Short Term Skydivers

[nigel99 144]

You're short term till its fucked up your marriage

I think many skydivers jump to prove they've got 'balls' - evidenced by the many t shirts to that effect. People who do it to validate themselves often realise that they don't get the validation/respect that they thought they would so they move on, (otherwise they become tandem masters )

Ultimately what we do is risky, probably stupid and certainly selfish. However it brings an enormous amount of personal satisfaction. But just remember at the end of the day, the long term skydivers are probably the screwed up people - so when you're at the dz and see the 70 year old with dreadlocks who lives on baked beans and coke, spending his time talking to himself and swooping his trusty old triathlon 230 THAT is what you're aspiring.towards

Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

[3mpire 0]

welp. we have a winner. pretty much sums up all the key points. /endthread lol

[Deisel 35]

nigel99

when you're at the dz and see the 70 year old with dreadlocks who lives on baked beans and coke, spending his time talking to himself and swooping his trusty old triathlon 230 THAT is what you're aspiring.towards

HAAAAAAHHHHAAAAAHHHAAA!!!!!!!

The brave may not live forever, but the timid never live at all.

[Squeak 17]

DcloudZ

The difference from my point of view is that the short-termers see skydiving as a hobby/activity whereas the long-term jumpers see it as a sport/passion/way of life.
..

So where do I fit in. I see it as a Hobby, merely an activity i participate in. Been participating for nearly 11 years and 1400 jumps.

Your point of view is that of a short termer (so far) BTW

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[Squeak 17]

JohnMitchell

I wonder if they can get all those 3-ring tats inked over into something that goes with their new "best sport in the world"?

Don't be Dis'n my 3 ring Tatt, Bitch

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[JohnMitchell 14]

Squeak

***
I wonder if they can get all those 3-ring tats inked over into something that goes with their new "best sport in the world"?

Don't be Dis'n my 3 ring Tatt, Bitch

Ahh, but you're a long term jumper. I talking about those who get the ink after the first tandem.

[JeffCa 0]

Another thing to consider is that of those who leave, you don't know who will be back. I did my first jump as a licenced jumper 10 years after I got my A. The situation was not suitable for me until then. Now I intend to be around for at least a few years, jumping most weekends, and have just invested in my first gear.

My girlfriend began her A-licence training but we pulled the plug on it. She was plenty brave and enthusiastic, but not very good. Not very good in ways that made her dangerous to herself and possibly to others. She would certainly improve with practice. But would she improve first, or would she break her legs first? As I've seen it put on this forum, would her skill jar fill before her luck jar emptied? In the end, we decided together that she should call it a career and retire before completing her A. It's not for everyone.

"So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

[JohnMitchell 14]

nigel99

You're short term till its fucked up your marriage

Damn, I'm still a tourist.

Quote

People who do it to validate themselves often realise that they don't get the validation/respect that they thought they would so they move on, (otherwise they become tandem masters )

Oh snap! How about it pays the jump bills?

Quote

Ultimately what we do is risky, probably stupid and certainly selfish. However it brings an enormous amount of personal satisfaction. But just remember at the end of the day, the long term skydivers are probably the screwed up people - so when you're at the dz and see the 70 year old with dreadlocks who lives on baked beans and coke, spending his time talking to himself and swooping his trusty old triathlon 230 THAT is what you're aspiring.towards

Hot damn, I'm almost there.

Seriously, I see a lot of jumpers in their 60's and 70's, decades in the sport, still having more fun and enjoying life more than many people half their age. And they seem to me to be very happy, successful, together people.

[oldwomanc6 38]

Frankly, I am mystified by the whole "tourist vs. non-tourist" (meaning: "I'm the jumper that's been around forever") distinction. People jump (or not). They jump a few times (or not). They jump a few more times (or not). They jump a few years (or not).

It's a sport that is not for everyone, at every stage of life.

If those that think they are "non-tourists" would be more accepting and welcoming of the new jumpers, maybe more would stick around long enough to pass the arbitrary sky-god stamp of approval (and acceptance).

lisa
WSCR 594
FB 1023
CBDB 9

[FataMorgana 0]

+1
Great post. Too bad that idiosyncrasy of human nature is so hard to override.

The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.

Stephen Hawking

[Southern_Man 0]

oldwomanc6

Frankly, I am mystified by the whole "tourist vs. non-tourist" (meaning: "I'm the jumper that's been around forever") distinction. People jump (or not). They jump a few times (or not). They jump a few more times (or not). They jump a few years (or not).

It's a sport that is not for everyone, at every stage of life.

If those that think they are "non-tourists" would be more accepting and welcoming of the new jumpers, maybe more would stick around long enough to pass the arbitrary sky-god stamp of approval (and acceptance).

