Skydiver Keith Paulsen of Morrison will represent Chicagoland Skydiving Center in Rochelle as he travels to Lake Wales, Florida, this month to attempt to break the world record for most skydivers in a canopy formation.

From Nov. 16 to 23, skydivers from around the world will gather to try to break the standing world record of 100 people in parachute formation in flight, set in 2007. Paulsen will be in a group of 131 elite skydivers who aim to build a new formation of 107 to 109 skydivers, marking a historic milestone in the sport. If successful, the record could stand for years to come, Paulsen said.

Paulsen is a regular skydiver at Chicagoland Skydiving Center in Rochelle. He previously was an instructor at the business that calls the Rochelle Municipal Airport home. He’s spent recent years training at CSC and across the U.S. with jumpers from all over the world to prepare for the record attempt. Athletes from 19 countries have been invited.

“We will work our way up to the record,” Paulsen said. “I will be in the second wave of skydivers. The top group will get out at 19,500 feet and will wear oxygen. Four passes will be made with eight airplanes all together.

“A lot of hard work has gone into it by the organizers. We’ve all been practicing. We’ve done a lot of camps, and we’ve been graded on our performances. I made the cut and was invited. You have to keep and earn your spot in the pool.”

Paulsen, 65, has been skydiving for the past 40 years. He recalls seeing skydivers at a baseball game when he was a child, which sparked his interest in the sport. He did his first jump when he was 24.

The group trying to break the record is optimistic about its chances, Paulsen said. Organizers have done analytics on timing and skydivers’ skill grades. Bigger parachutes will be located on top of the formation, and slower parachutes will be on the outside to ensure stability.

“It’s going to be a big deal,” Paulsen said. ”It could stand for a long time if we break it. The current record has stood a long time – 18 years. It was set in the same place. This has taken a lot of preliminary work. All I’ve done in the past five years is this discipline. We open our parachutes right away and fly together. I’m 65, so this is my last chance to be a part of something like this.”

Canopy-formation skydiving is a unique discipline within the sport, and Paulsen travels all over to find other people to do it with. His travels have included Michigan, Wisconsin, Canada, Portugal, California, Florida and more.

Canopy-formation skydiving also has been done at CSC in Rochelle. The discipline is very technique-specific, Paulsen said, with skydivers flying up to a formation and getting a hold of it to fly together. Skydivers in other disciplines are usually taught to stay away from other parachutes to avoid collisions.

Paulsen did his first canopy formation jump in 1986.

“It’s been a lifetime of working up to a record like this,” Paulsen said. “To be at the top level for this world record takes a lot of dedication and focus on the discipline. I’ve been focusing on it for the past few years. It’s always fun, and it can be a lot of work, but it’s worth it.”

The idea of achieving the record is what excites Paulsen most about his trip to Florida. When he saw the current record set 18 years ago, he wanted to break it.

Paulsen said canopy-formation skydivers have fun and help each other as they work toward a common goal. He’s honored to be among a group of 131 skydivers from all over the world as they try to leave a legacy.

Paulsen has made more than 5,000 skydiving jumps in his career.

“Skydiving is a relief from the day to day,” Paulsen said. “You don’t think about things like paying bills or doing chores when you’re up in the air and enjoying the view. Some of the views are spectacular. The people are the biggest part of it. They’re just awesome, wonderful people to have fun with.”