ParaMag - n°324 - Mai 2014 - B3

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RECORD
BJ Worth talking to the World Team members before to go for a world record attempt. Photo Andrey Veselov
In the history of big-way skydiving,
the World Team has attained nearly
mythical status. In the course of its 20
years of existence, nearly 2000 formation
skydivers have experienced some
intense moments, with fantastic
successes, but also with failures that
illustrated the difficulty of the challenges
they faced. This 20th anniversary was
intended to set a new world record
in sequential large formation,
a new discipline initiated by BJ Worth
and officially recognized by the FAI.
Last year, this two point 222-way jump
was not completed successfully,
although it came very close.
Only two people were missing from
the second point. BJ Worth didn't want
to finish his career with a failure,
but ultimately there was not to be a world
record this year either.
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If all of the participants were deserving
of a world record for the time
and energy they invested in it,
there is especially one person who
merited this crowning achievement:
BJ Worth himself, for his visionary
leadership in sport skydiving.
Formation skydivers, did you know that
4-way and 8-way sequential competition
began in 1976 thanks to BJ Worth?
Great memories
In the big DC3 hangar at Skydive
Arizona, World Team has established
their headquarters. The large international
team will be based there for one
week. Including the staff and the camera
team, a total of nearly 250 people will
contribute their efforts towards the
achievement of this 220-way sequential
record. Skydive Arizona is the only DZ in
the world with the aircrafts and the
logistical means to make jumps such
as these, having to hire only one
or two additional airplanes, because
it owns a fleet of 4 Twin Otters and
5 Skyvans which are available
all year long.
At age 62, BJ Worth has decided to
retire, and before he does, he hopes to
complete one last world record.
In the DC3 hangar, the atmosphere
commemorates the World Team.
Highlights of World Team's history are
illustrated by a series of giant photographs
showing best performances
and world records: the 216-way in
Slovakia in 1994, the 297-way in Russia
in 1996, the 282-way world record
in Thailand in 1999, the 357-way world
record in Thailand in 2004, and the
gigantic 400-way in Thailand in 2006
which is still the current world record.
Also displayed are the flags of all the
nations represented by the World Team
for Fly It Forward.
At ground level, a huge panel is set up
with a giant photo of a Hercules C-130
tailgate ramp, open to blue sky and fluffy
clouds more than 7000 meters above
Thailand. This luminous vision has
repeatedly inspired World Team
members, eliciting emotion and ecstasy,
as they launch into another
record attempt.
"Give me wings..."
To complete the evocative tableau
decorating the hangar, a giant video
with tablet-like touch commands
presents the different chapters of World
Team's history, as well as of sequential
history. The images of different world
records play in a loop, along with the
famous movie "Wings", showing many of
the very first, 8-, 9-, 12-, 15- and 16-way
sequential jumps. Made in 1975,
this film produced by Carl Boenish and
directed by BJ Worth stupefied the
relative work community and opened up
new horizons at a time when relative
work was limited to the 10-way speed
star and the 4-way star/back flip/star.

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ParaMag - n°324 - Mai 2014

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