I'm with you. Every activity or hobby I've ever participated in had people continuously entering and leaving, and sometimes re-entering. Nowhere have I seen the sort of attitude towards those people that I see in skydiving. Life changes, priorities change, assessment of risk change, etc.

"What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

[JohnMitchell 14]

oldwomanc6

Frankly, I am mystified by the whole "tourist vs. non-tourist"

Yeah, I'm not even sure where that started, but I think it was on DZ.com. I don't really hear that at the DZ with the arbitrary "10 year" threshold.

How about a term for people like me, who jump only on weekends, usually just good weather, and only get ~ 200 jumps a year, sometimes less when life gets in the way? What do the full time, 1000+ jumps a year folks think of us?

[oldwomanc6 38]

JohnMitchell

***Frankly, I am mystified by the whole "tourist vs. non-tourist"

Yeah, I'm not even sure where that started, but I think it was on DZ.com. I don't really hear that at the DZ with the arbitrary "10 year" threshold.

How about a term for people like me, who jump only on weekends, usually just good weather, and only get ~ 200 jumps a year, sometimes less when life gets in the way? What do the full time, 1000+ jumps a year folks think of us?

I think the term is "Slacker!"

lisa
WSCR 594
FB 1023
CBDB 9

[JohnMitchell 14]

oldwomanc6

I think the term is "Slacker!"

I thought it was "father of 4 with a real job."

[oldwomanc6 38]

Retirement's a full-time occupation?

lisa
WSCR 594
FB 1023
CBDB 9

[JohnMitchell 14]

I'll let you know how many jumps I get this next 12 months. Today I'm remodeling a kitchen, in case you're wondering how my "retirement" is.

[oldwomanc6 38]

JohnMitchell

I'll let you know how many jumps I get this next 12 months. Today I'm remodeling a kitchen, in case you're wondering how my "retirement" is.

Just wait till word gets out and people (neighbors) start tapping you with things to do, because they think you have all this "free" time, now. Like it's your responsibility to pick up their slack!

lisa
WSCR 594
FB 1023
CBDB 9

[ntrprnr 0]

DcloudZ

Arrive at DZ -> Jump -> Go home and post pictures on social networking sites = Short term

The difference from my point of view is that the short-termers see skydiving as a hobby/activity whereas the long-term jumpers see it as a sport/passion/way of life.

It's not for everyone...

I'd argue that. In the eight years I've been jumping, I've started and sold two companies, gotten married, had a kid, bought a condo, etc... So it's not all skydiving, all the time.

On the flip side, though, I still love it with all my heart, and try to do it as much as possible. And yes, I go home and post my photos on my page all the time. I don't see how those who post online are "short term." I know a ton of skydiving "lifers" who post tons of photos online. That's a huge generalization, don't you think?

End result, I love skydiving, but I also love having a life outside of skydiving. That doesn't make me "short term."

_______________
"Why'd you track away at 7,000 feet?"
"Even in freefall, I have commitment issues."

[JohnMitchell 14]

Maybe we should realize we all love the sport and just want to have fun and survive each jump. No need to be divisive. I think there's room for everyone in our sport.

[NWFlyer 2]

Southern_Man

I'm with you. Every activity or hobby I've ever participated in had people continuously entering and leaving, and sometimes re-entering. Nowhere have I seen the sort of attitude towards those people that I see in skydiving. Life changes, priorities change, assessment of risk change, etc.

While I don't disagree that some people have an attitude about people who don't stay in the sport for very long, I think most of us who've been around a bit have seen enough people come and go to know that it is the pattern (and as I said upthread, that's okay!).

I don't judge anyone for their choices about how much / how little to jump, or how long to stay in the sport. The only time I really care is when I'm deciding whether to jump with someone; I want to make sure their skill/currency matches the type of jump they think they can do. If you've got 5 jumps in the last year and 100 total, I probably don't want to be on a 20-way with you, regardless of whether you think you can handle it.

Where it becomes mildly amusing is that almost every extremely enthusiastic newer jumper thinks they are the exception - that they are the one who is going to be doing this for the rest of their life, when the reality is, the majority will be done in a few years, wondering what to do with that 3-ring tattoo.

Like others on here, I'm more of the long-term casual skydiver. I average 100-200 a year, weekends/vacations only, certainly not every weekend, and often only one day out of any given weekend. I have a day job, I have other interests, I like to do other things some weekends, even if that's just curling up on my couch with a good book and a cat at my feet.

