Skydiving Magazine, How much does it cost to become Skydiver of the Year?

[loudtom 5]

I don't know the girl and she may be great, but to give Skydiver of the Year to a rich person who paid for all her teams jumps and won a medal is not the best choice for this great award. Is she gonna be around in a few years to teach new skydivers? Does she advance the safety and knowledge in our sport?
So just how much does it cost to become Skydiving Magazines Skydiver of the year...
Not years in the sport or lasting contributions. Not training new skydivers or helping newer ones learn to be safer and better skydivers. All it takes is money. Evidently.
thanks for letting me rant.
I may be mad cause I nominated someone who has done all the other things one would think of as Skydiver of the Year, but I would think it was a bad choice anyway. What she won for is not what our sport is all about.
I will not renew my subsription to the mag after this.
It is sending a wrong message about what our sport should be about...
tom

tom #90 #54 #08 and now #5 with a Bronze :-)

[IanHarrop 42]

There was an interesting interview with her that addressed many of your points quite a number of issues back. Have you read it?

"Where troubles melt like lemon drops, away above the chimney tops, that's where you'll find me" Dorothy

[piisfish 140]

and who would that be (for those who don't have Parachutist) ?

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[loudtom 5]

I may have but don't remember it now.
Not sure it would make a difference though.
lt

tom #90 #54 #08 and now #5 with a Bronze :-)

[loudtom 5]

It was not in Parachutist but in the magazine-Skydiving.
Her name was Natasha Montgomery. Or is I should say...
In thier own write-up they commend her for spending a small fortune. While jumpmasters starve this is who they give S of the Y tooooooo...
Without some poor destitute shmuck to teach her where would she be??????????
lt
And they called her "irreplaceable"?????BECAUSE SHE HAD ALL THE MONEY... come on this is not what our sport is all about

tom #90 #54 #08 and now #5 with a Bronze :-)

[beowulf 1]

why don't you just quit whining. If you had the cash wouldn't you spend it on skydiving? I know I would.

[rehmwa 2]

There's a ton of people out there that spend a ton of money trying to get good. None of them ended up a world champion in the most competitive discipline in the sport.

Money or not, she should be commended on her huge talent (though S of the Y maybe should be based on more than just talent and commitment, but also longevity and give back to the sport - regardless of high or low income). I also understand she's a really neat person too.

That said, I want to note that it seems you are upset with the awards committee, not the skydiver. I'd stay off of bashing Natasha and stick with the awards committee.

The money thing is a crappy excuse to get mad, what if your favorite nominee had $$$$ and still was the best at teaching and retaining tons of new, safe skydivers over the last 3 decades?

Or easier, what level of income would you pick to automatically disqualify someone (regardless of their ability) from any awards?

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[rhys 0]

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There's a ton of people out there that spend a ton of money trying to get good. None of them ended up a world champion in the most competitive discipline in the sport.

Agreed, I was at the world meet and watched the major teams on the big screen. It was spectacular.

She may be rich and that gives her a huge advantage but she still had to work to get as good as she is.

If I remember correctly she had about 1300 jumps at the time, with copious amounts of tunnel time but even so, standing on the top of the podium at 1300 jumps in the open 4 way at the world meet is a true accomplishment.

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

[billvon 2,991]

>come on this is not what our sport is all about

No, but achievement and skill _are_ a big part of what this sport is about. Money alone should not qualify someone for something, but at the same time, having a lot of money should not disqualify someone from being honored in this way.

I've jumped with Natasha and she is very, very good. I don't know her well enough to know if she's a good Skydiver of the Year, but she sure as hell isn't a rich chick with no skill who paid her way into an award.

[BIGUN 1,311]

In addition to the recommendation to address the awards committee than the skydiver (you do sound more upset that she has money than her receiving the award) would like to add the following:

I watched Natasha go from student at SDD to Dallas Thunder to World Champion in 3 years. Did her money provide a venue to success - sure. But, if you take money out of the equation, she still gave us, ambition, drive, determination, ability, leadership, and honored the tradition of passing it forward by leaving her mark.

She taught future skydivers that being a champion in 1300 skydives is possible. If she got out the sport tomorrow, she left behind several team members who will pass on what they learned, thereby passing it forward....

Again, if you have problems with the process, that's one thing to address with Skydiving Magazine. But, to sound accusatory of her having bought it is unfair.

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[skybytch 273]

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I don't know her well enough to know if she's a good Skydiver of the Year, but she sure as hell isn't a rich chick with no skill who paid her way into an award.

I don't know her at all and, to be honest, having never had money people who can afford to do things in this sport that I can't kinda bug me.

But it takes way more than money to go from no jumps to medaling at the world level in the space of a few years. Doing that also takes brains, desire, dedication, being coachable and the ability to set and attain goals. Which, judging solely from what I read about her in Skydiving last year, Natasha has in abundance - she earned her money, at a pretty young age.

edit to add - Even if we had the money, I seriously doubt that 99% of us could achieve what Natasha has achieved in this sport.

