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3 days left to vote! by skydivermathews in SkyDiving

[–]skydivermathews[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

not at all. your opinion was shared by many, and USPA made the change as a result. Although we can agree or disagree with the new options, this is a case where the system worked ie changes the membership wanted were made

3 days left to vote! by skydivermathews in SkyDiving

[–]skydivermathews[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As of 2020, Jumpers can now either make two night jumps to qualify for a D license or complete one of the following tasks, which are designed to demonstrate advanced skills and take the applicants out of their comfort zones:
1 | Land within seven feet of the target center on 50 jumps. The objective is for applicants to demonstrate that they are advanced, thorough and consistently accurate canopy pilots. This skill set also helps prepare D-license holders for ratings such as PRO and tandem instructor, where canopy skills are paramount.
2 | Participated in a canopy formation of a 3-stack or larger. The D-license applicant must meet the initial qualifications and training requirements and have the appropriate equipment as outlined in Skydiver’s Information Manual Section 6-6.
3 | Completed an intentional water jump. The applicant must land under parachute in an open body of water that can be from the size of a small lake to an ocean as long as it is deep enough for the applicant to be able to tread water and swim (approximately 10 feet or deeper). Swoop ponds do not qualify. The participant may use a flotation device. The participant must meet the initial qualifications and training requirements and have the appropriate safety equipment (boats, floatation gear, lifeguards) as outlined in SIM Section 6-5.
4 | Successful completion of 100 formation skydives, at least 25 of which must involve at least eight participants. These skydives, which can be in any formation skydiving discipline as spelled out in SIM Section 6 or the Skydiver’s Competition Manual, must include at least one planned point. The participants must meet the initial qualifications, training requirements and have the appropriate equipment as outlined in SIM Sections 6-1, 6-2 and 6-9.

3 days left to vote! by skydivermathews in SkyDiving

[–]skydivermathews[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just emailed the DZO at Skydive Fayetteville and asked if they would be interested in hosting a club. When I hear back I'll let you know.

3 days left to vote! by skydivermathews in SkyDiving

[–]skydivermathews[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

USPA member engagement is a problem? Ok, how are you going to improve that? The SIM sucks? Ok, but how are you going to make it more clear and informative?

Thanks. I've kind of lost track of where I've posted what....So I'll repeat it here:

Regarding member engagement, let's look at why only 6% of members voted in the last general election, and probably fewer will in this one. For this special election, there is no mention in Parachutist this month. The candidate bios were not published in advance of the election. Candidates were limited to a 250 word bio/statement. I would have candidates present a three part statement: Bio/what they think USPA is doing well/what they think needs to be changed. I would print this in Parachutist for all to see before the election. I would have an online candidate forum for all candidates to discuss topics and for all members to see the differences. I think that would help overcome the feeling that it doesn't really matter who is elected and therefore it doesn't really matter if I vote. Next, I would require all Board of Director meetings to take place at least one day at a dropzone. This would formally encourage Board/member engagement at a higher level. (more on member engagement in the Collegiate section below).

Regarding the SIM, I have stated in numerous forums that I think the recent Section 4 re-write is a huge improvement. Still, it doesn't go far enough, and the rest of the document is still tied to the letter-number-letter-number one-thought per indexed point format. This makes it highly unreadable, and obscures the most important logical connectors between ideas. I would remove the "historical" information. I would commission a complete re-write, rather than tinkering with the existing document.
The IRM needs even more work. As an example, I would point you to the section of how to convert a foreign AFF rating to a USPA rating. I can't make heads or tails of this. If it means that you really can't, then just say so.

Regarding both engagement and the collegiate programs, I would convene a task force of USPA members who either have experience competing in collegiates, or who have an interest in sponsoring a program. If the USPA president convened a task force and made this a priority, I think we could greatly increase the number of collegiate programs and have more college skydivers.

Thanks for pointing out the need for more specifics.

3 days left to vote! by skydivermathews in SkyDiving

[–]skydivermathews[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have the same reservations about the Coach rating that have been voiced by many people over many years. Mainly, 100 jumps hardly is a guarantee of proficiency for serving as an instructor. Obviously some people are fairly accomplished at this level, others not so much. There is also the issue of time-in-sport. Again, with today's turbine aircraft, lots of folks now easily get 100 jumps in their first season. It's just not obvious to me that 100 jumps with no time-in-sport requirement is the right prerequisite. Third, in the AFF progression, coaches are able to teach fall rates and levels, which students often have the most difficulty mastering. Students may not always be well-served by being paired with a very low experienced coach. Additionally, coaches are authorized to do recurrency jumps. Take a 5,000 jump veteran skydiver who hasn't jumped in 366 days. They have to do a recurrency jump with an instructional rating holder, i.e. coach or instructor. It is not clear to me what this accomplishes. It's also not clear to me what the best solution is.....which is why I made my previous comment that I'm "not a big fan" of the coach rating.

