Dedication to Skydiving— USPA Honors Connie Krusi D-18905 with the 2025 Gold Medal for Meritorious Service
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Sunday, September 7, 2025
Above: Gulf Regional Director Chuck Akers presents Connie Krusi with her Gold Medal for Meritorious Service at Skydive Spaceland-San Marcos in Fentress, Texas. Photo by Yoshizo Ishihara.
The USPA Gold Medal of Meritorious Service ranks—along with the USPA Lifetime Achievement Award—as the highest honor the organization can bestow upon a member. USPA awards a maximum of only three Gold Medals each year, and for good reason. It’s truly special.
Longtime USPA Examiner and Safety and Training Committee Chair Michael Wadkins nominated Connie Krusi, D-18905, for the award, citing her “exemplary service to the sport of skydiving through her dedication to student safety and training, longstanding leadership, and commitment to the advancement of women in skydiving and instructional roles.” The full USPA Board of Directors ratified the nomination unanimously. On August 23, USPA Gulf Regional Director Chuck Akers presented the gold medal to Krusi at Skydive Spaceland-San Marcos in Fentress, Texas.
Some of the biggest and most deserving names in skydiving—individuals who served the sport by reaching new heights in competition, world records, photography and an assortment of disciplines—have earned this recognition. Krusi’s contribution shines in a different way. Her career is defined not by records or medals but by a lifetime of giving back, embodying everything the Gold Medal represents.
It all started with a tandem skydive in Hawaii with her husband, Vic, while celebrating their 14th wedding anniversary in 1993. Vic, who would also go on to become a professional skydiver, recalled that as soon as she landed from her first jump, Connie asked, “How do I learn to do that?” Vic thought she was asking how to become a skydiver. What she actually meant was how to become a tandem instructor. She had found her calling.
That first jump sparked her desire not just to keep jumping but to share skydiving with others. It led to a 30-year career as a professional. In 1993, shortly after that first life-changing tandem, Connie Krusi earned her A-license and started working in manifest at Skydive Hawaii. Manifest soon gave way to freefall videography, and she attended the Accelerated Freefall Instructor Course as soon as she qualified, earning her rating. When it came time for her tandem rating, many doubted that a 5-foot-2-inch woman could handle the demands of the role. She proved them wrong, excelling in the field and eventually becoming one of the first female tandem examiners.
Connie Krusi celebrates her award with the community at Skydive Spaceland-San Marcos in Fentress, Texas. Photo by Yoshizo Ishihara.
Vic’s career outside skydiving took the couple to California and then Texas. In California, Connie combined her instructional work with managing day-to-day operations at the drop zone, where she trained skydivers and mentored instructors who would later build influential careers in the sport. Her guidance during this time helped shape future leaders across a range of skydiving roles. She later continued her service as chief instructor at Skydive San Marcos. She recently retired from active jumping with impressive stats: nearly 21,500 jumps, including 2,500 video jumps, 2,000 AFF skydives and 14,168 tandem jumps.
Connie Krusi continues to serve the skydiving community at Skydive Spaceland-San Marcos, where she wears many hats. Perhaps the most important is her role as a mentor and example for skydivers everywhere—a legacy befitting the USPA Gold Medal for Meritorious Service.