I say good for her.

[loudtom 5]

[
Again, if you have problems with the process, that's one thing to address with Skydiving Magazine. But, to sound accusatory of her having bought it is unfair.

[skyblu 0]

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No, but achievement and skill _are_ a big part of what this sport is about. Money alone should not qualify someone for something, but at the same time, having a lot of money should not disqualify someone from being honored in this way.

Yes, but the article did say that the reason she was chosen for Skydiver of the Year (as opposed to another member of the four way team) is because she was an "irreplaceable" member of the team since she funded everything.

I don't agree with this reasoning.

[michalm21 2]

all these things aside - she is kinda HOT

[CanuckInUSA 0]

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I may be mad cause I nominated someone who has done all the other things one would think of as Skydiver of the Year

"You can't always get what you want" - The Rolling Stones.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[loudtom 5]

"but you can try sometimes"

tom #90 #54 #08 and now #5 with a Bronze :-)

[loudtom 5]

Thanks, Tom.

You may be right.

--Mike Truffer

Skydiving Magazine
1725 Lexington Avenue
DeLand, FL USA 32724


This is the response I got from the magazine...
nuff said

tom #90 #54 #08 and now #5 with a Bronze :-)

[NWFlyer 2]

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But in the article they spent a whole paragraph about her money and how much she spent and I think alot of us could do that if we had the money.

My sense was that the article spent the time on that issue to address it head-on, since it's something that is often talked about in connection with her. Ignore it, and you're ignoring part of the story. Address it head-on and you can help your readers understand that you went through the thought process of thinking through whether or not the fact that she was able to use money to facilitate her hard work and accelerate her development process should affect the decision to choose her as Skydiver of the Year.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[loudtom 5]

didn't help me I guess...

tom #90 #54 #08 and now #5 with a Bronze :-)

[DSE 5]

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The last thing I meant to do was look like I was bashing Natasha, if that was the impression people got I am sorry to her and to yous.
But in the article they spent a whole paragraph about her money and how much she spent and I think alot of us could do that if we had the money.
It may not be easy but we could do it...In fact my 10way team proved it.

Not knowing Natasha, not knowing you, and not knowing the dynamics of anything else; your post suggests you're bashing her, her skills and there is a dash of sour grapes in there too. You maybe didn't mean it as such, but it sure seems that way.
I know little about how she won the award; I do know from personal experience that it takes ridiculously hard work to be recognized at such a level in any industry, and frankly, it doesn't matter how she got there.
I'd wager it doesn't matter much to her that she received the award anyway. It's very unlikely she won the award by trying for it.

[skyblu 0]

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I'd wager it doesn't matter much to her that she received the award anyway. It's very unlikely she won the award by trying for it.

Ummm... right . There's a lot more to it that you apparently know nothing about.

[Fast 0]

I just wish I had the money to do it. I know I have the drive, can't say for sure about the skill, but if I had the money I could find out. I am sure she is a cool person and clearly she has the drive and skills.

I just wonder how many others there are out there that also have it and lack the means.

~D
Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me.
Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

[rehmwa 2]

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Ummm... right . There's a lot more to it that you apparently know nothing about.

Ahhh, the insider spy approach....

If you can't fill in the details, then I'll assume you just have delusions.



Edit: It costs exactly $250 to become Skydyver of the Year. Please makes checks payable to me and a nifty certificate will arrive at your home 12-16 weeks. And, a letter to the editor will be sent to Parachutist Magazine singing your praises (Skydyver of the Year Inc does not guarantee publication of said letter to the editor).

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[popsjumper 2]

Can anyone definitively define the intent of the Skydiver of the Year award?

Recognize those who "pay it forward"?
Recognize personal accomplishments?
What?

We have all sorts of awards for all sorts different things.

I was pissed when USPA did away the Falcon and Eagle awards for younger jumpers...regardless of "perceived interest". The older jumpers didn't do a very good job of encouraging pursuit of the awards.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[DSE 5]

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I'd wager it doesn't matter much to her that she received the award anyway. It's very unlikely she won the award by trying for it.

Ummm... right . There's a lot more to it that you apparently know nothing about.

You're probably right; I only know what I've been told by folks, and what I've read. I'm definitely on the outside looking in.
I also know that when I won a major industry award, I heard more from the "He didn't deserve it" crowd than anything else, and mostly from "insiders" in the industry. "Fuck em', is all I could say. I did the work, and if the industry chose to grant me the award, then obviously someone felt it was deserved. Same is the case here, as far as I can tell from reading.
Last year I heard the same sort of bullshit about Shannon Pilcher and Ian Bobo. I've gotten to know them quite well, and have watched them in a variety of situations and locations. From my relatively ignorant point of view, they have well-earned any accolades received. But to hear a bunch of folks yakking off, they "didn't deserve it."
Sour grapes...
Of course it could have been bought, traded, bribed, or marketed for. If that's the case, I say "Prove it." Until then, I only can say "Good on ya!" to her.