PLFXpert 0 #26 November 1, 2002 QuoteReally? It doesn't seem like it on here! Good to hear! You can go to the USPA website and they have the demographic information on all their members. You have to fill out your age/sex, etc when you join so they have a census of all members and I'd say most regular skydivers in the US are member. I was also surprised to see only 14% are women. I knew it was a male dominated sport but I thought at least 30% were women. Guess I'm more special than I though...Yea! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflir29 0 #27 November 1, 2002 Quote I was also surprised to see only 14% are women Of which 13 1/2% are either married or otherwise involved. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FallingILweenie 0 #28 November 1, 2002 I love skydiving and would do it more if i could, but there is a point where sometimes i get burned out. Mostly it's because I get tired of having to figure out how i will pay for stuff after a great weekend of jumping. Only for financial reasons am I somewhat glad to see the winter come, so I can take a break. But once i get more stability money-wise, all bets are off..... The key I think, as has been said, is to try different things...like next year one of my goals is to get....get this....AN RW SUIT!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blondeflyer7 0 #29 November 1, 2002 Actually I have been working alot lately and I can't get to the DZ as often as I want anymore....But I can't say I lost intrest.....I have went through a very extremely emotional period in my life over the last year or so.. I have been fighting a very bad divorce and there were actually weekends I was tense from my head to toe and I would back down from going.. doing the same as you feeling guilty that I didn't go, but there were also times I went anyway even if I felt that way and was mad at myself because all I did was potato chip in the air....I've had to battle at times knowing my life was interupted by people watching me for my X....I've battled this and I always stray back to my DZ no matter how awful my life was. I've came along way....but I still have a long ways to go. I have a different guilt I guess you could say.....I feel I should have accomplished alot more than I have with my skydiving, but I have a lifetime and I will conquer my goals and dreams. One day at a time. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedRacer 1 #30 November 1, 2002 well, blondeflyer, I've always found skydiving to be a great stress reliever. If there's a lot of tension going on in my life, I try to get down to the DZ and make afew jumps & always feel relaxed afterwards. That said, the thing that keeps me away from the DZ is the money thing. You drive down to the DZ & do say, 4 jumps, that's over $80 if you include gas. Stay the weekend & you could drop $180 or more. So yeah, I guess sometimes I don't go to the DZ due to worries about my finances. There's no question that if I made a lot of money, I would have a hell of a lot more jumps. Some people suggest packing for money, but hey, when you're packing for other people, you're not jumping, are you? Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cgross 1 #31 November 2, 2002 Well I am VERY VERY new... but I had a conversation with someone online about this. I got injured about a month and a half ago, and the first few weeks were tough. All I wanted to do was jump. But now, I miss it, but the need to go imeadiately is waning. I can understand how, if you do get away from it, the motivation to start can be difficult. I can't wait til the spring so I can jump again, but i am not jonesing like I was a month ago. Every day that passes, I loose a bit of the drive. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pammi 0 #32 November 2, 2002 Quote I feel I should have accomplished alot more than I have with my skydiving, but I have a lifetime and I will conquer my goals and dreams. One day at a time. Me too. I think that a lot, about how much better I'd like to be right now. But like you, I keep telling myself how I still have a lifetime ahead of me, and only 11 years and counting until my youngest is 18 so I can shove him out of the house hehe Seriously, I do hope things will change, but geez, I have a lifetime to fill up still, so I guess I have time to slow down if I need to :) Quote I was also surprised to see only 14% are women. I knew it was a male dominated sport but I thought at least 30% were women. WOW! That surprises me even more. I wonder what the percentage would be on here? It seems like there are a lot of us who are on the forums, but perhaps it's just that us women speak up more? (like women talking more is unusual! ) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hallur 0 #33 November 3, 2002 Hi Lee, The way I see it is like this, If your feeling bad about not going down there and jump I think you should shake those bad feelings of by facing the reason thats keeping you from going and take control. Go jump or else your just gonna feel bad. Or if you dont feel bad about not jumping and you have just lost interest then you have 2 choices, try something diffirent like jumping another dicipline or another dropzone or with some new people maybe newbies or something they always cheer me up because they are so exited and happy, not that we all arent always smiling but they smile a little more and the other choice is just quit if you dont care why make it problem? Hope theres some sence in this Safe trip and soft landing..... Hallur When I stop skydiving is the day that I die!!! Hallur Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
