USPA changes lifetime membership to $2,500 for domestic member, $4,000 for international

[gunpaq 1]

So it looks like I do not get the birthday present my wife was going to buy for me. Too bad for me and the bucks the USPA could have had. Two grand for your picture in the magazine and a card is over the top.

www.geronimoskydiving.com

[topdocker 0]

gunpaq

So it looks like I do not get the birthday present my wife was going to buy for me. Too bad for me and the bucks the USPA could have had. Two grand for your picture in the magazine and a card is over the top.

Actually if you have been a member for twenty-five years, you get it at half price.... unless they changed that too.

top

Jump more, post less!

[JerryBaumchen 1,424]

Hi top,

Quote

been a member for twenty-five years

I hit 50 yrs with PCA/USPA on 1 Jun 14. They doing anything for us?

One would think after 50 yrs you would get the Lifetime for free.

Just thinkin'

JerryBaumchen

[airtwardo 7]

Heck I'd be happy just to get my magazine the same month as issued & with the cover intact!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[wmw999 2,515]

I hit twenty five years quite awhile ago and never heard that. When did that start?

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[BillyVance 34]

I think when I started 20+ years ago, the lifetime membership was like $400 or $500. Can't remember exactly. Anybody? Sure wish I'd done it then.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[MakeItHappen 15]

wmw999

I hit twenty five years quite awhile ago and never heard that. When did that start?

Wendy P.

The actual motion (from Summer Meeting 2005) was
Motion 48: Passed 14/0 (Ms. Murdock)
“Move to allow anyone who has been a member of USPA for 50 years to receive a free lifetime
membership upon their personal written request and provide a 50% discount for lifetime
membership to those who have been a member of USPA for 25 continuous years and is at the
current age of 65.”


This motion was rescinded.

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Make It Happen
Parachute History
DiveMaker

[wmw999 2,515]

Ah, thanks. That wasn't too long before I finally got around to getting a lifetime membership -- that's starting to look like a better deal...

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[snofun 0]

I spoke up in opposition to that motion made by Tony Thacker to "End Immediately the Lifetime USPA Membership Application for US and Foreign persons". Yes, I spoke clearly and distinctly. I did not shout or ridicule or in any manner make a rude gesture in front of the Board of Directors of USPA. I did forget to pull out of my wallet my Kansas Lifetime Hunting and Fishing License. I am going to make a copy of my Hunting and Fishing License as proof and demonstration of success for USPA and continue to fight any further action by them to end Lifetime Member program. Raise the cost. As they did do. Always keep this Honor Program for those who wish to purchase it!

Rule #1 of Skydiving: Safely Land An Open Parachute!

[hookitt 1]

I'm must mad I didn't get one back when it was 300 bucks. :-|

My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

[JerryBaumchen 1,424]

Hi Jan,

Quote

Move to allow anyone who has been a member of USPA for 50 years to receive a free lifetime
membership upon their personal written request . . . This motion was rescinded.

Rats. Close but no cigar. Story of my life: A day late & a dollar short.



JerryBaumchen

[gunpaq 1]

I may have missed in earlier posts but what was the reason or cause for the USPA to dramatcally up the fees for the Lifetime Membership and to make it effective immediately?

www.geronimoskydiving.com

[kuai43 7]

gunpaq

I may have missed in earlier posts but what was the reason or cause for the USPA to dramatcally up the fees for the Lifetime Membership and to make it effective immediately?

This has NOT been explained by anyone who represents USPA or was present at the BOD meeting.

Are they hiding?

Every fight is a food fight if you're a cannibal

Goodness is something to be chosen. When a man cannot choose, he ceases to be a man. - Anthony Burgess

[MakeItHappen 15]

kuai43

***I may have missed in earlier posts but what was the reason or cause for the USPA to dramatcally up the fees for the Lifetime Membership and to make it effective immediately?

This has NOT been explained by anyone who represents USPA or was present at the BOD meeting.

Are they hiding?

It's because the LTM is a losing economic scenario for USPA.
Annual dues would have to be increased to cover the costs of the LTM.
After a certain number of years, LTM are taking more out of USPA than what they paid in.
It's unfair to make the annual renewing members to pick up the costs of the LTM.

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Make It Happen
Parachute History
DiveMaker

[Krip 2]

Hi Jan

Damn their goes another nickel candy bar.

I wish I had bought stock in microsoft, when it first came out.

One Jump Wonder

[kuai43 7]

MakeItHappen

******I may have missed in earlier posts but what was the reason or cause for the USPA to dramatcally up the fees for the Lifetime Membership and to make it effective immediately?

This has NOT been explained by anyone who represents USPA or was present at the BOD meeting.

Are they hiding?

It's because the LTM is a losing economic scenario for USPA.
Annual dues would have to be increased to cover the costs of the LTM.
After a certain number of years, LTM are taking more out of USPA than what they paid in.
It's unfair to make the annual renewing members to pick up the costs of the LTM.

Thanks for the reply. I would assume there are statistics to support that analysis.

How do LTM cost anything beyond the magazine and a fancy membership card?

