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Calgary WinSport adds 8-storey Free Fall for adrenaline junkies

It's kind of like bungee jumping, but with some differences and it opens Saturday at WinSport in northwest Calgary, as an expansion of the facility's offerings for adrenaline seekers.

The Free Fall feature involves stepping out into the air from a platform about eight storeys tall, and falling about 35 to 40 feet before the harness kicks in.

"You get suited up in the harness, connected. You have your helmet on. And then you make your way to the edge," Trevor Rogers, WinSport guest operations manager, told CBC News on Friday.

"As you get to the edge, that's when you begin to look down and that's when you begin to question your decisions."

Rogers says unlike bungee jumping, it's more like a step into the unknown.

"You have to choose to jump off," he said.

"When you take that step forward, it is you making that choice. You have to be ready to take that step and leap into the great beyond. It is something else."

And he says yelling, even with some salty language, isn't completely frowned upon.

"Screaming is normal, expletives are not uncommon but we all plug our ears and go home safe," Rogers said, with a laugh.

"Screaming at the top, screaming on the way down, screaming and sighs of relief on the bottom with some ground kissing are not out of the ordinary."

The feature opens to the public May 19. Rates start at about $25 with a small discount per person in groups.

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With files from CBC's Tracy Fuller, Monty Kruger and The Homestretch