'Skydiving connects me to my late father'

A grieving daughter who took on a charity skydive challenge after losing her dad said going on to freefall solo was "the most zen moment" of her life.

After Kaye Meadows' dad Ken Haynes died from Alzheimer's and vascular dementia at the age of 89 in 2023, her grief became "all-consuming".

But, determined to channel her emotions into "something positive", Meadows, of Braunstone Town, Leicestershire, signed up for the Alzheimer's Society charity skydive the following year.

The experience spurred her on to qualify for solo skydives, and with more than 100 jumps under her belt, she has now been named New Skydiver of the Year.

Meadows, 43, who runs a management training firm, was awarded the Mike Forge New Skydiver of the Year Award at a ceremony last month and said she "burst into tears" when she found out she had won.

The accolade comes after a challenging start to the hobby which began with her dad's ill health following a fall in Easter 2023.

"My dad was quite ill with mixed dementia and we said we'd let him get back to where he was, and unfortunately that didn't happen," said Meadows.

"We lost him to Alzheimer's and vascular dementia in June of 2023 and my grief was all-consuming.

"All I could see was darkness while still living life, still doing the day job, looking after my daughter.

"I needed to put some light back into the world, I needed to channel my grief into something positive."

She signed up for a charity tandem skydive, which she said was "something I'd always wanted to do", in September 2024, raising £1,300 for the charity.

It was meant to be a one-off "bucket list" challenge.

"I rocked up to Skydive Langar in Nottingham, and we hurled out of a plane," she said.

"The exhilaration was just out of this world. I can't really describe it."

She added: "I thought 'wow this is something that I can give myself'. Three days later I started my training."

This led to Meadows gaining her licences for independent, unsupervised solo jumps, then night jumps, and taking part in competitions including the Indoor Skydiving Championships.

But each jump reminds her of her father, "the catalyst" that started her love of skydiving.

Meadows said there is a "peace" that comes with skydiving which is like being with him again.

In December, she was awarded Student of the Year by Skydive Langar, and, without her knowing, was nominated for the Mike Forge New Skydiver of the Year Award at the 2025 British Skydiving AGM.

"Every now and then I look at the trophy and think 'is this real?'," she said.

"Skydiving's not a once and you're done, there's always stuff to be learning.

"The very first time I needed to do my solo jump with no instructors was terrifying. I panicked and I came back down in the plane, but they coached me and got me back up and it was amazing - the most zen moment of my life.

"There were multiple times I could have walked away from skydiving - my first wobble when I did my solo, I got injured on a canopy course, and I've hurt my ACL through skydiving - I'm waiting on surgery for that - and I had my first malfunction on jump number 99 where my canopy didn't work and I had to go through my emergency procedures.

"I could have absolutely walked away. The trophy isn't about being brilliant - it's about persistence, it's about keeping going."

A British Skydiving spokesperson said: "Named in honour of Major Michael Lancaster Forge, who tragically lost his life on active service during the Falklands conflict in 1982, this award celebrates a relatively new skydiver who has shown exceptional progress over the past year and has become a valued member of their club.

"Congratulations to Kaye Meadows - a fantastic achievement and a strong start to what we hope will be a long journey in the sport."

Additional reporting by Isaac Ashe.

Follow BBC Leicester on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.