people turnover

[skyhawk 2]

just wondering what type of turnover your dz has people wise i just got back from the dz (had to pick up my rig , no jumping :( )and the only person i recognised was the dzo, its monday so mayby that slightly explains it but i also seen a picture on the website and i only recogtnise a couple of ppl.
So what type of turnover does your dz have ??
the only thing you learn at school is to memorize

[jtval 0]

um idont know i was one over those that had to be turned over
getting high is fun, but coming down is the best part
JT

[diverdriver 7]

Every three years, you stop, look around, and if you are still in the sport there is no one else that you started with. Not always, but most of the time this is true. Been true for me.
Chris

[freefallfreak 0]

skyhawk,

Quote

i was one over those that had to be turned over

Dude, I don't think I'd want Justin or Clay to find out about that...lol.
TripleF
"If you have something vital and it's sincere, you can communicate." Butch Trucks

[riggerrob 643]

Expect most people to last three years in the sport.

[Magistr8 0]

Does three years in the sport have some sor of significance?
Personally I can see myseld doing this for many years to come, easily into my 30's at least. Is there any stats to look at fot turnover rates?
Who ever said comming down from a high was bad obviously never tried this.
Magistr8

[skycat 0]

Well I've been doing it about 2 1/2 years and have been seriously debating about quiting. When you first start jumping it's the thrill of something new, then it's the challenge to succede, then it becomes about getting better, being on a team whatever. Then one day you look around and all you see is politics and people being mean to one another, popularity contests, and things that just aren't right. At first you try to fix what is wrong, and then you realize that it's just not worth it, cause nothing will change. Then you are sitting where I am, pricing out your gear that has all of 50 jumps on it and wondering if anyone would care or even notice if you just walked away.

[diverdriver 7]

Many reasons that this could be. Money, Politics, Injury, Death. Seeing someone die from skydiving (not reading about it) can cause people to rethink this sport and their participation.
Then again, I have several friends who did not get out of the sport but moved away for their jobs. Then they quit jumping because they didn't seem to fit in or feel the vibe of a new DZ. The socialization aspect of this sport is more powerful than many give credit. But there can be many, many reasons why you don't see the same people in the sport as when you started.
Chris

[MrHixxx 0]

I think it comes down to if you enjoy skydiving for intrinsic reasons you stay. If you enjoy it for social reasons, you were probably jumping with the wrong motivations in the first place and you'll will eventually have a lapse in sense of belonging which makes you part... I have told people on several occassions when they were bitching about politics that I would be jumping regardless of who I like or dislike...
-Hixxx
"Sous ma tub, Dr. Suess ma tub"

[quade 4]

Quote

The socialization aspect of this sport is more powerful than many give credit.

Skydiving forces you to interact with other people even if you're the type of person most would consider to be a lone wolf.
If you jump with a group of regular people or are on a team, think about just how much time you spend in the packing area, creepers, plane, under canopy, in the landing area, debriefs . . .
Even if you only went out and did solos, you're probably only alone in this sport for about a minute.
Kind of like the TV show Survivor, if you don't get along with these people, they'll probably get along just fine without you. I don't think it's so much about politics as it is just a reality of the situation. Also like the TV show Survivor, it helps if you can contribute something valuable to the group. Whether they voice it or not, people do respond favorably to contributors and negatively to slackers. To me this says that newbies should buy their beer and old timers should pass on their skills and knowledge. In using the phrase buy their beer what I really mean is pay their dues. This could take several forms from sweat equity to actual beer.
I personally have been paying my dues for the last several years to my camera flying mentor, Raoul Gravell and it's paid off many, many times over the small amount of sweat I've put into it. I don't need to buy him beer, because he brews his own . . . .way too powerful I might add. Point is, get out there and interact. This too is part of skydiving.
quade
P.S. Kate Cooper says that if you haven't been in the sport for 10 years, you might just be a tourist. She says that 10 years seems to be the real turning point.
http://futurecam.com

[indyz 1]

Last semester the Falling Illini had at least a dozen students (probably more on weekends that I missed) take the FJC and make a first jump. Two of us are left. We had more than that do tandems and, as far as I know, none of them came back.
--
Brian
Homepage
AIM: suprmath

[QuickDraw 0]

Quote

Then you are sitting where I am, pricing out your gear that has all of 50 jumps on it and wondering if anyone would care or even notice if you just walked away.

Don't let em grind ya down....or if you do sell your gear to me
..Billions of people living out their lives..Oblivious..

[skycat 0]

Actually I'm treated fine, it's just that I can't stand to see others treated like dirt. All cause they don't agree with someone who is part of the "in crowd". So then I end up feeling bad try and treat them nice, jump with them whatever and next thing I know I'm not getting invited on dives. Ok, that isn't that big of a deal, but week after week of seeing crap like that going on, well it makes me not want to be part of it. You know when they say as the prop turns they aren't joking it's one big soap opera, it used to be amusing, now it just makes me sick to my stomach.
btw...somehow I don't think you are read or small enough to jump an MXS with a 15 inch harness with a 113 reserve and crossfire 104 main.

