Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Free fall fundraisers

Local skydiver Mary Tortomasi says she pays a parachute packer $6 to pack her square main chute prior to each jump. However, only a certified rigger is permitted to pack the vital reserve chute, which is deployed when the main chute fails. The cost for that service is $60, and a reserve chute must be repacked every 120 days even if it has not been deployed, she said.

The battle against breast cancer has seen many creative fundraising ideas over the years, perhaps none more so than one a month ago when 151 women came together -- for a few seconds several thousand feet above Perris, Calif.

The group set a skydiving record for "big way" jumping for women and raised $250,000 for breast cancer research.

Both the cause and skydiving are important to Las Vegan Mary Tortomasi, 36, who took up skydiving while attending UNLV in 1995. The only Nevadan to participate in the Jump for the Cause event, she raised $5,000.

"My grandmother, Lou Seelig, died of breast cancer," said Tortomasi, the silver medalist in sky surfing at the 1998 U.S. Parachute Association national championships at Lake Elsinore, Calif.

Jump for the Cause was co-created in 1999 by entertainer Mallory Lewis, daughter of puppeteer Shari Lewis, who died of breast cancer at age 65 in 1998.

Lewis continues performing with her mother's longtime partner, sock puppet Lamb Chop, who was tucked in event co-founder Kate Cooper's jumpsuit during the recent leap.

The second Jump for the Cause was in 2002, when 130 women set the record that was broken by the 151-woman flower-shaped formation on Sept. 30. Women from 15 nations jumped this year.

It took 18 attempts over five days to successfully complete the jump, which was hampered by missed midair jumper-to-jumper hookups and bad weather. In the 2002 jump, it took 13 tries.

Although Tortomasi, a master-rated parachutist with 1,005 jumps during her 10-year career, completed her assignment every time during this year's event, she had a close call on the 12th attempt that could have turned the inspiring gathering into a tragedy.

"At the break-off (release from the stunt), I had a close call when I turned to track," Tortomasi said, referring to the phase of the jump when she sped away from the other jumpers at 130 mph to establish a safe zone to deploy her chute.

"I almost collided" with another jumper whose parachute had deployed too soon, said Tortomasi, who said a skydiver rarely survives a collision during a free fall.

According to Dropzone.com, which tracks skydiving fatalities, 68 parachutists died in jumps in 2004, including 22 in the United States. The Web site says 49 skydivers have died through Sept. 30 this year, including 22 in the United States.

National statistics show that nearly one in seven parachutists in America is a woman. The U.S. Parachute Association's Web site says 14.7 percent of its members in 2004 were women. It is estimated that there are 350,000 parachutists in the United States who make more than 3 1/2 million jumps a year.

Jump for the Cause organizers estimate that this year's participants had nearly 1 million combined jumps.

Each attempt during the event cost organizers $4,500. They used eight planes from which the women, who ranged in age from 21 to 62, leaped from 17,000 feet.

Three breast cancer survivors were among the jumpers.

An average jump involves one minute of free falling before chute deployment and another four minutes until a skydiver reaches the ground.

By contrast, a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer every three minutes, organizers said.

"Each time we do this event we have three goals -- set a new world record, raise money to fight breast cancer and raise awareness of breast cancer," Lewis said in a telephone interview from her California home.

"Women in this sport tend to be high achievers -- doctors, lawyers, businesswomen. The spirit of this event is phenomenal. I'm thrilled with the results this year."

In addition to qualifying in preliminary jumps, each participant had to raise at least $2,500 to be on the team, Lewis said.

After expenses, which are still being calculated, the City of Hope figures to get about $250,000 for breast cancer research, she said.

The next Jump for the Cure is tentatively set for 2008, with a goal of between 175 and 200 women jumping for a record, Lewis said.

Tortomasi, a Bonanza High graduate who is a vertical wind tunnel instructor, personal trainer and actress, says she would jump again for the cause.

"Every jump is exciting -- it is the sensation of flying," said Tortomasi, who splits her year between Las Vegas and Menifee, Calif.

"Skydiving is a life-changing event. Once you do it for the first time, you get the feeling that there is nothing you cannot do."

For the 151 women involved in the record-breaking jump, that includes conquering breast cancer.

Ed Koch can be reached at 259-4090 or at [email protected].

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