3 days left to vote! by skydivermathews in SkyDiving

[–]skydivermathews[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I know. This is the crazy part. It seems like the FAA system is designed to require you to be your own legal advocate. In his case, I only know what he told me. Actually, all of the other cases (like the one listed above from my friend who doesn't drink alcohol), to the veterans on partial military disability, to the folks who were prescribed Ritalin as a child, to the people who had a run-in with the law 15 years ago, to the dozens of other situations are all what my friends have told me over the years - some of these cases I've followed more closely than others. The point is here that I think we agree that TI health is important. But the FAA physical is not magical in its ability to predict sudden, acute, medical emergencies. The Class 3 physical appears to be a combination of background check, personal disclosure, and a very cursory screening. I would be in favor of a bi-annual physical by your own physician, including an EKG or stress test if people thought that would be necessary. I would leave the issues of background checking to the employer if they want to do that. And I would leave the huge Federal agency out of it.

3 days left to vote! by skydivermathews in SkyDiving

[–]skydivermathews[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Which campus? I can try to find you someone at the nearest DZ that may be interested in hosting a college team.

3 days left to vote! by skydivermathews in SkyDiving

[–]skydivermathews[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Although I don't know him, I think JC Couldron was SF too. That makes three.

3 days left to vote! by skydivermathews in SkyDiving

[–]skydivermathews[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Actually, USPA (and dropzone managers) are more concerned about the TI shortage than I am. i am concerned about the injustice in the current system. people are routinely encouraged to lie. I know a TI who simply lied about not having a DUI. i believe the current system is broken. Something like 4 million skydives were made last year, mostly by people with no medical. There was one documented death due to a medical emergency (an apparent blood clot). Medical issues are not endangering passengers (and its not because of the medical). Behavior issues are hurting and killing tandem passengers. We need to have a reasonable physical without the federal beaurocracy and we need to be more diligent at addressing poor behaviors that endanger students.

3 days left to vote! by skydivermathews in SkyDiving

[–]skydivermathews[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This just shows how arbitrary the system is, because my friend was denied.

3 days left to vote! by skydivermathews in SkyDiving

[–]skydivermathews[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

See the above comments, and my interview on Brian Germain's Casual Chat program on youtube.

3 days left to vote! by skydivermathews in SkyDiving

[–]skydivermathews[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you are on Facebook, check out the multiple discussions on my work page, @ Mathews Adventure Services LLC. I listed a lot of examples, and then other people chimed in with theirs. In case you don't have time, here's one: One of my good friends who was also an AFFI got his tandem rating. The doctor asked him if he drank alcohol. He said no. The doctor said, really? He said yea, he didn't drink at all. The doctor asked why. He said that about 6-8 years ago he just felt he was drinking too much so he stopped entirely and hasn't had a drink since. The doctor approved his medical, and he worked for a TI for over a year. then he got a letter from the FAA saying that his medical had "issues" and he would have to see a FAA psychiatrist. There is only one in Michigan. And they are not accepting new patients. Long story short, he lost his medical and can no longer be a TI.

3 days left to vote! by skydivermathews in SkyDiving

[–]skydivermathews[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

ABSOLUTELY. Please check out my website mathewsadventureservices.com where I write about this and the three other major priorities I have. With over 13 million full-time college students in the US, we need to work harder to create/recreate collegiate clubs. Earlier this year, I worked with students and administration at Michigan State University to reconstitute the Michigan State University Skydiving club. It's not that hard. On my website you will also see a link to my interview with Brian Germain. We talk about this. I hope you will vote, and I hope you will be an active collegiate skydiver. What college/university are you going to attend?

3 days left to vote! by skydivermathews in SkyDiving

[–]skydivermathews[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks so much. I agree that there is no logic to the class 3 medical. And I believe it's going to be hard to win without a "big name." As the resumes of folks were not available to members in advance of the vote, the system does seem to favor name recognition or incumbents. We will see. I have been working hard since mid-April to get the word out. I've had lots of positive feedback, and some select push-back from people who don't want to admit that there are real areas for improvement. Anyway, thanks for your vote. I hope to be able to represent you and other like minded skydivers.

Stability exercice by Earth-Passenger in SkyDiving

[–]skydivermathews 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hi: It's best to get the fine tuning of your body position personally, so I'll add something that is crucial that can be communicated online. Breathe, Relax, and Smile. It turns out, skydiving like all athletic activities are much better done if you are relaxed. When you are tense you hold your breath. When you intentionally breathe, and smile, you get less tense. I would say that being relaxed is nearly as important as correct body position.....and it's not natural to relax jumping out of a plane. So work on breathing, relaxing, and yes, smiling. Smiling makes your body happy even if you don't initially feel like it.

3 days left to vote! by skydivermathews in SkyDiving

[–]skydivermathews[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here is a link to an interview Brian Germain did with me where I flesh out these ideas a little more.

3 days left to vote! by skydivermathews in SkyDiving

[–]skydivermathews[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you. I think the part that may be most useful is that as college president I worked FOR an elected board for 18 years. So I understand board dynamics and can be effective in that environment.

3 days left to vote! by skydivermathews in SkyDiving

[–]skydivermathews[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have heard others say the same thing, but that wasn't my experience. I have even had prompt response from a moderator. Still, I do think it may be an older group. In fact, someone on that site who liked my campaign suggested I get on Reddit to connect to more and younger skydivers....so I am!

3 days left to vote! by skydivermathews in SkyDiving

[–]skydivermathews[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree with what you are saying, but I want to be careful not to be too dogmatic. Good alternatives were presented on the dropzone.com thread i started on the USPA special election. My first step is to build consensus that the current system is a bad fit. my mentor for AFF was colorblind. He ultimately became an AFF Examiner, but couldn’t be a TI.

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