For Briana Wright, Bridge Day started when she reached out to the Tandem BASE team and pitched the idea she wanted to jump.
The dream of a lifetime came true for Ms. Bridge Day 2024 with only two spots left.
“It’s $1,750 to Tandem BASE jump on Bridge Day. And I’m in school right now so the funding for that is a little crazy,” said Wright. “So we started a GoFundMe; I was eventually signed up and jumped at 9:30 on Saturday (10-19-24).”
It’s the first time the opportunity to jump off the New River Gorge Bridge has been offered to any Queens. Ms. Bridge Day says it was an honor to be the first and create a lasting impact.
“The father of Bridge Day (Burton Ervin) was from my town (Cowen, WV) and I think it’s really cool I got to kind of make a little history like he did and be one of the first to jump off the bridge in my own sense,” Wright said.
She jumped with Sean Chuma, owner of Tandem BASE with more than 8000-based jumps. Wright says she has never done anything like this before.
“I had to squat down a little bit so I wasn’t wearing him like a backpack ’cause he’s a little shorter than me,” said Ms. Bridge Day. “I was the wildcard as a pageant queen getting thrown in this bunch. But shows that anybody can do it no matter who you are. You take that leap.”
Adventurous — Wright likes hiking, rock climbing, fishing, and a lot of outdoorsy stuff. For the tandem jump, she says you have to get over that initial fear.
“I was going through all the emotions; they were all kicking in. I could throw up, I could cry. But after we were going down, I was ecstatic,” she said. “Pretty sure I yelled something like, ‘This is great and I get why you do this all the time.’ I would definitely do it again.”
The pageant queen has nothing but appreciation for all those who supported her through this journey, made it possible, and showed up.
“Join us in 2025, Fayetteville for Bridge Day. We’re getting continuously bigger and better,” said Wright. “Always something to come out for and keep supporting West Virginia tourism.”
