British Parachute Association

The National Governing Body for Sport Parachuting

British Parachute Association (BPA) was founded in 1961.  We are a democratic, not-for-profit organisation of individuals whose purpose is to organise, govern and further the advancement of Sport Parachuting in the UK.

BPA is has no shareholders - we are owned and run by our Members.  BPA is incorporated as a private company limited by guarantee, British Parachute Association Ltd.  Our governing instrument is the BPA Articles of Association.  

Aims and objectives

BPA maintains and promotes the highest standards of safety and training in the sport. We encourage participation and promote excellence at all levels of skydiving from rookie to world class competitor. 

For more see BPA Form 224:  About the BPA on the Forms page.  Also see the Chairman's Review of the previous year, in the AGM section below.

Agendas and minutes of BPA Council and Committee meetings are published regularly.

Each year sees publication of a BPA Action Plan, which runs each financial year from 1 July to 30 June. 

Membership and Affiliated Centres

BPA has an overall membership of more than 50,000 including all of the different categories of membership. In addition, there are around 27 BPA Affiliated Parachute Clubs & Centres.  

BPA Facts and Figures.

Governance

BPA is run by a governing Council of Management. Council Members are drawn from, and nominated and elected by, the voting Members of BPA.  Council Members are the Directors of BPA Ltd. The Council controls all aspects of skydiving on behalf of the Civil Aviation Authority. British Parachute Association represents most UK skydivers and the majority of skydivers within the UK are members of the Association.

Funding

The Association is funded mostly by membership subscriptions.  BPA Accounts

AGM

The AGM is held on a Saturday in late January each year.  

The statutory AGM is part of BPA AGM Day.  The AGM is followed by the presentation of awards, trophies and medals during the morning, with educational seminars and meetings during the afternoon, and entertainment, often including an optional formal dinner, in the evening.   It is usually attended by up to around 10% of full BPA members.   

Chairman's Review of 2011 (presented at the AGM 2012)      minutes of AGM 2011   Draft minutes of the AGM 2012 will be posted here in late February 2012 (and will be subject to formal approval at the AGM 2013).

See the diary of events page for date and venue of the next AGM.

Staff

The Council employs a small staff to help to carry out its policy. Safety, training, competitions, finance and development are administered by the full-time officials of the Association who include a National Coach and Safety Officer, Technical Officer, and financial and administrative support staff.

Links

British Parachute Association is a Member of the of the Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom, which is the UK National Aero Club (NAC) of the World Air Sports Federation (Federation Aeronautique Internationale).The BPA nominates the UK Delegate and UK Alternate Delegate to the FAI's International Parachuting Commission.  See the links page for more sport parachuting-related links.