“Amazing” Bella, aka Bella Capra, is the Ninety-One School sixth-grader from Canby who has sent hundreds of letters and care packages to deployed U.S. service members over the past several years, particularly during this past holiday season.
But she’s also a competitive indoor sky diver. This week, she and her family returned from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where Bella took flight at the U.S. Indoor Skydiving National Championships, representing the state of Oregon and little old Canby.
Of course, she made us proud, taking second in the Freestyle Junior Intermediate category for the second straight year, as well as a third-place finish in the Dynamic 2-Way Advanced competition with one of her coaches, David San Pedro.
Bella impressed many with her performance on the national stage, including the USIS commentators in the video below, Benji MacAndrews and Mike Wittenburg, who called the pint-sized competitor’s style “impeccable” and “world-level.”
“You can tell she cares about the style, all the grips she’s taking,” said MacAndrews. “It really proves her confidence and comfort level. … Everybody take note: You want to fly like this. If you need some coaching, Bella will be available in a couple years.”
Wittenburg told the story of teaching Bella how to “side-fly,” an extremely difficult maneuver that usually takes hours of practice, in 15 minutes. (You can see Bella demonstrate this style in the video below, at about the 1:35 mark.)
“Giving her minor corrections, it was insane how quickly this girl picks things up,” he said. “It was really just a pleasure to work with her, because of how quickly she progresses.”
“She’s awesome, always smiling,” MacAndrews agreed. “For her to get it in 15 minutes, it just shows the prowess of these kids, how quickly they learn.”
Now, watch Amazing Bella be a superhero, in her Freestyle Junior Intermediate routine from this weekend’s competition.
