Greetings to the wonderful women of JFTC
I’d like to welcome Karina Willerup to the JFTC organization. Karina will be working as Richard’s assistant from now through the end of the event. Effective immediately any email or question you would send to Richard please send to Karina–she’ll either answer it or find an answer–she’s that kind of gal! Karina’s immediate goals will be to set up the JFTC shop by designing and ordering both the “official” JFTC shirt with sponsors and some very nice shirts you can sell to raise funds for JFTC. If you have any JFTC products you’ve made or designed to sell to help raise money please send the information to Karina (with photos) and she will coordinate with Dawn to get the information up on the JFTC site. Karina is Danish by birth and lives in Texel (Netherlands) so she will be available at times different than Richard and can be reached at Richard will still be in regular contact with the JFTC team as well as working on coordinating the event as he has done so masterfully for the last 10 years.
Much has happened in the last month and preparations for the 2009 Women’s World Record are well on their way. Both the formation design and the slots and exit orders are up on the website. Note that these are ALL subject to change at the whim of the organizers as a World Record Skydive is a project in motion (especially one 6 months out).
New Business:
JFTC Support team and Alpha Team: Over the next months we will be choosing a select group of women to join us on site during JFTC and to stand tall for an opportunity to join the record breaking group. While waiting they will be coached and prepped by none other than caroline hughes Caroline is a World Team, JFTC, and Skydive Choreography member and an active organizer in her native UK and worldwide. Once you are selected for this group it means you will be in line to be chosen for an open slot on JFTC as it happens–for many this will occur BEFORE the September, as we will inevitably have women leaving the ranks of JFTC for various reasons.
The donation amount and opportunities will be the same as for JFTC–including Jumpsuit, accommodations, food on the dropzone and goody bag. You will be asked to send in a minimum of $500 upon acceptance into the A team and will need to order a jumpsuit in any of the four team colors. In other words you WILL be a member of JFTC in every way with the possible exception of the record dives–and while there is no guarantee you will be chosen for a record dive I can also assure you that even a person with a “guaranteed” slot might be asked to sit down for any number of reasons before or during the event. During the first days of JFTC the A team will be jumping with the record team and the BEST and STRONGEST 180 will step forth after these prep dives to start the hunt for a new World Record.
In my experience any large record formation requires a bench, or A team, of 10-15% in order to cover last minute cancellations, pre- and on- site injuries, and poor performance issues. While it is difficult accepting a slot on the A team remember that this is a journey we are taking together, and the end goal is FAR more than a single skydive. I myself was NOT on the 357 World Record in Thailand, but rather watched it from the ground. Was it easy? No. Was it magnificent? HELL YES. Did I feel 100% part of the team? Yes, and to this day I still feel a strong part of this World Team record.
Yearbook and photos: We are again planning a fabulous yearbook for this 2009 10th anniversary JFTC. Yearbook Coordinator Carolyn DuFur has this to say:
“Preparations for the 2009 JFTC Yearbook have already begun! Please help us create a COMPLETE record of the event by sending in a high quality photo of yourself. If you’ve already uploaded a HIGH RES photo to the website, we’ll be able to use some of these. The photo doesn’t have to be large (1.5 inches by 2.5 inches would be more than enough) but the resolution needs to be high enough for good print quality. If possible, please check and make sure the resolution is at least 150 dpi unless the photo size is larger than 1.5 inches by 2.5 inches. This way we won’t have to substitute as many photos of Lamb Chop, flower ribbons (and children!) as we did for the 2005 book!”
“Photos can be sent directly to Carolyn Dufur at carolyn.dufur@jostens.com. These photos will be used ONLY for the Jump For The Cause yearbook and related materials for JFTC. If you are curious about the yearbook project, you can take a look at a few pages of the 2005 book by going to www.carolyndufur.com and clicking on the JFTC link. NOTE: Do not attempt to purchase a book through this site yet. When we get closer to the event, you will be able to buy one either at the event or through this website, but it isn’t ready quite yet. Thanks!!!”
Jump for the Cause Veteran shirts: Have you been on ALL the Jump for the Cause events? Would you again enjoy a custom designed shirt to commemorate that fact? Ginger Kuhlmann is once again putting together a special shirt just for these special ladies. If there is enough interest she may design a shirt that covers participants for any number of JFTC events. Please contact her directly about this if you are interested.
JFTC T-shirts for sale: I know many of you have created individual t-shirts as part of your fund raising projects–be sure to bring plenty to the events to swap, trade and sell with others! There will be an “Official” JFTC T-shirt out soon. We are working on the details and these will be available for your personal use and for sale for fund raising. Stay tuned for details. See the top announcement about the JFTC shop and send your products (and ideas!) to Karina.
Website “In Honor” and “In Memorium” areas: A reminder that the JFTC website, masterfully minded by our very own Dawn, has two areas–one to honor those still with us and one to honor those who have passed. Any person who makes a donation can dedicate it to a person living or not and have it included in that area. There is no way to add pictures but a name and perhaps a short sentiment would be a lovely recognition. Contact Dawn Suiter
JFTC formation drawing with names, photographs and data imbedded: JFTC fan Craig Poxon has created a great JFTC formation graphic and is in the process of putting EVERY person’s name, photograph and other data on it–just hover your mouse over your slot and “poof” there you are. He’s working on this but if you do NOT have a photograph or data up on the JFTC site then you will NOT get your photograph and data put on this drawing. Check it out at http://www.catapedamania.com/bigways.aspx Once he’s finished with the available information we will ask Dawn to put this on the JFTC site. What a great way to get to know your teammates, plane mates, and sector mates! Thank you Craig!
