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What is a penny worth?
by Jen Sharp
Have you ever noticed, when someone wants your opinion, they say, "A penny for your thoughts?"  But if you volunteer your opinion, you put your "Two cents in."  What does that mean for instructors?
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The Flare
by Jen Sharp
"Aren't you afraid your 'chute won't open?!" I get this comment from non-skydivers often, and it illustrates the common misconception of the dangers of skydiving.  We all know that really, on a logistical level, malfunctions are fairly simple to deal with: cutaway and pull your reserve.  We train students for this possibility and rightly put a great deal of attention on it, especially practice so that muscle memory takes over.   However, we can't say they will have a malfunction on every jump, but they WILL have a LANDING on every jump...  Shouldn't we devote at least as much attention to this important contact with the ground as we do Emergency Procedures?
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Rules vs. Safety
by Jen Sharp
"Rules were meant to be broken!" I hear this at times, as an argument to convince me somehow to ignore some rule or policy that some jumper wants to break.  Is this true?  We're skydivers!  We are FREE!  The nature of our sport is to be unfettered and explore!  So why have rules at all
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Teaching Skydiving
by Jen Sharp
It’s a small world… but it’s an even smaller skydiving world.  Right now there are approximately 30,000 skydivers in the U.S.  And how many of those are licensed?   How many of those licensed are active and current?  How many of those current licensed are coaches or instructors?  We are definitely an elite group of individuals responsible for the safety and learning of those coming after us.  It is our vital and immeasurable mandate to continually improve our sport, keep the good traditions, and ensure this sport for future generations.  How can we best  meet our goals and serve this sport well?
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PW Freeskin container
 
PW Freeskin container

Effective USPA Instructors and Coaches are needed at busy drop zones and schools across the U.S. in order to keep our sport not only replenished, but also vibrant and growing. Demands on instructional rating holders’ time are heavy. How can a school utilize their team to its fullest extent, keep the quality of instruction high, minimize potential for instructor burnout, reduce liability, provide consistent curriculum, and capitalize on new student enthusiasm? 

Seems like a tall order? Yet all of that can happen with one solution. Skydiveschool.org is an interactive training website geared toward providing fundamentals for novice skydivers as a fun supplement to the SIM. Using USPA's Online Ground School is more than just giving your students fingertip access to an efficient resource 24/7. By restructuring procedures, you can use this School as the cornerstone of a viable, productive Skydiving Training Center.  Ask for more on how to do this!