The short history of canopy formations
A Brief History of Canopy Formations (CRW)
Canopy formations—still commonly referred to by their original name, CRW (Canopy Relative Work)—originated in the mid-1970s. It is widely believed that Bobby Gray and Mike “Beanpole” Barber performed the first successful 2-way canopy dock in 1975.
From that point forward, the discipline began to evolve rapidly, with increasingly larger and more complex formations. Early CRW jumpers used a technique known as “top docking” to create vertical stacks. However, as formations grew beyond four jumpers, it became clear that top docking made it difficult to add more canopies. A group called the “Know-Sense Team” pioneered a new approach: docking from below. This innovation made it possible to build significantly larger formations.
On October 23, 1977, the first 8-stack was completed in Livermore, California, after four attempts. The “Know-Sense Team” was behind this achievement, with Tom Courbat organizing and Norton Thomas earning the first Canopy Crest Soloist (CCS) award for docking eighth in the stack. By the end of June 1978, only eight 8-stacks had been completed—all with the participation of Know-Sense Team members.
Later in 1978, the first European 8-stack was successfully built by Belgian jumpers in Maubeuge, France. Vertical formations continued to grow in size, with 10-, 11-, and 12-stacks soon appearing in the skies.
A 13-stack, completed in England in 1980, marked the first time the CRW world record was taken outside of the United States. In May 1988, France hosted the completion of the first 36-way diamond formation. Since then, the record has been surpassed multiple times, with the current world record standing at a 100-way diamond.
To date, only a handful of countries have successfully completed full 16-way or larger diamond formations: Australia, Canada, Egypt, England, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, Switzerland, and the United States. If others exist, the author would be glad to know.
Competition in CRW began relatively early. The first major event took place in Zephyrhills, Florida, from October 27 to November 4, 1979, featuring only U.S. teams. Events included 4-way rotation and 8-way speed.
In 1980, Zephyrhills also hosted the first CRW World Cup—though it lacked official recognition from the International Parachuting Commission (IPC) and Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). The event drew rotation teams from the U.S., England, France, and Belgium, with U.S. and British teams competing in the 8-way speed event.
CRW gained official status from the IPC/FAI in 1982, the same year the first recognized World Cup was held in France. The first CRW World Championships took place in 1986 in Gatton, Australia, marking a major milestone in the sport’s international development.
The CRW Story
The CRW Story from the December 1979 Parachutist Magazine.
- 1979 World Record Canopy Relative Work Stack of 12
- Karen Dean, Don Bucklin, Nancy Kurlin, Patt Valley, Andy Spurlock, Terry Burris, Jeff Saunders, Brian Barrett, Jim Fangmeyer, Roger Gardner, Chris Miliken, Jayne Marchant and Scott Haslem.
- June 1, 1985 22-stack La Ferte Gaucher, France
- June 16, 1985 23-stack Spaceland, TX USA
- Sept. 22, 1985 28-stack New Hanover, PA USA
Night CRW
- Aug. 28, 1985 British Royal Marines built a 22-way CRW stack.
- June 14, 2003 16 way Diamond