Good article. The fallacy of jump numbers alone or years in the sport alone defining ability is best understood by comparing the average aging motorist with a young professional racing driver. Am I a better driver than Scott Dixon because I had been driving eleven years before he was born? Of course not! I may have 26 more years on the road than him, but there is a big difference between just being there "changing the gears" and the totally focused, constant improvement of someone who thinks carefully about what they are going to do first, commits absolutely to the task at hand while doing it and then reviews and critiques their performance, seeking input from others and drawing lessons for their next attempt. Skydiving is absolutely no different, which is why some of these tunnel flying young bucks can fly rings around us long time "hobby jumpers" There is great benefit in having maturity and having over the years been present when hard lessons were learned but skill is not absorbed through some sort of "jump suit osmosis" and every jump brings the need to properly prepare, fly within ones limits (and the limits of the group you are with) and land safely if you are to avoid becoming a statistic.
Implications of Recent Tracking, Tracing and Wingsuit Incidents
in General
Am I a better driver than Scott Dixon because I had been driving eleven years before he was born? Of course not! I may have 26 more years on the road than him, but there is a big difference between just being there "changing the gears" and the totally focused, constant improvement of someone who thinks carefully about what they are going to do first, commits absolutely to the task at hand while doing it and then reviews and critiques their performance, seeking input from others and drawing lessons for their next attempt.
Skydiving is absolutely no different, which is why some of these tunnel flying young bucks can fly rings around us long time "hobby jumpers"
There is great benefit in having maturity and having over the years been present when hard lessons were learned but skill is not absorbed through some sort of "jump suit osmosis" and every jump brings the need to properly prepare, fly within ones limits (and the limits of the group you are with) and land safely if you are to avoid becoming a statistic.