Quitters!

[wmw999 2,174]

There are several people who were jumping about the time I started who still are. There are others who aren't. It's always nice to hear about people I knew reasonably well early on who are still jumping; I can think of about 5-6 off the top of my head.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[ultra12 0]

first tandem there were about 15 of us all friends than there were 4 of us for 2 more jumps and now i am all alone going to take a class and my 4th jump. but thats ok since now i can ride my bike there and have fun there and back

******************************
If you can't race it or take it to bed.... it aint worth having.

Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

[steve1 5]

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Lets face it, it's not cheap.

I bet the expense is the biggest reason more people don't follow through.

The expense today is a big factor, but I believe that there is more to it than that.

I started jumping back in the 70's when skydiving was really cheap compared to today. The gear was cheap, the training was reasonably priced, and even us poor college kids could afford to jump.

But very few stuck with it. Sometimes we would have a training class of twenty or more. Out of that group there might be a few who would get as many as ten jumps. In the long run you were lucky to have one stick with it.

Skydiving isn't for everyone.

I saw a bumper sticker this summer. It said that most sports take one ball to play. Skydiving takes two. I agree with this particularly when you are first starting. It's not easy to jump out of a perfectly good airplane, and keep coming back for more

There's also a lot of people who lose interest in the sport. The politics ruin the fun of jumping for some people. If it's not fun anymore, many decide to do something else just as challenging

Hell, I quit for 25 years. Sold my rig and bought some rodeo gear I needed for riding broncs. Then I got married and quit rodeoing too. I was really broke then and was building a house. Everyone has different priorities. My family always came first for me.....Steve1

[skybytch 259]

Let's see... Al's dead. Gregg, Scott, Shelly and a couple others quit jumping after Al went in. Bill quit after doing a couple jumps post-accident recovery. Tom quit after breaking his leg. Steve and Jeff quit after they got busted (but Steve is talking about jumping again soon). Harry quit cuz he didn't like the dzo and then he got old. Roy moved away. Mike ran for president. Matt broke his leg and then got married. Milt died in Costa Rica recently.

Of the 25 or so active jumpers when and where I started, I only know of four who still jump - Shelly, Rich, Steph and I (and Steph is pretty busy with kids these days, don't know when she jumped last).

[goose491 0]

Of the 5 people that came with me to do our first jump, 2 continued on with me, doing a few more before dropping off. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one from my FJC still jumping. (it was S/L progression)

I have seen one experienced jumper sell his gear and opt out and that was last year. He has his reasons.

My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

[outlawphx 1]

I quit in '96 and started back up again this year. I just got bored with RW and decided to get into something more exciting (sportbikes). A few new disiplines popped up since I left, so I'm back for another go. I'm really going to try and keep my priorities balanced now, so hopefully I don't burn out again in a couple years.

[BillyVance 34]

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How many of your friends thsat started jumping with you have stopped jumping for whatever reason?

The one guy that begged and pleaded with me to try skydiving because he had started it the year before, didn't jump again after my first year. He's still on jump #12 while I've piled up 1200 in 12 years... that bastard...

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[Elisha 1]

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Milt died in Costa Rica recently.

Unless I have him mixed up (I don't know him - just have heard about him from others), I saw his Spectre at Skydive Santa Barbara a couple of months ago. I think the DZO got it from his widow. We had a little guessing game of how out of date the reserve was - 14 months pior to July-ish05.

[wmw999 2,174]

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The one guy that begged and pleaded with me to try skydiving because he had started it the year before, didn't jump again after my first year

I can remember going to a friend's wedding with another jumper. The co-attendee said of Mike "He won't be jumping in 6 months" (Mike was marrying a rather bossy woman).

Funny that -- the co-attendee was not jumping within 3, having taken up with a new girlfriend who started jumping just to "catch" him. Mike kept on jumping very occasionally for a year or so.

Ya just never know.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[ltdiver 3]

From the 3 who were students when I started....One assists in managing a small New Jersey DZ and the other is Jeb Corlis.

Guess we all stuck with the game.

ltdiver

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

[Hooknswoop 19]

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I call bullshit.

At 43 jumps, I thought the same as you and couldn't understand why someone with thousands of jumps and that could really fly would quit. Then I got a few thousand jumps. Jumping from planes is fun and cool, all the other crap can add up to make it simply not worth it.

Derek

[javip82 0]

On the contrary of all of you, I have had the pleasure of having my friend’s stick around for the ride. Out of four friend’s the person with the most jumps (our tutor) has been around for about 9 years, our oldest friend has been longer than our tutor but with only 100 jumps. This last one, started skydiving with round parachutes and since then he has logged 100 jumps, can you imagine that. My best friend and I started at the same time 2 years ago, unfortunately he had an accident on February but is about to come back after his injury. So you see, not everyone is a quitter.

