dmathews1960
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Posts posted by dmathews1960
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Curious to know how you intend to get skydivers to care about USPA and it's mission.
For starters, I would engage the Board more with members. I think it was absolutely CRAZY that the Board met in Reno Nevada in the winter. Why not Perris, or Z-Hills, or Spaceland where skydivers would be welcome to interact. And this wasn't isolated. Spokane is the meeting site in July. Although there is a DZ an hour or so away, I will be surprised if the Board goes there. And then there is the issue of elections. Unless I'm missing it, I couldn't find a single word about this month's election in Parachutist. But I did see where USPA reported that MOST skydivers read the print version of Parachutist, and many fewer read it online. So why put the candidate's bios and platforms only online? Moreover, you can't even read about candidates unless you log in to vote. So in answer to your question, I would be very deliberate about engaging with the membership. Skydivers have a great sense of community. This should extend to the Board.
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Thank you for asking. I just posted the following answer to this question on my website, so let me start by giving you that:
" I think that it is important that TI's have clearance by a physician because of their responsibility as "pilot in command". I am not wedded to any particular system. I am OPPOSED to the current system that was not designed for skydiving, and that allows some clerk in Oklahoma City to reverse the decision of a flight physician. What I mean is this. Currently, after going through your physical, the physician approves or denies the approval. I get that. But I know MULTIPLE instances where the physician has approved and literally YEARS later, someone in the FAA "reviews" the file and reverses the physician's decision. This is big government at its worst. Moreover, I know of instances where a veteran on some level of disability is denied the medical because of the VA disability. This is crazy. The determination must be up to the physician, not some arbitrary rules. (If you would like to see other people's experiences with this, scroll down to previous posts in April and you will see other people who have experienced the same thing). My own flight physical (which I passed - I am a working TI as well as AFFI and Student Program Director at Skydive Tecumseh) had a fairly extensive color blindness test. Now, my mentor in skydiving was color blind. So why the test? The FAA flight physical was not designed for skydivers. It is simply the wrong tool for the job. Finally, I want to emphasize that TI's have great responsibility. Poor decisions and irresponsible behavior by TI's have caused passenger deaths as evidenced by last year's fatality report. But medical emergencies, by and large, are not killing skydivers. According to USPA, last year about 4 million jumps were made - mostly by people without any medical clearance. A total of one death was attributed to a medical emergency. We need to Stop the madness, and put in place something that simultaneously ensures TI health (I would even be open to your own physician doing a physical that includes an EKG and/or a stress test) but doesn't ruin people's lives, take away their source of income, and prevent qualified, healthy skydivers from serving as TI's."If you scroll back through the comments beginning in mid-April on my Mathewsadventureservices website, you will see lots of discussion. However, I would dispute your characterization as this being "a hot topic" with the USPA. My observation is that this has been a problem for years, and nothing substantial has been done. I wish it were a hot topic. I am open to compromise, and am not really wedded to one solution. My starting point is a general physical every couple of years (as someone who's 63 I already have to get my FAA physical every two years, and I don't think that's excessive). I also would personally favor an EKG or cardiac stress test, but am not going to fall on my sword over this. As I said above, it's not like skydivers who have no physical exam are dropping over left and right. Apparently the ONE death out of four million jumps was likely from a dislodged blood clot after a broken bone. I think it is telling that the FAA flight phyisical would NOT catch this either.Anyway, I am very tired of seeing good people, good skydivers, healthy individuals have their tandem careers ended for no good reason. Similarly, I hate to see veterans with minor disabilities excluded. And I hate to see doctors overturned by clerks. (I'm actually not usually an angry person - but all of this makes me angry) :)I hope you will support me in my endeavor to make a positive change. Getting elected won't be easy, and making the changes of the four types I've proposed won't be easy either. -
Hi Everyone: The USPA special election for National Director runs the entire month of June. I am running, and have been trying to get the word out. I am troubled by the fact that only about 6% of the membership voted in the regular election last time. I am also troubled by the fact that this special election isn't even mentioned (as far as I can see) in the June Parachutist magazine that just arrived yesterday. I'm attaching a picture that briefly shows my qualifications and what I hope to accomplish. For more info on either of these topics, you can check out my website Mathewsadventureservices.com or email me at [email protected]. Thanks for your time. I would really appreciate your vote. David M. Mathews, Ph.D.
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Hi Everyone: The USPA special election for National Director runs the entire month of June. I am running, and have been trying to get the word out. I am troubled by the fact that only about 6% of the membership voted in the regular election last time. I am also troubled by the fact that this special election isn't even mentioned (as far as I can see) in the June Parachutist magazine that just arrived yesterday. I'm attaching a picture that briefly shows my qualifications and what I hope to accomplish. For more info on either of these topics, you can check out my website Mathewsadventureservices.com or email me at [email protected]. Thanks for your time. I would really appreciate your vote. David M. Mathews, Ph.D.
