as close to a land target as possible. The speed discipline involves the athlete flying the course in the shortest possible time while the distance discipline involves the athlete starting at the entry gate and flying as far as possible before hitting the ground.
At the national championships, the athletes got three attempts at each discipline.
"It's a good spectator sport as well because you're doing it along the ground," Nolan-Duncan said.
It was family that got him into the sport and he hasn't looked back ever since.
"On my mum's side, my uncle, I remember seeing photos of him skydiving. I thought that's something I'd kind of like to try," he said.
"I sold my motorbike to pay for the course, and I had a dirt bike and sold that to buy my first skydiving rig."
Nolan-Duncan will now participate in a number of training camps as he prepares for the FAI World Cup of Canopy Piloting in South Africa from November 20 to 24.
"The main thing is training, get as much training as I can to make it a bit less stressful," he said.
In the meantime, he is planning a visit to Moree on July 13 to 14 as part of a Skydiving Australia outback tour, where locals will get a chance to go on a tandem jump.