Two Skydivers Provide Inside Look at Impressive New World Record

Join top skydivers, Helaine Rumaner and Kate Cooper-Jensen, as they share how their recent all-female skydiving world record unfolded.

2024 Women's World Record / Bruno Brokken

In early October, 64 highly-skilled women from 21 different countries gathered together to set an all-female, full-break sequential world record at Skydive Perris in California.

To orchestrate this monumental event, well-accomplished skydivers Helaine Rumaner and Kate Cooper-Jensen, carefully selected their team members out of 187 applicants. Each selected member brought along a vast amount of experience, all of which was needed to make this attempt successful.

"Many [applicants] were really good. It allowed us the complete luxury of choosing a top-notch team without having to go out and recruit people to join us," said Cooper-Jensen, one of the leading organizers for the event and International Skydiving Hall of Fame inductee. "From the get-go, it was a very positive team."

Helaine Rumaner was also a driving force in making this record happen and handled the spreadsheets, collected funds for the event, and assisted with gaining sponsorships. Rumaner and Cooper-Jensen explained that each individual had a responsibility to uphold, all contributing to the success.

Not only did participating skydivers need to have a substantial number of jumps under their belts, but it was also imperative for the women to be experienced with multi-plane formations.

"This grew from a three-plane to a four-plane formation. There's a lot of people coming from different directions. If you hadn't been in multi-plane formations before, this was not the place to learn," Rumaner said.

World Record Holders and Support Team / Bruno Brokken

On the final page of the 2023 United States Parachute Association (USPA) Annual Survey, it is noted that women make up 14% of the skydiving community in the United States. With this percentage in mind, the gravity of the team's goal can be felt.

"There's a special camaraderie when women work together to make a goal. When I started doing these [skydiving] events, I realized that the sisterhood, the camaraderie, is so much greater than just the record itself. You forge bonds," Cooper-Jensen stated.

According to Rumaner, the preparation process for the event began in August of 2023. After 14 months of thorough planning, the women were able to complete the 64-way world record.

Women's World Record Formation / Bruno Brokken

"I hope some little girl or boy can look at these photographs and say, 'Wow, those are girls. I want to do that.' Maybe they will break out of their perceived or actual boundaries set by others and move forward to do great things because they realize it's possible," Cooper-Jensen stated.

While setting the record was important to Rumaner and Cooper-Jensen, there was a deeper meaning behind this event. It was a unique opportunity for like-minded skydivers to come together and show the world what is possible when tenacity and passion meet.