canopywhore 0 #34 November 3, 2002 I think it's ok for you to not want to jump, but for me it is something that I want to do all the time. I femured in July and I haven't gotten to jump yet. As time goes on I think about it more and more. I finally had to get on dz.com so I could find people to talk to during the week. A couple of weeks ago I went to a dz for a boogie and packed for my friends for FREE! I haden't missed a weekend since Jan and now I've missed almost 5 months, for Christmas I'm hoping to be well enough to jump 5 days in a row. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airann 1 #35 November 3, 2002 Yeah, on the ratio... I posted that a while back some place, I dont rmember where. You should have seen it 3 years ago. There are a ton now. There are reasons for AirAnn, you know, but that is old news. ~AirAnn~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airann 1 #36 November 3, 2002 one more thing..... What are you going to do with your gear? just kidding ~AirAnn~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
leroydb 0 #37 November 3, 2002 that is so true.. or they say, "I don't date skydivers, only pilots"Leroy ..I knew I was an unwanted baby when I saw my bath toys were a toaster and a radio... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Floater 0 #38 November 3, 2002 i don't actually feel bad about not jumping and that's what suprises me the most. it used to be all i thought about. it might be that i'm just annoyed with myself for not making as many jumps as i keep planning to. i keep trying to get to the point of making around 200 jumps a year but so far it's just been 130 in 2 years. i don't know, maybe i'll just count this as a break and in another month or so i'll start getting those urges again. i'm not selling my gear off just yeti'm moving to a new apartment this weekend that's only about 20 minutes from the dz in snohomish so i'll probably drag myself down there for some hop-n-pops in a couple of weeks. Lee Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PLFXpert 0 #39 November 3, 2002 Yea, I feel really bad for the men. I LOVE being a minority in any sport and kicking male bootie;-). But, I know it must really suck for sky-guys looking for a relationship b/c there just aren't as many women skydivers and most whuffo women would eventually leave a man over his devotion to the sky. You're right, freeflier, most of the women who DO jump are married or in a committed rel. But, you never know. I'm not married, yet...ha ha ha. You sky-guys should smarten up and snag us while you can, otherwise, as my favorite saying goes, "You never know what you have until it's gone...and then it's too late." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snowbird 0 #40 November 3, 2002 Lee, I'm so new to skydiving that I'm still in the 'never stop thinking about it' group. BUT I can relate in another way. I write. I used to write a lot, every day, and was miserable if something kept me from it. And then I started jiu-jitsu, and my writing waned off. I felt guilty, but at the same time I didn't really miss it, and I felt bad about that. And then, about a year or 18 months later, a loud clammering in my head began and all my characters were demanding that I sit down and write again. So I did, and I finished the rough draft of my novel. I was obsessed again, and wrote every day, whenever I had ten spare minutes. I finished the rough draft in April of this year, and started jumping in May. I've had almost no desire to write since. A couple poems and essays, all about skydiving, that's it. The thing is, I know it will come around. I'm as passionate about writing as I am about skydiving, and I can't keep it burried for long. So I'm not sweating it, I know it's just a matter of time and that my brain is processing it all, and when I sit down to write seriously again, it will be excellent. All I'm trying to say here, is that the right time will come, and then you will want to be back in the air. Don't sweat it. my .02 worth (USD .016) Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. -Robert A. Heinlein Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest #41 November 3, 2002 Once I got closer to the Snohomish DZ, I started jumping more often, but 130 jumps in two years is better than my pace, believe me. It was mostly economics (the jump-a-month club) that slowed me down. It took me over two years (and 60 jumps) to get my A-license. After six years, I still have only 324. Part of it is the weather here, part of it is economics (I lost my $65/hr side gig that paid for all my fun), but a big part of it was I was working a lot of weekends in the peak Summer season every year. That and poor judgement (I tend to spend it as fast as I earn it). Fear not, and don't judge yourself by how many skydives others have made."The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve1 5 #42 November 3, 2002 I've been there. I once got to the point where I didn't care if I jumped or not. After about 300 jumps it just seemed like the same old thing, and I was short on money, so I quit for about 25 years. Now that I'm back I don't ever want to get to that point again. As several people have mentioned, maybe a new discipline or challenge in our sport is what you need for motivation. I figure if I ever start to burn out on relative work, I'll try freeflying or crw. I just don't want to lose the excitement, adventure, and comradery that jumping has to offer. It's just way too much fun. Steve1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