[Sebazz1 2]

Every once in a while you gotta take a weekend/month off or so, clear your head or whatever, just get away from the DZ. I have been in the sport for 5 years and plan to do it for the rest of my life but sometimes it gets thick with BS at the DZ.
I've seen people come and go. Like the tides.............
Sebazz............

[rgoper 0]

**Then you are sitting where I am, pricing out your gear that has all of 50 jumps on it and wondering if anyone would care or even notice if you just walked away.**
number one, your good at what you do, number two, i would notice, as well as a lot of others. don't let the politics get ya, hell if i let politics get in my way, i'da stopped a long time ago.
And ya can't say, it's not fun!! :)
Richard
"Gravity Is My Friend"

[QuickDraw 0]

Quote

btw...somehow I don't think you are ready or small enough to jump an MXS with a 15 inch harness with a 113 reserve and crossfire 104 main.

I could do with losing a little weight.
..Billions of people living out their lives..Oblivious..

[prost 0]

To get back to your origanal question. I see a decent turnover at every drop zone. People will get out, and some will go but come back later. I haven't been jumping that long (a little over 4 years), but I see some of the same people I started jumping with. The DZ where I started jumping closed. However, I recently went to the next closest drop zone and ran into about 15 people who were jumping at the drop zone when I started skydiving. The more time goes by the more I get into it. Some people are going to get out but enough will stay in so you can talk about the old times.
William

[lazerq3 0]

I havnt really seen a big turnover rare at our DZ, but i have seen a lot of students go through and then never show up again. I mean its like where did they all go??
jason

[Iflyme 0]

Quote

I havnt really seen a big turnover rare at our DZ, but i have seen a lot of students go through and then never show up again. I mean its like where did they all go??

My DZ is similar. There is a core of people who are there frequently, a handful who show up now and then, plus the students and the tandems. I think it is a financial thing for a lot of people, too, once the realize that cost of staying with the sport. Personally, I kinda like seeing the same old faces every time I go.
"Men weren't meant to ride
With clouds between their knees"
Five For Fighting

[jtval 0]

skycat- i have never met/jumped with you but could you really just hang it up? please tell me that was jsut i hasty post about the bs at your dz. i can not stop thinnking about my next jump!(just 30 days from now)
i guess in one aspect i have it made. i travel too much to really be part of any dz(except this one...thats why i love it..i just realized THIS IS MY HOME DZ)
but i fell like i ve miised out on alot of afterjumping activities.
i just had a very good conversation wiht someof my co-workers and as i listened to myself...(sometimes i do that) i couldnt believe how much skydiving is part of my life(even though my deployment hasnt allowed me to jump in 7 months)
i know my goals in life and i know how to obtain them(which is comforting) but is really is all about you ppl and teaching the newbies( not that im all that experienced.102 jumps) im still a newbie!! and i hope i never feel different about it. but please....dont leave because of someone else,skycat! if you feel you have had your fill b/c of financial restraints or otherwise then by all means do what you think is right , but if its b/c the AS THE PROP TURNS thing...dont run away from it. you just dont have to add to the situation! so with that being said....um how could you leave!
getting high is fun, but coming down is the best part
JT

[jtval 0]

oh i orginally started with a reply to FFF"s response...
um...i guess i left myself open for that comment. but please dont tell on me. after knowing clay here i guess its a good thing that i kept missing him at atlanta!
getting high is fun, but coming down is the best part
JT

[Remster 30]

Quote

P.S. Kate Cooper says that if you haven't been in the sport for 10 years, you might just be a tourist. She says that 10 years seems to be the real turning point.

She must say that a lot, coz she was saying it last week when I met her! ... I was about to post the same thing...lol
I think people leave for various reasons: moving away (I'm at my 4th home DZ now), having kids (for some it's a show stoper, others will skydive well into their pregnancy), loosing the fire, seing the reapper from close, etc...
Remster
Muff 914

[SkyMissy 0]

I have been skydiving less and less lately. Partly because I got married and bought a house, but more because I have begun trying to resume some of my "outdoorsy" nature outside of skydiving, which is why I started in the first place. I will never stop skydiving, but I don't think I'll ever be at the DZ every weekend again, either. I have noticed that when this happens, you can feel the difference in the way people treat you at the DZ, more like a blast from the past than anything, but that's okay. I plan to get into BASE, and on days too windy to jump, I'm gonna try this "kitesurfing" crap I've seen. Looks pretty cool, and there are parachute type thingys involved. All in all, I will keep skydiving, but I want to expand into more things that offer the same type of Freedom that skydiving does. Also want to get my private. And hang gliding, and the Harley, ...... Anyway I still jump quite a bit, and will always be a skydiver, I think I have just hit a plateau, and don't want to be tied to anything EVERY weekend. Anyway , I feel better, how much for the session?
The freak formerly known as Mike Farmer.
Sky World

[rhino 0]

Pretty much all of the regulars at my home DZ in Michigan are still there.. Part of what I look forward to other than jumping after winter is spending time with them..
Blue Skies and Smooth Rides!!
http://www.aahit.com

[ibrobinm 0]

I understand EVERYTHING you said. We've been there, done that.....Life is ALOT better now.....
xoxox,
Robin