Alana Fulvio plays around on a freefly jump.

For the past four Octobers, women from around the country have gathered at Skydive Elsinore in California for a weekend of skydiving, partying and bonding. But the idea behind the Chicks Rock Boogie isn't to promote women at the expense of men. It's an all-inclusive event, where the guys and the girls can skydive together. This year, event organizers Betsy Burkey, Kama Mountz and Chris Fiala made sure everything from the skydives to the boogie bags gave the chicks just what they wanted.

The drop zone's two Twin Otters, as well as a Skyvan from Skydive Arizona, flew loads throughout the weekend. A DC-3 load also flew Saturday at sunset, and skydivers could make helicopter jumps throughout the day Sunday.

The boogie featured female organizers for both formation skydivers and freeflyers. Local jumpers and 4-way competitors Tammi Rettig and Melanie Curtis organized belly-fly jumps and hybrids. Missy Nelson came from Chicago, and Gillian Parker came from Arizona to jump with the freeflyers. In addition, local jumpers Fiala, John Chisholm and Pat Newman got on as many loads as they could to get outside video of the women's jumps. They also put together a few tracking and flocking jumps of their own. Other local organizers included Marie Harrell, Mike Inabinet, Erin Murphy, Leon Toson and Andrew Staich. Representatives from several equipment manufacturers brought demo equipment and answered questions about their products. The boogie also included a raffle for everyone registered, with a long list of prizes.

By the end of the weekend, about 200 participants had registered, 95 of them women. So the girls didn't quite overtake the drop zone. But that's OK. For once, neither did the boys. Besides, just about everyone agrees—going co-ed is best.

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