I did my first jump at 14 my aff on my 16th bday (as is the age restriction in oz). My best mate later followed suit. She is now about to go for her AFF rating and I've got my D licence. My brother and his gf have followed suit too. 17 of my friends did jumps before they were 18, many have followed it through. If we cut the age to 18, we may lose many a possible good jumper. Just my $0.02 ps 10 pts to whoever can figure out what country I'm in if I was sitting in a car doing 150km/h and I wasn't wearing a seatbelt.....yes I realise the stupidity..... I have done exactly the same thing. I got my first jump for my 16th bday (which was only 3 months ago) and have almost finished my s/l course. Why do people beleive that just because someone is 16 there irisponsible and can't take responsiblity for my actions? Even IF I was involved in an accident i would not sue the club unless the accident was due to negligence on there part. Anyone who says they didn't realise there was a danger jumping out of a plane is lying...i mean come on...you can kill yourself falling of a roof. >21) Kids should not be jumping from aircraft. They don't possess the maturity to really understand >the risks. Let them go to wind tunnels if they wish to >feel the sensation of a skydive. >22) Any parent that allows their kid to jump from an airplane is doing it for the "ego boost." And >they're just plain irresponsible! I think that that is a loud of bull****...i'm beting there are many 'adults' that skydive with less maturity then some 16 year olds.