Why do you think most 1st time jumpers don't continue through student program?

[kbordson 8]

The bragging rights or "done that, got the T-shirt" attitude does play, but I think that theres a lot more to the decision.

Most people either LOVE it, or were intimidated by the experience. And this feeling can be influenced by the TM but doesn't really mean it's his/her fault if they don't come back next week. There is A LOT of info on that first jump. It is info overload and takes a bit to process it. And either you like that feeling of trying to control chaos or you don't.

Some people delay the time from their first tandem to the AFF and lots of reasons can cause that delay- time, money, family, cleaning up legal stuffs (ie feeling the need to ensure the paperwork such as wills, DPOA ect is done) Mine was all due to time, I made my first jump right at graduation.... then became an intern - ABSOLUTELY NO TIME that year. Started AFF during my second year of residency.

But whatever the reason for not continuing - at least they got to dance in the sky for a little bit
Karen

[popsjumper 2]

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Bragging rights.
Most students only intend on making one jump so they can brag to all their buddies that they are "skydivers."
On cloudy days, I find it amusing that some students are more concerned about being late for a party ... You get the impression that tandem jumping is just a step on their way to a party for they can brag ...

Nail on the head....I too see a lot of that....and I wonder, was it me just getting emotionally over-charged by my first or them just not getting it?

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[SkydiveStMarys 0]

From my experience those that come to do a tandem jump come for just that, one jump, to say that they did it. Those that carry on thru AFF, do so because during that first jump (Tandem) something "clicked" and they fell in love with all the aspects of skydiving, kinda like when you fall in love with your soul mate. One reason that they don't go thru with it and I deal with this alot, is the feeling of not "being able to do it". Plain and simple, they become overwhelmed and then they start using the excuses of lack of funds, time, etc. Thats where the AFF teacher comes in, they have to be extremely confident at what they are doing and be able to reassure the student, that yes infact, they can do it. The AFF teacher also needs to know the students level of compency and fish or cut bait when that student is just too overwhelmed and back off.

Bobbi

A miracle is not defined by an event. A miracle is defined by gratitude.

[Mike111 0]

I only know two other people of the same age as me who have done a tandem , and they said; fear, money, and parents thought it was too dangerous.

[Guru312 0]

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Why do you think most 1st time jumpers don't continue through student program?

I'm from the old school, so to speak. I owned DZs back in the late '60s and early '70s when *all* first time jumpers did static line jumps. No AFF and no tandems existed.

I taught a few thousand first jump students. After getting out of the DZ business I began flying jumpers at a number of DZs which had S/L first jump programs. I flew at Pelicanland in Maryland for a few years and saw another thousand or more first jumps.

VERY few people came back for another jump after their first jump. The next largest 'fallout' of jumpers was after their first freefall.

My thought: It isn't money; it isn't time; it isn't distance. It's the inability of most people to *literally* take their own life into their own hands and pull their own ripcord.

I've been thinking about writing an article with the premise of something like: Parachuting as a Metaphor of Life or "Living life to the fullest means packing your own parachute and pulling your own ripcord."

The majority of people can't face life that squarely.

Guru312

I am not DB Cooper

[apley 0]

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Why do you think most 1st time jumpers don't continue through student program?

My thought: It isn't money; it isn't time; it isn't distance. It's the inability of most people to *literally* take their own life into their own hands and pull their own ripcord.

I've been thinking about writing an article with the premise of something like: Parachuting as a Metaphor of Life or "Living life to the fullest means packing your own parachute and pulling your own ripcord."

The majority of people can't face life that squarely.

i think this one is very profound. not sure if it strikes the "majority" of those who don't continue, but i think it is probably right on the money for some, and they probably are better off returning to their own version of safety and security...

i also think that there is something else that plays a huge part in whether or not new skydivers continue in the sport... i watch AFF grads sitting outside the "group" of experienced skydivers all the time at my dz. i make it a point to approach them and drag them into the experienced packing area for assimilation. they are often too overwhelmed by this world they only know from a distance. i match them with other jumpers, i coach them, i insist they stay for "green light" as often as possible... you get the idea.

i also see many new jumpers disappear after all the time and money invested, some commenting on how difficult it is to break into the fraternity of regulars... this saddens me to no end, as i spend so much time and effort trying to get them into "AFF2"; flying with others, drinking beer, watching vids, and feeling like they belong.

i am sometimes criticized for flying with new jumpers so frequently, and sacrificing my own growth as a result. what these critics don't realize is that i am committed to another part of the sport that completes the experience for me... the people.



the angry hobbit

[RastaRicanAir 0]

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From my experience those that come to do a tandem jump come for just that, one jump, to say that they did it. Those that carry on thru AFF, do so because during that first jump (Tandem) something "clicked" and they fell in love with all the aspects of skydiving, kinda like when you fall in love with your soul mate. One reason that they don't go thru with it and I deal with this alot, is the feeling of not "being able to do it". Plain and simple, they become overwhelmed and then they start using the excuses of lack of funds, time, etc. Thats where the AFF teacher comes in, they have to be extremely confident at what they are doing and be able to reassure the student, that yes infact, they can do it. The AFF teacher also needs to know the students level of compency and fish or cut bait when that student is just too overwhelmed and back off.

