Capital Commentary
April 2007
by Chris Needels, USPA Executive Director

Drop zones with the highest satisfaction and return rates are the ones with instructors who leave their first-time students feeling they have accomplished something rather than just helping them check off a box on their "Things to Do Before I Die" list. At least that was the sentiment at the February 2007 Drop Zone Operators Conference in Reno, Nevada.

We've all seen it: The tandem instructor meets the student for the first time on the loading ramp. Twenty-five minutes later, they land, the student yells or squeals with excitement while high-fiving the instructor and cameraman, and the experience ends as quickly as it began. The instructor races to pick up another tandem rig and meet his next "passenger." And so the assembly-line approach to skydiving continues. The DZO is filling top-dollar airplane seats, and the instructor has made some quick money to use toward a few lift tickets for some "real" skydives. This might be good for a few people, but not for the sport. It doesn't have to be this way.

Even though the depth and duration of training are different, the first tandem should be no different than a first static-line or AFF jump. A student leaving the drop zone with a video might reinforce his short-term bragging rights at home or the office, but true personal satisfaction for the first-time jumper comes from having played some meaningful role in his experience, even if it was little more than checking an altimeter, pulling the ripcord and steering the canopy for a while at altitude. While exhilarated under any first-jump circumstance, the new skydiver should feel like a skydiver, not a commodity.

Related Links: + A-License Progression Cards + DZ Items + 2007 DZO Conference

For the first tandem jump, it doesn't have to be either a ride or instruction-it can and should be both. The experience should be fulfilling and embracing. The first-time jumper shouldn't leave the drop zone feeling he was simply a passenger on a skydive; he should feel like he made a skydive.

Here are some tips from some of the most successful DZs in the business:

• Introduce the instructional cadre to the tandem jumpers prior to gearing up-or even prior to them watching the scary tandem movie and signing waivers. Let them know up front that they are students, not riders. Don't let the first exposure to the assigned instructor be at the loading area.

• Use the waiting time as instructional time, keeping it basic to prevent mental or emotional overload. At the very least, cover the areas required by the BSRs for safe student jumping.

• Assign an experienced jumper to the waiting students to talk about skydiving as a sport and the closeness of the community.

• Have the student participate actively in the skydive, including ISP Category A air skills.

• Don't just hand them the video as they head out the door. Show it to them and critique it in a positive, reinforcing way.

• Give them a student progression brochure and perhaps a really good deal if they make a second jump that same day.

• Provide a logbook and a USPA A-License Progression card.

• Invite them to the bonfire that evening.

• Follow up with an e-mail or postcard saying thanks for joining the skydiving community.

Perhaps it's time to rethink how we do business. Let's think positively that all first-time skydivers, regardless of first-jump method, are embarking on their newest favorite sport, even if they had never planned on making another jump. With that mindset, who knows who might go on to become one of the next top competitors, course directors, load organizers or simply the newest face in the formation? To have this mindset, though, we need to get those who take up first-jump students-specifically tandems-to be rated instructors with student progression as their objective.

What do you think? Click here to send USPA your comments.

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