Meet one of the pilots competing in the Women's National Ballooning Championship

• Video shows Angela Madden, one of 16 pilots competing in the Women's National Ballooning Championship.
• The championship will run through July 19 in Jackson County.
• Jackson's Hot Air Jubilee is July 19-21 and sees 20,000-30,000 people each year.

"It's an exciting time for ballooning and it's an exciting time for Jackson," says Hot Air Jubilee Board Chair and pilot, Angela Madden. Madden, a Jackson native, has been piloting hot air balloons for five years. However, her love started young when she started volunteering at Jackson's Hot Air Jubilee. "I got hooked, now I own a hot air balloon," she says.
The Hot Air Jubilee has been a Jackson tradition since 1983 and Jackson is hosting the Women's National Ballooning Championship for the second year in a row. Madden will be competing this week alongside 15 other women from states like Texas, Oregon, and New Mexico. "Don't get me wrong," says Madden. "Every single one of these women are highly competitive and they want to win, but they're not going to do it to the detriment of any of their competitors. Madden says each pilot works with the others so that each can achieve their own self-set goals.

How the competition works:

According to the Hot Air Jubilee Board, Ella Sharp Park fills with 20,000 to 30,000 people each year to watch the balloons float across the sky. To Madden, it's not just about the flight itself, but the connections made. "My favorite part of ballooning is flying right at the treetop level above any obstruction and still being able to talk to people on the ground when I'm around their neighborhoods," says Madden. Jackson neighbors may be able to spot competing balloons throughout the week, leading up to the Hot Air Jubilee that begins July 19.

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