“The best things in life are often waiting for you at the exit ramp of your comfort zone”- Karen Salmansohn (Author)

There tends to be two camps of people and expectations when it comes to skydiving.

Some begin to tremble with trepidation at the thought of exiting an aircraft from 14,000feet while others bristle with anticipation and excitement at the notion of reaching terminal velocity. Despite these differences in perspectives, both camps of people have the same reaction after landing. We hear this all the time: “I wish I had not waited so long to jump.”

We get it. Procrastination is something we all do, but here is why those people say they wish they had made the decision to jump sooner.

Expectation versus Reality

Frequently, it is fear that has kept a potential jumper at bay, but when they realize it was false evidence that kept them from feeling flight, they really regret the wait. There is an acronym for fear: False Evidence Appearing Real. People assume that skydiving is this death defying gamble. Really, skydiving is no more dangerous than your car ride along the interstate to and from work each day. (In fact, skydiving is actually safer.) Crash statistics provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that an average of 96 people died each day in motor vehicle crashes in 2015. This means there was a fatality nearly every 15 minutes. Compare that with skydiving: In 2015, out of approximately, 3.5 million jumps there were only 21 recorded fatal skydiving accidents. If that doesn’t convince you, then consider that data gathered by the National Safety Council reveals a person is more likely to be killed by a bee sting or being struck by lightning than on a skydive. Skydiving is one of the most freeing activities out there. It is a practice is mindfulness that makes mundane challenges miniscule and leaves you feeling like you can conquer the world. There is no need to let fear delay your decision to experience the wonder of skydiving.

A Whole New World

Before getting into skydiving, many do not realize there is a lot more to skydiving than falling! Tandem skydiving allows you to dip your toes in the water, and like there is an entire ocean beyond the shore, there is a vast world of skydiving disciplines to explore. These different disciplines include Relative Work (where your stomach is relative to the ground), FreeFlying (in which your body is in orientation either head up or head down to the ground), Wingsuiting, or Canopy Piloting. Each of these disciplines, offers the opportunity for a jumper to grow and learn additional skills. The longer you wait, the less time you have to find out which discipline is right for you!

It’s a sport!

What if we were to tell you that there was a sport out there that was as rewarding as it was challenging; a sport that let you soar while grounding your mind; a sport that would introduce you to a diverse community you would feel downright familial with. Would you balk if we were to say the sport we just described was skydiving? Prior to really getting into the sport of skydiving, many people do not realize that skydiving is more than a thrilling ride or a bucket list item. In fact, skydiving is as much a sport as baseball, basketball, or football. Those disciplines we mentioned before…well, there is a competition in nearly all of them: 4-way formation skydiving (Relative Work), 4-way vertical formation skydiving (freeflying), wingsuiting (which can be further divided into acrobatics, relative work, flocking, distance flights and speed), and even competitions for canopy piloting (Canopy Relative Work and Swooping). As you delve into skydiving, you will see there is so much to learn and become involved in. There is also an additional bonus: the opportunity to able to establish positive relationships with your team and opponents and have the chance to gain lasting friendships. It is hard to beat that!

Ready to see what all the fuss is about? Don’t delay any longer, let us show you why so many wish they did not wait so long to make a skydive!