CanuckInUSA

I've static lined as well as been PCAed off of a 180 foot span. So 300 feet is very jumpable. Just make sure you're using the right gear, the right gear configuration and well you know that the #### you're doing in the BASE environment since 300 feet is still very low and not at all like any sort of skydive you have ever made or ever will make. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

As Remi has already pointed out, you will need a temporary TN1 or H1B work visa if you're not American or a permanent resident of the USA (aka already in possession of a Green Card). So do you possess an American passport/birth-certificate and/or a permanent residency of the USA? If no, then just moving down south and assuming you can work legally at any old company will not be legal and if caught, you could be permanently banned from the USA. I personally didn't want to risk a permanent ban when my TN1 work visa expired (the very second I was laid off), so I obtained a temporary B2 vistors, and once my 6 month visitors visa expired it was time to move back home. It's your arse, but be careful what you do in the USA. Big Borther is watching you closer than you think ever since 9/11 and the INS and the IRS's computers do interact with each other more than you'd think. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

You did a reasonably good job of describing things. Ideally the canopy pilot only needs to bump the rears out (not pull them down) in order to level out after they've let their canopy recover by itself from their turn in order to max out their swoop performance. But we've all been in the corner at some point. It's just a question of how often do you find yourself there. If it is frequently, well then the jumper has issues and if they don't fix those issues, then they are just asking for trouble. But remember it's better to dig oneself out of the corner rather than to pound in. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

It's not new. I've owned the house since '93. But it sure is an upgrade from my apartment in Vancouver and it'll be even better once I rescue my pool table (which has been in storage for 9 years). Yes they can do that and you should have seen their shennanigans earlier this summer. No rush on swooping though. But they are doing something down there in Georgia (I'm told it was all Hans fault) and who knows what they will do to you to make you become a swooper. Never say never. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Oh oh ... are you going to become a swooper now? Cool. You know they're breeding swoopers out of Georgia these days. But the way Kay-tee, I've moved again as well and am back living in my house in Calgary. The jumping won't be ask good, but Calgary is a good city with a thriving economy right now. There are more job than people here. Good luck with your move. When are you doing it? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

What are the biggest hurdles when it comes to running a swoop competition? 1) Obtaining approval from the DZO. 2) Being able to find spaces on the loads for the swoopers. 3) Obtaining course materials (including camcorders) 4) Obtaining people willing to judge. 5) Ensure the participates have the skill to safely negotiate the various courses. Sometimes it amazing that we can even hold swoop comps period as there will be no comp at all if any of these above mention points can not be met. But should there be a women's only comp? Why not I say. If you've got the okay from the DZO, can get on loads, have the course materials and judges (shit I'd be more than happy to judge a women's comp), then all you need is enough interest from qualified competitors. But at the same time, watch for some changes to competitive swooping in the years to come. Weight classes can help smaller girls compete on a more even playing field and all that we really need is more qualified pilots to make it all happen. But what people (regardless of gender) need to make sure they are doing is running the gates in practice many many times before you ever try to run gates in the higher stress realms of competition. Good luck with your women's swoop comp if you can pull it off. I'd like to see video from it (if I can't be there in person). But at the same time, there's no reason why the girls can't come out and compete with the guys on normal swoop comps. Just make sure you can run the gates in practice before you try and do it in a competition. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I know I have issues. There's no confusion here. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

If you stay in this sport, you should know that the "whuffo world" doesn't give a rats ass about us when we skydive. Make sure you're jumping for all the right reasons (you kow jumping for yourself) and not jumping to impress others. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I'm sure it's more of a "pushing the limits" sort of thing than frequency of jumps. In fact currency goes a long way towards making what some of us do more manageable and dare I say it, safer. But then again currency leads to pushing the limits. Can you say "Catch-22"? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

All jumps count. Even tandem jumps. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

You're getting a hybrid 90 right? You are going to be smoking fast that's for sure. Ever since I started jumping Shimell's old 87 I've began to experience the hype of the JVX. I'm not so sure the 87 is the best canopy for me on distance as I think a 90 might be better. Maybe next season when/if I'm in town for a visit we can swap for a jump or two. I just hope I can stay current. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

And don't forget you have to be able to walk or run safely off of the landing area without being hit by someone else before you can say you survived "that" skydive. But to get to some of the original questions of this thread, sure going in terminal wouldn't result in very much pain. But most skydiving deaths aren't terminal. Most of the time it's some sort of hard landing with some resemblence of fabric being over your head (yes often it's perfectly functioning fabric) and most of the deaths appear to happen several hours after the accident while in the hospital. There, our chances of suffering pain during a fatal skydiving injury is very much a possibility. Skydiving is not safe and it sure can be as dangerous as you want to make it. If people are afraid of dying in this sport, then they shouldn't be jumping. But people also have to remember that it can happen to them and often it happens as we become even more experienced in this sport. Didn't "D" license holders have the highest fatality statistic the other year? There's not that many sports where your chances of something bad occuring, happens the more experience you get? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