I like this sport a lot and love the people I've met through it, but I can also say that I really have no interest in doing it full time. Even if somehow I managed to figure out a way to skydive full time while maintaining my current standard of living (income, benefits, etc.) I probably wouldn't. Balance is what makes this a long(er)-term thing for me.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[Fast 0]

JohnMitchell

***Frankly, I am mystified by the whole "tourist vs. non-tourist"

Yeah, I'm not even sure where that started, but I think it was on DZ.com. I don't really hear that at the DZ with the arbitrary "10 year" threshold.

How about a term for people like me, who jump only on weekends, usually just good weather, and only get ~ 200 jumps a year, sometimes less when life gets in the way? What do the full time, 1000+ jumps a year folks think of us?

I think that part of it comes from the people that have been around a long time. I mean, I have been jumping for ten years and in that time so many people have come and gone that it makes my brain swirl around just trying to think about it all. We actually have run into a problem at our DZ because we aren't having enough people stick around for long enough to get a good high end experience base. Everyone always just has 200-700 jumps and then they quit or move or go to another dz.

After a decade it's getting harder and harder for me to be motivated to put the time and effort into helping someone get better because they all just leave. My wife and I are looking at having kids and I know even after 10 years, we might slow down jumping a bit, I don't really want to - but also a good deal of the fun has been taken out of it cause I don't have a lot of people who are higher skill level to jump with. I guess I need to get out more from my home dz, but that's the root of this mentality I think. Frustration over people leaving after time and effort was invested on them.

~D
Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me.
Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

[Krip 2]

oldwomanc6

***I'll let you know how many jumps I get this next 12 months. Today I'm remodeling a kitchen, in case you're wondering how my "retirement" is.

Just wait till word gets out and people (neighbors) start tapping you with things to do, because they think you have all this "free" time, now. Like it's your responsibility to pick up their slack!

Hi John, nice lady
Hope you all don't mind if I pull up a keyboard and join you.
I've known John for 25 yrs.

No BFD just means we are lucky enough to grow old, and with this new tecno stuff. The net we can stay connected with folks all over world if we can find the time.

The boss and I remodeled the house from top to bottom end to end did everything ourselves except finishing the sheetrock. Rockin Roger is a artist. We ran out of gas by the time we got to the kitchen, and to do the job right. We need a room stretcher

Owning a house is what it is. The boss keeps on reminding its like painting a aircraft carrier. We've lived here 15 yrs and we're already replacing the water heater again

Whine, whine, whine,. Neighbors I've seen some of their work when they were helping the previous owner.

I got a triple play. Mcnasty, the -Joey- type mixed in with Zimmermann the dude from fl all in one neighbor. But with a little bit of effort we trained him to behave

I hit a home run on the location, neighbors come and go, can be retrained, etc but as long as I can keep my privacy I'm a happy camper. When we get to old to do the job ourself we can hire a pro.
The subject of this thread is just another indication of the Joey type mentality The immature bean counting, the new definitions, to inflate their egos, that might work in a closed society like a dz or in kindergarden. But in cyber space you never know who is lurking

John how many different decades, and centuries have you made a jump in?
damn thats not going to happen again for another 87 yrs. All that means is your getting older. And I,m older than you so maybe I got another decade or two.

Don't mean nothing, squat, zero, zippo, whatever.

Nice lady the only reason I left you out of the bean count bs is because you a lady and there are some things .......

Take it as a sign of respect, I've been in training for 40yrs
Chow

One Jump Wonder

[diablopilot 2]

oldwomanc6

Frankly, I am mystified by the whole "tourist vs. non-tourist" (meaning: "I'm the jumper that's been around forever") distinction. People jump (or not). They jump a few times (or not). They jump a few more times (or not). They jump a few years (or not).

It's a sport that is not for everyone, at every stage of life.

If those that think they are "non-tourists" would be more accepting and welcoming of the new jumpers, maybe more would stick around long enough to pass the arbitrary sky-god stamp of approval (and acceptance).

Tourist is the insulting term some of us use to describe those that take from and draw down in a negative way the sport that we love. They are the pants on fire, won't listen to experience, arrogant types, that rarely last 2 to 3 years.

Non-Tourists are the ones that stick around, pay back, listen, contribute, respect..... it's not as much as a time in sport thing as an attitude....

----------------------------------------------
You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[ez230z 0]

I'm someone who would probably fall into that category. I made the mistake of starting as soon as i turned 18 while still in college. This resulted in having no money for a rig, jumps, or gas after AFF. As much as i would like to get out there and jump for days, the fact that i dont have any money and dont know anyone at the dropzone makes it few and far between for my jumps. I love skydiving, but i can't commit to the level that many of you have at the moment! Hope this offers some insight.

[ryoder 1,384]

oldwomanc6

I think the term is "Slacker!"

I prefer to call it "abiding"?

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.