It would seem that it would require a great number of LTM to 'take more' out of USPA beyond the 18.18 year span that would compare projected yearly dues (assuming no future fee increase ) to the now-obsolete $1000 fee.

Do you happen to know how many LTM there are?

Every fight is a food fight if you're a cannibal

Goodness is something to be chosen. When a man cannot choose, he ceases to be a man. - Anthony Burgess

[stayhigh 2]

In 10 years we will be going, dang I should've bought one when it was only 2500. Now they are charging 10000.

Bernie Sanders for President 2016

[MakeItHappen 15]

kuai43

Thanks for the reply. I would assume there are statistics to support that analysis.

How do LTM cost anything beyond the magazine and a fancy membership card?

For domestic:
The magazine is about $20-24 per year.
Insurance is ~$12 per year.
USPA Overhead (maintenance of SIM, SCM other docs etc, services to members (rating renewal etc)) makes up the most of the rest of the annual fee.

Quote

It would seem that it would require a great number of LTM to 'take more' out of USPA beyond the 18.18 year span that would compare projected yearly dues (assuming no future fee increase ) to the now-obsolete $1000 fee.

Do you happen to know how many LTM there are?

About 2300 active LTM.
New LTM for 2013: 129
New LTM for 2012: 98

44 yo median (all)
Domestic: 50 yo median
Foreign: 42 yo median

I do not have #s on how the distribution looks like for how long the LTM have been LTM.
But just looking at the median age, it does appear that domestic LTM are heavily weighted to long time jumpers.
IOW, they have already passed their 'break-even' point and USPA is now incurring a loss for their membership.
In recent years, foreigners have been the majority of LTM and many of them are in their 20s.
Life expectancy was given as 79 for domestic and 72 for foreign. (I think those numbers are what were said, but I didn't write those down.)

It actually, does not take very many LTM to create a deficit. I have an example that shows the calculations, but it's not ready for prime time.

In a day or 3, I should have a graph of how annual dues & LTM fees have increased over the years.

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Make It Happen
Parachute History
DiveMaker

[champu 1]

See post #4.

Even if you bought it when it was $1000 then you'd have to avoid carrying any debts with an interest rate over about 5% (think: skydivers with credit cards) for the next 18 years to make sure you weren't shooting yourself in the foot.

At $2500 it's a no brainer not to do it.

[Spooky52 0]

Kuai43, it sounds as if you are talking about the U.S. government. :-)

If you know how many guns you have - you don't have enough!

[lurch 0]

Screw it. I had this whole rant up, decided it was too impolite. Best I can sum it up: Absurd, ridiculous, unacceptable, unreasonable, no.
That is all.
-B

Live and learn... or die, and teach by example.

[MakeItHappen 15]

Here are two graphs.
I don't want to get into all the equations, so I simplified the argument.

Each of the rectangles in the Dues vs Year graph represents $50.

Someone that became a LTM in 1985 @ $550 would use up all the green rectangles in the second picture.
All the red rectangles represent the deficit that USPA has to come up with from other sources - namely increased annual dues.
The red area will grow with time.

IOW, to prevent annual dues from increasing faster than they should, the sensible thing to do is to not issue LTM any more.

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Make It Happen
Parachute History
DiveMaker

[Douggarr 6]

Mike, a much saner and fairer approach would have been to use a modified version of my late father's yacht club. After 40 years of continuous membership, a member was awarded a lifetime membership which meant annual dues were gratis. They still had to pay for launching and hauling their boats, and the bar and restaurant minimums, etc.

What USPA could have and perhaps should have done was this: After 20 years, award a lifetime membership for say $750 (an option), after 30 years $500 and after 40 years $250. Something like this would pick up costs and reward younger skydivers (i.e. younger than us!) for continuous membership and also be an incentive to reap the lower costs as time went on.

Anyway, just a random thought. I was almost ready to shell out the thousand (I'll be 65 next month), even knowing that it wasn't "cost effective" over time. I think the organization represents us well, and it would be sort of a donation. $2,500 immediately was an ill-thought-out idea.

SCR-442, SCS-202, CCR-870, SOS-1353

[DanG 1]

Quote

The magazine is about $20-24 per year.

Does this include ad revenue from the magazine?

- Dan G

[MikeTJumps 4]

I agree with you that it (lifetime membership fees) should have been smaller! Your suggestion closely mirrors something that was proposed as an alternate but shot down in committee. Printing costs for the magazine are currently covered by the advertising fees but if they go to an all (or mostly) electronic version, that cost will be greatly reduced. I would not have objected to a $1500/year for domestic and $3000 for foreign members, but again, I have no vote on the BOD. I'm just a gallery member. I could not and will not ever be elected due to lack of popularity and you better believe that it is a poplularity contest. There are people that have animosity towards me because of the one and only time I represented a plaintiff's side in a legal case. Little do they know about the multiple times I've sided with the dropzones and the instructors themselves.

Mike Turoff
Instructor Examiner, USPA
Co-author of Parachuting, The Skydiver's Handbook