LOL ... I've never worried too much about what was on my feet just as long as the shoe gave me some basic support. Most of the DZs I've jumped at have had rough landing areas so surfing my landings usually would result in a face plant. So having slick soles just wasn't a big deal. I've thought about using my Hanwags (a paraglider boot for those who don't know about them), but they have stiff ankle support and may not be the best tool for swooping. But right now, if I'm lucky enough to be able to swoop a pond, I'm using my oldest running shoes that I have and all other jumps I'm just using whatever running shoes I may have bought at a place like Payless Shoes. I need to worry more about my flying techniques and currency more than what sort of shoes I'm wearing. But that's just me. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

The USA needs another political party alternative for the electorate and Canada needs to lose one. Preferably the Liberal Party. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I agree with you. Politicians will do what it takes to get elected. It's all about power. But what alternatives do we have? Corrupt politicians or corrupt dictators? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Hmmm ... should I sue? Maybe I will. You should update your profile. I wouldn't have made a mean spirited post had I known you had 1000 jumps. Of course I know I've put my foot in my mouth many times here on DZ.COM and this time could be no different. But if you're talking about your experiences on a cross-braced canopy, it makes it easier on everyone to know that you've got the necessary "generic" jump number experience (which you have) when it comes to jumping a cross-brace. So go update your profile and I'll try not to be such a #### next time. A couple of years ago I sprained one of my thumbs after getting riser-slapped on a sub-terminal slider off BASE jump. At that stage of my short BASE jumping career I was still reaching for my risers immediately thinking that I could control my openings better. But I have since learned to wait until I feel the canopy coming off of my back and the snatch force starting to kick in before I go for the rear risers. I do kind of a "Hands up you're under arrest" thing with my arms after I pitch my pilot chute trying to keep my body symmetrical. So when I read that you go for your 3-rings I just thought "owe" that's going to hurt if your fingers get tangled with your rings or risers. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Holly Hish was a special young woman who was lost to us much too soon. I didn't know her like a close friend (I wish I had) but she still made it a point to make me feel like a friend to her when I did see her in person, exchange emails with her or talk with her on the phone. The very first time we met, we were both on an airplane at Skydive Arizona (Eloy) getting ready to jump. I told her and her friends that I was about to do a milestone jump and without even questioning herself there was Holly giving yours truly a big phat friendly kiss that only a girl of her true good nature to strangers could give. You are still missed Holly ("Party like a Rock Star"), but I am glad to have at the very least, the opportunity to meet you and call you a friend. BSBD ... Steve Armstrong Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

No argument here and the goalies gear is the worst. Good luck with your skating. As I said, I was impressed with your video. Sure you may not be an Olympian, but it's obvious you know what you're doing out there. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Montreal Canadiens - Go Habs Go!!! Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Which set of risers are you reaching for? Grabbing the rears and pulling on them should help the slider come down a tad faster not slower like you claim. But what do we know? You seem to have it all figured out already at 450 jumps. You grab your what? Are you trying to lose some fingers or something like that? Also, what are you going to do if you have an off-heading opening and you're heading straight for another canopy? How are you going to steer your canopy away from that other one when your hands are stuck in your 3-rings? WTF? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Very cool. I mean this in a good way. You're doing everything (maybe minus the really big stuff) that the Olympians are doing, and you look good doing it (okay I'm being a dirty old skydiver, but you do look pretty hot in your skating dress). How long have you been skating competitively and how far did you go? Do figure skaters dig hockey players? If yes, then I've been playing hockey all my life. If no, oh well it's just another clash of cultures. We'll have to talk. I can see where your love of skating comes from, but you can be equally artistic dancing in the skies once you get a few more jumps under your belt, and the view is to kill for in skydiving. As I said, we'll have to talk. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

If I'm not mistake you are about one month or so older than I am and it would be nice to see a fellow old'ie out there ripping it up next season. Let's show some of these young guys than age isn't the biggest factor in this sport. Of course competitive swooping is a contact sport and contact sports are harder on the old body sometimes (hockey season is set to start soon). Dang I kind of wish I was born a couple of decades later than what I was, since young guns like Stu and Nick (as well as others of course) have many many moons to continue ripping up their respective swoop ponds. The best has yet to come ... probably from some young guy (or girl) who's not even in the sport yet. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I'm a software developer. Does that make me white collar? You will meet all different types of people across society in this sport. Professionals make up a large portion of "fun" jumpers since they have the money to play in such an expensive sport. But rest assured you will meet many many different types of people. White collar is just one of the types you will meet. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

You are absolutely wrong if you think BASE jumping has no rules. The rules I speak of tend to be tied closely to the rules of physics and common sense. So I'm not saying that we have "rules" like the USPA. But in this sport if you break the rules, then you usually end up pretty broken up yourself. It sounds like Mr Agnos has broken the rules more than once. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I'm not Muslim, not Christian, not Jewish and I'm not religious. But like everyone else (and their mother) I have an opinion. You have to realize that Muslims are very submissive to their religion and while we in the west have a hard time understanding why some Muslims overreact and do violent things in the name of their religion, you have to remember that to a Muslim, obedience to their religion is their #1 priority in life. How and where they get their messages to do crimes in the name of their religion is still very much misunderstood by many (including many Muslims). I saw an interesting TV program on the big three religions last night and it's safe to say that I don't understand any of them. Both Islam and Christianity put too much faith in believing the teachings in their respective books (the Holy Ka-boom and the Burble) with very little concrete evidence to back their teachings as the ultimate truth and I guess the Jews are just too complex to understand period. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over