When does the season begin..
For skydivers inside northern United states, we spend the winter asking ourselves and others a couple of straightforward questions: When will the new season begin? How much longer do we need to wait? What will we do until winter is over? Each skydiver handles winter a tiny differently, although none seem to handle it properly!
Some locate winter hobbies: skiing, ice skating, or snowboarding. Some travel: mostly to boogies all over the south and out west – although this past winter numerous jumpers I know jumped the ocean and landed in Puerto Rico! (lucky bastards) But mostly, we just sit around, look at the sky, and pout.
So when does it end? Properly, when the new season begins of course! But when is that, exactly? Is it the big get together all the skydivers had in the winter where you discussed some of the changes coming this year? nope. Was it a couple weeks ago at Safety Day when we all got together and figured out how to keep our asses alive this year? nope. Is it the opening day” date on the internet site? nope. So when, when do you ask? When is the moment that new season begins? Properly here can be a clue.. Initial you hear somebody yell “DOOR”, then a few seconds later…
A tiny green light comes on. Your trusty S&TA checks the spot and you look outside of that open airplane door for the initial time in months, only slightly scared (not that you would admit it), and you remind yourself that you’ve done this hundreds of times before. Your friends climb out, you know they’re waiting on you to start the count, so you take a diving stance, look up at them, smile and nod.
The 2010 season is here!