Old Business:
Payments, donations, and qualifying events: At less than 6 months out we need to know 100% if you are committed to JFTC. I know this seems like a long time period but when you factor in the cost and time for hundreds of jumpsuits and hotel rooms it is quite important to know who is dedicated to this event. If you have NOT made a deposit to Richard for your JFTC account (and have not made arrangements that will change that fact in the near future) we will assume that you are not attending and remove you to the support group. You can, of course, rejoin the team (as slots are available) at a later date but we want a team that is 100% committed to this event. If you fear you will not be able to make the minimum contribution please do not wait until the last minute to give up your slot. An event of this magnitude requires preparation. Please consider this and allow others to be prepared if you cannot do so.
The same holds true for qualifying events. Too many women HAVE take the trouble to ensure that they will be one of the top female skydivers in the world this September to allow others to join us unprepared. We’ve already moved some women from guaranteed status to support team status because they could not prepare fully for the event. Know that when you stand tall at Perris, surrounded by 200+ other skydiving women (most dressed in pink) that you will be one of a team that is READY to make history–and know that the others around you have made the same decisions.
Sponsorship: Sponsorship coordinator Andrea Curthoys (fresh from her success on the Florida Pops records) is using her time gathering sponsorship for JFTC from around the globe. We can use different sources of food and drink to help cut our costs during the event so if you have a contact with a major (or minor) beverage, snack, power bar, etc company then please contact Andrea Curthoys . Clothing of any kind is also appreciated. We’re looking for items in quantities of 350 where possible (To cover women, men, volunteers and staff) but will accept 200 (to cover JFTC record women) or any other quantity. JFTC has a great “cover” letter for sponsorship and donations as well as a press release that are available to participants so they can provide a professional cover to their requests. Please contact Karina directly if you want copies of these letters.
Jumpsuits: We’re happy that so many have ordered suits (or borrowed/traded/bartered suits) but if you have NOT started your process please do not delay. If there is a Rush Fee required in order to get the suit to you in time you will need to pay for that. http://www.jumpforthecause.com/jumpsuit_orders.html has all the information, order forms and measuring guides for the official JFTC jumpsuit vendors. If you choose a suit from this list you will need to settle the payment for any extra options (including shipping and rush order) directly with the manufacturer. Only the base price of the suit with booties will be billed directly to JFTC. We’re also happy to announce that Bev Suits has digitized a VERY nice JFTC logo that is available on JFTC suits for a $15 cost–well worth it! Flite Suit is also planning on offering an embroidery option. Important–if you are providing your own suit from a different vendor or borrowing/re-using a suit you will need to let Karina know in order to have your $175 discount applied to your account.
Profile Pages on the website: You can put your comments on the profile page in ANY language you want. It doesn’t have to be English. We have women who have written notes to potential supporters in Chinese, Russian and Japanese already (with correct character sets) so don’t be shy to customize your profile so that YOUR supporters can read it and donate money to your account.
JFTC Forum: There are some great threads about fund raising opportunities (Custom JFTC gloves, Bottle/stubbie/coozies for JFTC etc) on the forum. Also the Jumpsuit thread where women have suits to share (or want to borrow/buy suits) for the record. Please see it at http://jftc.jumpforthecause.com/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=3&sid=d94a544d32b9d45a90fb30ca4094b9b2 (you may need to log in to view this page or the forum).
Men’s Way: The first 50 invites have gone out for the Men’s 110 way and you can see that they guys donations are now listed along with ours on the same page. Go GUYS! Remember if your guy wants to join this 100 way (and assuming he has 100 way experience and qualifications) then have him sign up at www.bigways.com and then the Men’s World Record as soon as possible. Contact Larry Henderson for questions.
NON JFTC but VERY EXCITING NEWS!
I just returned from the Thai Sky Festival in Thailand (Where I met and jumped with MANY JFTC members) and am proud to say that World Team is once again coming together to host a series of 3 World Records in Thailand over the next 3 years. The first, January 2010, will be a multi-point 222-way sequential dive. The second, January 2011, will be a new FAI World Record of either 444 or 500 people–the size will be dictated largely by what we learn on the prior January’s test dives. The third and final event in December 2011 will be a 999 way mass drop (with many other related activities and opportunities) near Bangkok to honor the birthday of His Majesty the King of Thailand. Have no doubt that JFTC and the accompanying Men’s 110 ways will be the first stop on the long list for qualifying for these events. We hope to have the World Team website and application process finalized in the following weeks and I will keep you updated via these newsletters as well. Nothing would make me prouder than to have a HUGE contingent of JFTC World Record Holders join World Team in 2010 and 2011!
That’s all for now. I’ll be able to get out an April newsletter before seeing many of you either in Texas or Perris! Keep training, keep visualizing, keep raising money for JFTC. No amount too small. Engage in random acts of kindness and you will be rewarded in kind.
Thank you for all the support. Hang on and enjoy the journey–it’s going to be a wild one! 
Together we can make history!
Royal Blue, Canary Yellow, Virgin White (!) and Positively Powerful Pink SKIES!!
kate