PARASCENDING

noun (Lifestyle and Leisure) A variation on the sport of parachuting, in which participants are first towed by a motor vehicle or speedboat while wearing the open parachute, so as to gain sufficient height from which to descend. Etymology: Formed by telescoping parachute and ascending to make a blend. History and Usage: Parascending was an earlier innovation than parasailing, having developed in the sixties, at first as a safe variation on parachuting which dispensed with the complications of making a parachute jump. By the mid seventies it was becoming established as a sport in its own right, and during the eighties was among the group of fast-growing action sports that managed to increase their popular appeal. The verb parascend was back-formed from parascending; a person who practises the sport is a parascender. New amendments to the Air Navigation Order and the revision of CAP 403 'Code of Conduct for Air Displays' now encompass the modern features in aviation, such as microlights and parascending which were not previously mentioned. Air Display Dec. 1988 -Feb. 1989, p. 3