Imagine flying upside down towards Earth at speeds of 160 mph from a plane that dropped off 19,000 feet in the sky.
Multiply that by more than 100 women jumping out of five planes over the Arizona desert. It’s like a determined team of adrenaline junkies on a quest for world record glory.
A group of women skydivers from 22 countries have set out to break the 65-way skydiving world record for women set in 2016 in a celebration of women’s rights.
The latest attempt, initially suspended in 2020 due to COVID-19, is part of the Women’s Skydiving Network Project 19. Organizers say it has taken four years to complete.
After training at indoor facilities around the world, the women will gather in Eloy, Ariz., from Sunday through November 26 for several record-setting attempts to build a 100-way headdown or vertical skydiving formation for women.
“It was originally a women’s vertical world record to celebrate the centennial of the 19th Amendment, which is where women achieved the right to vote in the United States,” said professional skydiver Sara Curtis.
Curtis and Project 19 co-leader Amy Chmelecki were instrumental in securing the 2016 record in an extreme sport that includes just 14% of people who identify as women, according to the United States Parachute Association.
“Finally, we’re at that point where we all get back together and do it,” Curtis, who has completed more than 14,000 jumps and set 18 world records, told USA TODAY.
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“We created this movement with women in the free flight community to build this record that is super challenging and really meaningful to a lot of women,” she said.
How the skydivers plan to perform the stunt
Such a massive attempt could take up to 20 attempts, Curtis said. About 120 entrants are expected to take part, 100 of whom will jump for the main world record attempt along with a team of 20 others who will rotate in and out of the main formation based on performance and logistics, according to Chmelecki.
Research, planning and training have been carried out in Europe, Australia and South America. Wind tunnel training has helped groups of women simulate skydiving without jumping out of planes and parachuting, said Jazmyne Kahler, a California-based traveling nurse who has set more than 19 state records and four Worldwide.
“We were able to train the core of the formation in Abu Dhabi, having the 40 women in the center work on building a base that can fly strong to build the rest of the record,” said Kahler, who has jumped more than 2,700 times. for a decade.
When it forms in the sky, the formation of 100 women will resemble a giant snowflake with a round center for about 80 seconds, Curtis said.
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“Then there are groups of people who are connected, and there are people who stand out from that and they all hold hands in a very organized way,” he said.
Teams have developed plans to emerge from all five planes, unite, build from the core, hold formation and layer apart to parachute safely back to Earth, Curtis said.
“Although we are all experts in this, it is very dangerous if someone does something wrong,” he said.
Jumping to inspire women
The Project 19 team says the hope is to inspire girls and women to live bold and courageous lives of their own design, even if it involves more than just skydiving.
“If our skydiving inspires you to do something you’ve always wanted to do, whatever it is, become a chef or a doctor, or do some amazing project that’s meaningful to you, that’s what we hope this kind of record brings to you. women,” Curtis said.
Underrepresentation in the sport could be because women don’t normally see themselves as skydivers, but are getting bolder and braver, she said.
“It makes women think outside the box,” Curtis said. “We didn’t plan to become skydivers, then we realized what we could achieve.”