MarkB
Legend
Yes, that's a fair point. I hadn't realised that they had been specific is stating you can automatically land on your feet by using your reaction. That's a bit meh from my perspective. Fighters get very few decent skill checks and athletics is one of them, so let's make it just as easy for the Str9 wizard with no training to land on their feet :-/.
I'd still prefer a low Dc athletics check but in 30 years this has only come up about twice and never in 5e so I'll worry about it when it does!
It seems more like a case for a dexterity saving throw than an athletics check in any case. It's a reactive check to avoid something bad, and it's more reliant upon fast reflexes than physical strength.