When to start bowling?

[Superman32 0]

At what point or what action should lead an instructor tell a student that he/she REALLY need to start bowling instead?

Inveniam Viam aut Faciam
I'm back biatches!

[Tink1717 2]

When the student presents a danger to himself or others.

Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off.
-The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!)
AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

[skinnyshrek 0]

when they show up at the DZ with bowling shoes and a bowling ball...

http://www.skydivethefarm.com

do you realize that when you critisize people you dont know over the internet, you become part of a growing society of twats? ARE YOU ONE OF THEM?

[UntamedDOG 0]

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At what point or what action should lead an instructor tell a student that he/she REALLY need to start bowling instead?

Never, only the student should make that decision.
The student is the last person to leave the aircraft and jumps a larger canopy so it is unlikely that they are endangering other skydivers.

It is very harsh and self-assuming to judge someone at such an early stage in their skydiving career.

A wise man once said, there is no such thing as a bad student, only a bad teacher.
With all the safety measures in place like AAD’s, radios and GPS navigation on the plane, the student program should be designed to be idiot proof.

If you want to throw the Scott Lutz example at me, I say those instructors made the mistake of not training him in his practice harness properly. It is all about muscle memory and mistakes were clearly made with his training.

[RhondaLea 3]

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It is very harsh and self-assuming to judge someone at such an early stage in their skydiving career.

"Harsh" and "self-assuming" judgment may also save the student for future participation in a more appropriate activity.

I'll grant you that there are "problem" students who have gone on to become world champions, but there are many more who have broken themselves on their stubborn refusal to recognize that skydiving is not for them.

Most instructors today will work very hard to help a student succeed, and with the advent of a windtunnel near every major dz, the advice to take up bowling has turned into (in many cases) "go spend some time in the tunnel." But for some, neither drive nor tunnel time is enough. And it is totally irresponsible to encourage someone to continue in a potentially life-threatening activity to which they are obviously unsuited.

Not everyone can play a musical instrument, paint a portrait, perform a gymnastics routine, although they may be able to learn all the underlying theory of all three given adequate instruction. Skydiving is no different. And it is much better to say to someone with no potential that their efforts are better turned elsewhere than to allow them to continue.

rl

If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

[alw 0]

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At what point or what action should lead an instructor tell a student that he/she REALLY need to start bowling instead?

At my home DZ you'll find bowling balls all over the place . . .

Draw your own conclusions.

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Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

[Travman 6]

I know a guy who took 49 jumps to get through his AFF. His persistance was great. I don't think anyone suggested bowling to him, he just kept going until he got it right. He got there in the end, and good on him!

So yeah, I think only if someone poses a danger to themself or others.

[Dumpster 0]

Winter leagues start up around early September her and run through May. I preferred the Thursday evening mixed league myself.

Easy Does It

[BIGUN 1,105]

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A wise man once said, there is no such thing as a bad student, only a bad teacher.
With all the safety measures in place like AAD’s, radios and GPS navigation on the plane, the student program should be designed to be idiot proof.

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If you want to throw the Scott Lutz example at me, I say those instructors made the mistake of not training him in his practice harness properly. It is all about muscle memory and mistakes were clearly made with his training.

First, these two statements totally contradict each other. According to statement one; one should be able to throw the Lutz's of the world out of a plane with only the training of "listen to the radio ofter your canopy comes open" and their lives would be saved.

The second statement demonstrates the lack of having a student who ground trains magnificantly and then gets a total brain lock on the skydive followed by sheer panic on the bottom end when their brain does finally engage.

That "wise man" was wrong.

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[droquette 0]

wuzz up biggun!!!!

My comment on the topic.. i am far far far from bieng an awesome skydiver but my reactions are right and i feel very comforatble with jumping. i have seen people going on solos after they get off student status and they just look like they have no clue about whats going on. I think that jumping is an individual decision and at the same time i have the choice of not jumping with the individuals who i feel are unsafe. So I dont really know if I could reccomend bowling to teh, i just know they are not jumping with me.

HISPA 72 ----- "Muff Brother" 3733

[riggerrob 561]

I disagree.
One percent of skydiving students are not bright/brave/strong/flexible, etc. enough to skydive on their own.
Fortunately, most of them can now do tandem to earn bragging rights without seriously endangering innocents. The disadvantage is that far more stupid/terrified/flabby, etc. people ask to do tandems than sign up for IAD or static-line jumps.
I would never allow 1/3 of my tandem students to skydive alone.
I can give you numerous examples from my 23 year jump-mastering career.

For example, last month, the chief instructor handed me a tandem student with the following explanation: "She did the IAD first jump course last weekend. She was an emotional basket case, grabbing the door frame, etc. and I had to bring her back down in the airplane."
She screamed the whole way down on our tandem. She refused to take her hands off her harness and declined my invitations to help me steer the canopy.
After landing, she marched herself into the first jump course and was surprised when the chief instructor called her aside for another "talk."
Clearly, this woman was not going to do anything to steer her own canopy, ergo we decided that she should never be allowed to do solo jumps.

A major part of ground school is quizing students (on material already covered in class) and listening to feedback from students. A good instructor will call aside the stupidest/flabbiest, etc. students and steer them towards tandems or bowling alleys.