Sandy Reid, president of Rigging Innovations in southern California, once commented that the average jumper sticks with the sport for seven years. Seven years isn't a long time, especially when one considers that it takes several years for a new jumper to develop the skills and judgement it takes to be a safe, well-rounded skydiver. Seven years don't compare well to other active sports, either. Although professiona football and baskestball players are considered old when they reach their mid-thirties, most of them have been playing hard at these very physical sports since they were teenagers. They play for decades. The math itself might make the situation look bleaker than it is. Seven years is an average value, and averages often don't give a very accurate view. So skip the math and start thinking of all the good jumpers we know who fade away, or who come to the DZ, hang out a bit and leave. Such behavior should especially disturb the DZ and the gear industry. Sandy also mentioned that no one really knows why the skydiver doesn't stick with the sport very long. (Here's what he did know: If he wanted to sell a jumper a rig, has company had better do so early in the skydiver's career, before he or she leaves the sport.) 

Perhaps many good skydivers drift away from the sport because it stops challenging their ability. After reaching a level of comfortable competence, which might take a few years and a thousands jumps or so, they find that weekend jumping is appealing only from a social standpoint. It's fun, and they try not to screw up too badly, but it becomes pretty easy. There's little incentive for them to improve their skills, and the challenge fades.

Golf is ridiculed by many jumpers - until they try it. Many discover a sport that challenges every player equally, regardless of his ability. Golfers can play simultaneously against each other, against the course, and, as they struggle to make par or just lower their handicap, against themselves. Competition is agreat way to measure one's abilities against others, or against a recognized standard. It makes one try harder; any activity becomes more interesting if winning and losing is at stake.

The problem in skydiving, at least in the U.S., is weekend "fun jumpers" have few opportunities to compete. Some are fortunate enough to live in states, such as North and South Carolina, with active councils. But many jumpers who call themselves competitors compete just once a year - at the Nationals. (That's like being a football player and practicing for six months to play a single game.) They would compete more, but where and when? A skydiver's options are so limited. That's why I dearly want to see Kurt Gaebel, Alan Metni and others succeed with the competition circuits they've launched. I'm convinced more jumpers will compete - and get more out of skydiving - if they can compete every month or so. They'll have a reason to try harder, to improve their skills, and to match up with others who want to win. They'll have a reason to go to the DZ and to stick with the sport. Competition is a lot more fun than trolling the DZ for garbage loads. Frequent local meets also make it easier for jumpers to, in effect, wade into competition rather than taking aplunge and committing to go to the Nationals without ever having been.

Gaebel's Florida Skydiving League especially is trying to bridge the gap that separates fun jumpers from competitors. This year he's holding a 4-way clinic the day before each meet, and an industry sponsor provides a free coach during the meet, one that's available to all teams. The clinic and the coach make it easy for fun jumpers to get involved. Rather than criticize DZ operators for not hosting enough meets, we should remember that it's really not their role in the sport. Let them provide the site and the facilities, so professional event managers like Metni and Gaebel can do the rest. We often judge the success of a skydiving event by how many jumpers it attracts. But we shouldn't use that yardstick on local meets. We should instead use criteria that matter, such as the fairness of the judging, the intensity of the competition, the skill displayed by the winners, and the enjoyment the competitors receive.

Instead of cursing the darkness, Gaebel and Metni are lighting candles. Their efforts deserve our support.