Bobbi

Closest to the head of the nail thus far.
Having spent only two years in this game -and FAR TOO F*CKIN' MUCH of it with my face in other peoples' nylon to make jump money- I've determined that there are Three Classes of homo sapiens:
-The NEVER GONNAS
-The ONE TIMERS
-and Us

Granted, my case is unusual, because I did my AFF while working as a radio DJ, and was able to pay for all 13 jumps (Yes, I had a spinning problem, and I'm not ashamed of it.) with free advertising. But within months after that cow ran dry, I found myself with a maxed out Visa card, sore knuckles, and a pull up cord hanging from my belt loop. Then a week after things went sour at the DZ 20 minutes from my house, I was in a truck headed to one 4 hours away.

Those who are REALLY going to do it, will do it. Those who do it a few or a few dozen times, then disappear, just took longer to figure out that it wasn't for them. The toll in money, travel or time is nothing compared to the test it makes of your personality.

I kept coming back because I felt at home among the TWISTED FREAKS in that hangar. Even on pre-license days, watching a stiff wind blade for six to eight hours was easier because I was treated like I had no more fitting place to be.
Not sure, but there may be some sort of lesson in that for people who are wondering how to help the sport grow.

OrFunV/LocoBoca Rodriguez/Sonic Grieco/Muff Brother #4411
-"and ladies....messin with Robbie is venturing into territory you cant even imagine!-cuz Robbie is

[Gone_Skiing 0]

As someone mentioned above, it is a lot like Scuba training. It takes a fairly large commitment of time and money. Also it takes some dedication. You really cannot jump just one day every few months (Like most people I know who ski or snowboard). You need to stick with it to keep your skills up.

I think there are things that can be done to lessen the dropout rate. Like in scuba (yes, I am a scuba instructor), I would bet that if there were opportunities for continuing education, possibly standardized (like AFF), that more people would stick with the sport. Some times it's intimidating to just show up at the DZ (at least it is for me) as a noob/whuffo. Everyone seems like a skygod with or without the actual attitude. Sometimes classes with people of like ability (beyond AFF) helps to make people realize they are not the only ones at the early stages of learning the sport.

Just MHO.

-Nick

PS - Now if I could just save up the money to finish AFF...

--
I used to pray to God for a bicycle.
Then I realized God doesn't work that way.
So I stole one and prayed for forgiveness.

[sistaluv 0]

I think no matter what if skydiving is for you you'll find the time and money. I think they were just spooked!

Blue Skies and Terminal Memories 4 Life

[philip2005 0]

Instead of just being money i think it's more a case of "cant be bothered to spare the money". They would probably rather have a nice car or something (not that all skydivers have bad cars!). I knew i wanted to skydive from when i first saw it when i was 12 or something i dont know why it just always appealed to me and i guess it doesn't to some, then it was a 4 year wait to do it! My first jump was an AFF jump and i've never done a tandem. To be honest i don't think a tandem is much to brag about, i mean who's gonna sound cooler bragging, a guy who says "i've done a tandem skydive" or the guy who stuck with it and says "i've done 500 skydives" or "i'm a skydiving instructor"?!

[j0nes 0]

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...i've never done a tandem. To be honest i don't think a tandem is much to brag about...

I've done five as passenger for a friend's strong tandem cert. I had around 300 jumps at the time and if I'd done tandems first, I probably wouldn't be in the sport today.

[kelpdiver 2]

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Bragging rights.
Most students only intend on making one jump so they can brag to all their buddies that they are "skydivers."
On cloudy days, I find it amusing that some students are more concerned about being late for a party ... You get the impression that tandem jumping is just a step on their way to a party for they can brag ...

That notion is reinforced by the dozens of tandem students who tell me they are also into scuba diving, but upon closer questioning ... they reveal that they only dive in the carribbean ... while on vacation ... every second or third year.
Yet they still enjoy bragging about being scuba divers.

Tourist divers, aka Warm Water Wimps, are in fact scuba divers. Not everyone lives near an interesting body of water or finds 50F temperatures very inviting. In the worst case I've suffered, I was cold through the following day, and I'm about as tolerant as they come.

Not singling anyone in particular, but a lot of you guys are the skydiving world's answer to the wuffo. People aren't doing one tandem to say they did it; if so, DZs could make good money selling the paper.
It's rather offensive to the people who fund our nice turbine aircraft. You should be thanking those people, not mocking them. When the door opens, those people are facing the oh shit demons that most of us have conquered.

Why are people bitching about being late for a party? Because they thought they would be at the DZ for a half day, and I don't think I've seen a DZ yet that is good at setting customer expectations. The tandem students know some of the why they're waiting (weather, finite number of T-Is), but are left hanging in the breeze until it's suit up time.

One timers come to see what skydiving is like. It's not ticking off a box or for lame boasting rights. 10 years back a lifelong friend and I did it on a Vegas trip. He found it fun, but saw no need to spend $150-200 again for that 60 second thrill. I didn't jump again for another 5 years, and didn't do AFF for 3 more past that. I already had a motorcycle and scuba to spend money on, and those didn't have the same currency requirement.