16 year old skydiving

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20_kN

True, but again how many DZs are going to allow someone under 18 jump? I am guessing zero or pretty close to zero. As such, if no DZ, USPA affiliated or otherwise, is going to allow someone under 18 to jump, then in effect the minimum age to jump is 18.

To some extent, yes. As long as we remember that there are a few DZs that do allow someone under 18 to jump there, and that there is nothing wrong with that. And as long as we remember that USPA influences and supports skydiving in the US, but does not control it.

[flying_phish 8]

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USPA has no jurisdiction over people that are not USPA members.

No, of course not. But is West Tennessee not a USPA group member drop zone? Maybe they aren't, I don't know. Or maybe they have a waiver for their Australian TI with the French rig.

I don't see anything wrong with 16-year-olds skydiving. But doesn't it seem odd to anyone that a USPA board member's drop zone would operate in violation of a BSR? I'm not calling for anyone's head here, but it's a curious situation.

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flying_phish

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USPA has no jurisdiction over people that are not USPA members.

No, of course not. But is West Tennessee not a USPA group member drop zone?

It is not a Group Member DZ.

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Or maybe they have a waiver for their Australian TI with the French rig.

They don't, and they don't need to.

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But doesn't it seem odd to anyone that a USPA board member's drop zone would operate in violation of a BSR?

Neither the DZ nor the TI is in violation of a BSR.


Thank you for bringing this up and for asking these questions. It is often difficult for people to understand USPA (as an organization) and it's "rules". Hopefully this clears things up for people.

[flying_phish 8]

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It is not a Group Member DZ.

Ah, there's the answer. Thanks, that clears it up. I just made the mistake of assuming that a board member's DZ would be a group member.

Honestly, I would question the age limit as a BSR for tandems at all. The age of the tandem passenger seems like much more of a legal/liability issue in the US than a safety issue (provided the harness fits).

But I guess the BSR is written for all skydivers, including AFF/staticline/any "solo" program students. And I would question the mental preparedness of a 16-year-old for the stress of a solo jump. I can think of at least one static line incident where this might have been a factor. So I don't mind the age limit for that.

There might be merit to the idea of only limiting the age of solo skydivers, but the reality is that very little would change if the BSR did allow for "underage" tandems, since the major manufacturers here set their own age limits for tandems anyway.