Our scholarship is named for Dr. Jen Sharp, eXaminer and educator. For many years she supported and inspired countless skydivers, our Xcel family among them. Teaching was her passion, and every recipient is named a Sharp Scholar.
Xcelskydiving offers scholarships as part of our continuing effort to support high-quality instructional skills in skydiving education and to foster catalysts for change. In 2026 we awarded a record 15 scholarships to like-minded, passionate candidates attending instructional rating courses with our eXaminers.
The awards
- Coach, AFF-I, SL-I, IAD-I and ERC: two each. One covers 100% of your eXaminer course fee and your share of the eXaminer's travel and lodging. The second covers 50% of both.
- Tandem Instructor: three, one each for UPT (Sigma), Paradigm (Strong) and Firebird (Disc).
- You're responsible for paying for jumps for yourself and your evaluators.
- Use your scholarship on any course taught by an Xcelskydiving eXaminer, whenever you're ready.
- Scholarships can't be transferred or exchanged for cash, and the selection committee's decisions are final.
- Your application is used only to review it for the scholarship.
How to apply
Applications are open for 2027. Apply online below. You'll need:
- Your contact information and USPA membership number
- Licenses and ratings you hold, date of first jump, total jumps and total freefall time
- The rating course you want to attend
- A 300 to 1,000 word essay on why you're pursuing this rating, how you'll use it, what you'd like to see happen in skydiving education, and how you plan to be a catalyst for change
- Up to three letters of recommendation (optional)