Teenager banned from skydiving 'because of Down syndrome'

The mother of a teenager who showed up for a planned charity skydive says she was told he couldn't jump because he had Down syndrome.

Lloyd Martin, 19, whose family is from Cardiff, had raised £2,500 for his gymnastics club ahead of the sponsored tandem skydive in Wiltshire.

Lloyd became a Guinness World Record holder in April for being the youngest person with a specific disability to complete a marathon anywhere in the world.

GoSkydive apologized and said they now wanted to get to know Lloyd better before taking him skydiving.

Lloyd was looking forward to the skydive near Salisbury on Thursday, but his mother, Ceri Hooper, said she was told it was now cancelled.

Ms Hooper said the head instructor explained it was because he was worried about Lloyd's reaction during the jump.

“We're used to a lot of doors being shut in our faces in the past, but this brings it all back,” Ms Hooper said.

“We arrived, we did the briefing, everything went well.

“But then he [the instructor] came. He said: 'We don't know how someone with Down syndrome is going to react when they jump out of a plane.

“Well, you don’t know how someone is going to react when they jump out of a plane,” Ms. Hooper added.

“We were all shocked. They didn't come and talk to Lloyd.”

Ms Hooper said medical checks by Lloyd's GP confirmed he was “fit to jump” and she said the company was aware of Lloyd's disability when booking him.

“I can’t believe they let us book,” Ms Hooper added.

“We raised all this money, the gym fundraiser, we all had days off, we showed up and it’s a ‘no’.”

Lloyd's grandparents had come from Cardiff to cheer him on, but the incident had left Lloyd very disappointed.

“The rest of the team decided not to jump because Lloyd couldn't do it, and Lloyd was disappointed with that,” she said.

“We've had so many obstacles, so many doors shut in our faces in the past.

“We felt like we were getting somewhere in terms of inclusiveness, and then this happens.”

GoSkydive chief executive Gordon Blamire said he supported his team's decision to “get to know Lloyd better before taking him skydiving.”

“There is no doubt that we could have better communicated the need for Lloyd to be assessed before his visit to GoSkydive, for which we are extremely sorry.

“We continue to learn and improve our interactions and this instance results in a direct change in our policies.

“While we understand the frustrations of the Lloyds family, our commitment is to the well-being of Lloyds. We want the opportunity to learn about Lloyds, its terms and what it requires from us before we can take me skydiving.”

National governing body British Skydiving says anyone with a disability should speak to the skydiving school's chief instructor before signing up.

Additional reporting by Colette Hume.