Above: The Texas women fly the third point of the full-break sequential jump. Photo by Norris Gearhart.
When 40 women set the Texas Women’s Record for Largest Formation Skydive in July, 2022, the participants were left wondering if they could do more to make their mark. This year, on July 29, a small group of women came together at Skydive Spaceland-San Marcos in Fentress to establish the Texas women’s full-break sequential records and make “herstory” once again.
Even though it was a small group of jumpers, planning the record was not without obstacles. Organizer and Dallas Disturbance team member Beth Victor worked for weeks figuring out potential formations that fit the persnickety rules for full-break formations. Liz Pitts was particularly instrumental in getting the appropriate paperwork filed and made sure the group followed all the rules to a T. The drop zone staff—pilot, packers, manifest, ground crew and Drop Zone Manager Thomas Hughes—were incredibly supportive and indispensable to making the event a success. This eclectic group of women from the far-reaching corners of Texas consisted of AFF instructors, FS competitors and even a canopy formation world record holder.
The participants showed up early with enthusiasm to make the record a reality. Despite the sweltering Texas heat, all the ladies worked hard to fly with discipline and determination. Even the local jumpers were cheering the participants on as they walked to the loading area. Each jump took careful dirt diving, meticulous grip review and reinforcement of the specifics of full-break sequential formations.
With each jump, the group made positive progress toward their goal. On their third jump, a little extra altitude helped the jumpers come together to form a three-point 10-way. The jumpers gathered for the “shebrief” to review the video. It looked very promising, and the judges agreed: They had achieved a record!
The group decided to try two more times to see if they could break the record again but were unable to do so. Being that it was late afternoon and cornhusk dust devils were making their way into the landing area, the group decided to call it. The holders of the Texas Women’s Record for Largest Three-Point Full-Break Sequential Formation are Erika Barczak, Erika Bruce, Patie Duttlinger, Jackie Ellis, Wendy Faulkner, Julianne Grau, Nadya Narvaez Godoy, Liz Pitts, Anna Thompson and Beth Victor. Norris Gearhart and Natalia Radford provided video and photos.
Beth Victor | D-29277
Denton, Texas
The record-setting women gather for a celebratory photo. Photo by Norris Gearhart.