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I apologize in advance if there is already a thread for this....I couldn't find one. I am looking for ANY data, even anecdotal, about the percentage of FJC students that earn their A license. Talking to other folks at other DZ's, many people have told me that they think it's probably 5-10%. I would be interested in averages, and also in exceptionally high rates (whatever those might be) in order to increase ours. Many years ago, I was a young Ph.D. mathematician when it was decided that the national pass rate in Intro Calculus (then less than 50%) was unacceptable. Tons of money was spent by the National Science Foundation to develop different training programs, and lots more effort was put into student retention. One of the catchphrases was that this course should be "a pump not a filter" into the other sciences. Of course, there were plenty of folks who didn't see this as a problem that needed fixing. I remember one professor telling me very matter-of -factly, "Calculus isn't for everyone." There is lots that can be said about all of this. I know that it takes time, and money, and dedication to get licensed. I know that not everyone who takes a FJC even wants to get licensed. Still, my personal belief is that if the rate is less than ten percent that we can and should do better. I thank everyone in advance for any data you can provide or any direction you can point me. Thank you.
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I apologize in advance if there is already a thread for this....I couldn't find one. I am looking for ANY data, even anecdotal, about the percentage of FJC students that earn their A license. Talking to other folks at other DZ's, many people have told me that they think it's probably 5-10%. I would be interested in averages, and also in exceptionally high rates (whatever those might be) in order to increase ours. Many years ago, I was a young Ph.D. mathematician when it was decided that the national pass rate in Intro Calculus (then less than 50%) was unacceptable. Tons of money was spent by the National Science Foundation to develop different training programs, and lots more effort was put into student retention. One of the catchphrases was that this course should be "a pump not a filter" into the other sciences. Of course, there were plenty of folks who didn't see this as a problem that needed fixing. I remember one professor telling me very matter-of -factly, "Calculus isn't for everyone." There is lots that can be said about all of this. I know that it takes time, and money, and dedication to get licensed. I know that not everyone who takes a FJC even wants to get licensed. Still, my personal belief is that if the rate is less than ten percent that we can and should do better. I thank everyone in advance for any data you can provide or any direction you can point me. Thank you.
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Hey everyone: I am taking the best graphics I have and having them made into big graphics for the wall of our training room. I wanted to use the attached image, but it is too low resolution. I can't find where the image originally came from, as it was cut-and-pasted into our FJC manual. Does anyone have a high resolution copy of this graphic that they would be willing to share? Thanks in advance.
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Collegiate Nationals Edit | Delete | Quote | Reply |
Without exception, every collegiate sport is comprised of competitors
that have spent much of their youth in the sport. As I read the April
Gearing Up discussion in Parachutist magazine regarding the dwindling participation in the collegiate national skydiving competitions, I was struck by the fact
that this observation was missing. If one wanted to ensure the
demise of any college sport, one would prohibit participation in that
sport before age 18. My oldest son is 17 and has his A license. He
will be the last of group for whom this was a reality. The USPA
Board's regrettable decision to prohibit participation by those under
18 needs to be reversed. If they do not reverse this, at least they
should honestly admit when collegiate nationals finally go away that
it was not just some regrettable external factors such as those listed
in the article, but the logical consequences of their own actions.
David M. Mathews, Ph.D.
C-17804 -
Without exception, every collegiate sport is comprised of competitors
that have spent much of their youth in the sport. As I read the April
Gearing Up discussion in Parachutist magazine regarding the dwindling participation in the collegiate national skydiving competitions, I was struck by the fact
that this observation was missing. If one wanted to ensure the
demise of any college sport, one would prohibit participation in that
sport before age 18. My oldest son is 17 and has his A license. He
will be the last of group for whom this was a reality. The USPA
Board's regrettable decision to prohibit participation by those under
18 needs to be reversed. If they do not reverse this, at least they
should honestly admit when collegiate nationals finally go away that
it was not just some regrettable external factors such as those listed
in the article, but the logical consequences of their own actions.
David M. Mathews, Ph.D.
C-17804
USPA Special Election June 1-30
in General Skydiving Discussions
· Edited by dmathews1960
One more thing........
I am obviously passionate about improving member engagement, improving the published documents, re-invigorating collegiates, and replacing the FAA medical with something that makes more sense for TI's. I have focused my campaign on these issues. I should also say, however, what is working well. I think USPA has developed a great culture of safety, and that USPA has lots of dedicated staff and Board members already. The ones I have met are exceptional people. I have the utmost respect for them. But I think that our organization is not perfect, and we can make it better together. I think that this is our job, as people who love skydiving. I said all of this in my Casual Chat interview with Brian Germain. (I'll post a link to it soon). I know it's asking a lot, but if you have time I hope you will watch it.