By Team ILL VISION Teammate, Kris Sosso
Follow up to the
Jump for the Cause Event held at
Perris Valley Skydiving.
Right now, I am sitting in my kitchen, drinking coffee in beautiful Vallejo, CA typing this post instead of going to work which is completely necessary for me to afford skydiving.
But there is no need for me to try to make you pity me. The week invested for Jump for the Cause was completely worth it, no matter how much pain and suffering- I was a floater (yes, I just had shoulder surgery one year prior) and it was FREEZING in the mornings and 103 degrees by 10AM - such consequences (ha ha).
Being the only current female team member for Team ILL Vision, I represented our team at this charity and world record event.
Jump For The Cause was a fundraising event for City Of Hope supporting breast cancer research as well as a women’s world record in Perris Valley, CA in September 21st through September 27th, 2009. 9 aircraft lifted 180 female skydivers to approximately 18,000 feet with oxygen.
Athletes who qualify to participate in World Records must give up some of their daily comforts in order to do what is best for their team. Whether it be missing sleep, spending a little less time with friends, or simply not having time to just sit down and relax or eat or even go the bathroom.
Nowhere is this more evident than participating in a World Record- where qualifying for the event, staying current, staying healthy and training is a regular routine. Especially during the event itself- there is little time for leisure or comforts.
At, six thirty in the morning (This means us girls were getting up at 5-5:30AM everyday!), while most jumpers are drooling on their pillows, the women were stretching and gearing up on the creeper pad to prepare for hours of dirt diving, listening to directions, sitting on the ground with gear on, sitting in the planes with gear on, walking back to the DZ from a long spot in 103 degree weather , packing, debriefing, and participating in mandatory dinners/events (often not getting us girls back to our room before 11PM) .
Though the timing of the early morning dirt dives may be freezing, uncomfortable and tough, we know and feel it is worth it if it means performing well, and that it is not as bad as we make it out to be. But at the time it is miserable….lol…I feel that the hardest part isn't the actual dirt diving, but just working up the strength to get out of bed and repeat the same routine EVERY DAY until the record is made- mentally tough….BUT it’s was all worth it.
What does it take?
Having a good exit off the plane, getting to the formation in a stadium approach and on your radial with no red zone violations.
Docking softly, flying your slot and flying the formation
Eye contact with the base and staying level.
Results?
The 180-Way Women’s World Record was made on September 26, 2009.
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