____________________________________
You know what's out there.
Take it, it's your's INMORTALITY!!!

[kelpdiver 2]

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There are other things in life, skydiving isn't everything.

Derek

I call bullshit.

10 years ago I never thought I'd stop diving, but I'm logging only a handful of dives a year now. Skydiving bumped it out. Who knows in a few years. I like to have one or two major interests, and one new sport each year. It can get crowded in the closet.

If you reach a plateau and don't have new aspects of the interest to stimulate, you might find something more exciting elsewhere. That's pretty much what happened to me in the water.

Skydiving's higher currency requirement and the greater penalty for sloppiness only increases this.

[Jeth 0]

There are several people who I watched graduate AFP last fall who I have never seen back at the dz. I even called a few of them to encourage them to come back and jump.

It just amazes me that these people take the time and BIG MONEY to get their license, but then they just give it up!! I don't get that!! Theres no way I would've gone thru AFP if I didn't think I'd make jumping a part of my life afterwards. Its sad to me. Such a waste of time and money.

This is not the same as a licensed jumper taking a break for a few years or even quitting after a few hundred jumps. Its really a shame when a newly graduated person doesn't take the next step to become a "real" skydiver. But I think this may happen a lot of times to new graduates. It is definitely overwhelming when you are all of a sudden on your own.

From my personal experience -- there was only 1 other person in my FJC -- soarfree. And she's definitely still jumping, and kicking ass at it, too!

"At 13,000 feet nothing else matters."
PFRX!!!!!
Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109
My Jump Site

[Hooknswoop 19]

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It just amazes me that these people take the time and BIG MONEY to get their license, but then they just give it up!! I don't get that!!

Some want the achievement of being able to jump w/o an Instructor and that's all. Some find it difficult to transition from jumping w/ an Instructor to other jumpers for numerous reasons. It can be difficult when skydiving is so much a part of your life to think of ever leaving, but before skydiving you got along without it. I have found some other sports and other activities that have given me much more than skydiving ever did, without the investment in time or money.

Derek

[scrublink 0]

Probably more than a dozen quit. The guy that got me into it doesn't jump anymore.

I have seen more women give it up after meeting some whuffo guy than I can count. They weren't all close friends but you don't see them for a while and start asking around. Sure enough they got a man and just stopped jumping. Sad. Who would want a women that doesn't jump? Or at least pack.

[mjosparky 3]

I just looked over a picture of a 64 way I was part of in 1981. I could only pick out less then 10 that are still jumping, but 6 that are dead.

Spark

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[happythoughts 0]

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There are other things in life, skydiving isn't everything.

Derek

I don't think I'm a skydiver. I think I am a person who skydives.

Right now, it's pretty interesting. If it ceases to be that, I will move on.

Skydiving is too serious to be done for any other reason than you really want to. Anyone who only "kinda" wants to jump, needs to quit.

I support anyones decision to quit, regardless of what that reason is.

[kallend 1,679]

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How many of your friends thsat started jumping with you have stopped jumping for whatever reason?

I'm the only one left of the folks who trained with me.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[Superman32 0]

2

Inveniam Viam aut Faciam
I'm back biatches!

[jumperconway 0]

I can understand why!!!!

[jumperconway 0]

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I just looked over a picture of a 64 way I was part of in 1981. I could only pick out less then 10 that are still jumping, but 6 that are dead.

Spark

Micheal, that's sad, if I die because of this sport would you please kill me!

[mjosparky 3]

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I just looked over a picture of a 64 way I was part of in 1981. I could only pick out less then 10 that are still jumping, but 6 that are dead.

Spark

Micheal, that's sad, if I die because of this sport would you please kill me!

No, its not sad, its just the way life is. In 1968 I started my career at a Firefighter. Retired in 1997. Of the 15 guys that hired on about the same time I did, I am the only one still alive. Sometimes you eat the bear, sometimes the bear eats you.
Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[thesaint 0]

Of the people who were at my student level there is only two. There are a few who were quite a ways ahead of me that I still see on a regular basis. But of my "class" there is only myself and two others. My wife and I started out together as AFF stuents but she dropped out after 5 jumps. It's a pity too cause I thought we would be doing this together thus avoiding the "your never home" arguments.

"If a thousand people agree on a dumb ideal, it's STILL a dumb ideal."

Skully Bro #1 - POPS# 10440

[jumperconway 0]

of the only friends I have lost in this sport , 3 hooked themselves in, one died as a result of get back itis! One is quadraplegiac. 2 died.