Skydiving Traditions
Have you fallen in love with the sport and art of skydiving? Are you looking for ways to mark the new milestones of your favorite sky-based hobby? Have you and your friends started a de facto skydiving club, looking for ways to induct your new members? Clubs become like families, and like a family, everyone has different ways of celebrating. Here are some Skydiving Traditions that have tested time.
That said, keep in mind that several clubs do share roots. So, some themes can be found through their traditions. A major presence of what could be considered sports machismo mixed with the welcoming friendly skies makes for a unique sports environment for people from every walk of life. The skies bring relaxation, freedom, and fun waiting to be discovered by all. We hope to share our traditions with you, and help you begin to make your own.
Beer and Skydiving
Beer has a presence in many sports including Skydiving Traditions. Sunday night football is littered with ads featuring frosty mugs filled with the stuff. A six-pack while fishing is almost expected. While every club’s traditions are different, beer is a common factor in many of those traditions. For those of us who care to indulge, a ‘beer fine’ is a time-honored tradition amongst the experienced divers.
Clubs commonly crowd into the spectator zone to watch their fellow members perform dives. It is not at all uncommon to hear a battle cry of “Beer!” arise from the lot. If you’ve ever witnessed this, then you have seen a beer fine in action. This is used as a penalty for landing outside of the ‘safe’ landing zone area for your center. Experienced divers have remarkable control over their flight path, so landing outside of the safe zone would happen due to not paying enough attention. The fine for this mistake? A beer for every member in the drop zone!
The beer fine comes into play at other times throughout skydiving. Did you know there are countless positions to conduct a skydive in? The classic belly-to-ground is everyone’s first, but if you continue your skydiving journey, there is a menagerie of choices. And what better way to celebrate a successful level-up than a cool crisp cerveza. See more Skydiving Traditions
100th Jump
It’s surprising how fast a hundred jumps creeps up on you once you begin jumping. A hundred of anything is a major milestone, and jumping from a plane a hundred times needs to be celebrated! One common celebration? Pie.
The 100th jump pie is another long-standing skydiving tradition among skydiving clubs. We like to clown around with fellows divers, so much so that a pie in the face is our idea of a good time! If you think you can get away without it, just try — you’ll be fair game till you cross 101 jumps. If you’re looking to start this tradition in your own club, we recommend using whipped topping. Think Cool Whip. It will be more stable in the sun and will keep you from smelling like a bowl of sour milk later.
Is pie in the face too juvenile for your taste? If you prefer something more adult, maybe naked skydiving would be to your taste. Some skydiving traditions favor taking that big leap in their birthday suits, with nothing but the chute, and their tennis shoes. It’s prevalent enough that some drop zones pride themselves on being the best of nude-friendly drop zones.
Boogie Time
What comes to mind when you hear boogie? The spirit of the 60s is kept alive with these parties reminiscent of surf movie beach parties. These skydiving boogies are all about making the most out of our time skydiving. You’ll be able to squeeze out every drop of sun from the day and then enjoy a night under the stars. Bonfires are encouraged once all jumpers are safely back on the ground and the libations begin to flow.
Skydiving is a fantastic way to celebrate milestones on its own. The experience adds a unique memory. Looking for a new way to celebrate the bachelors in your circle before they start their married life? A bachelor boogie with a strongly enforced beer line makes for a good time all will look forward to. The boys will be scrambling to the alter just to have theirs! This goes double for the ladies. You and the girls can enjoy an intense skydiving session until the evening, making for some highly Instagram-able shots. Follow that with a night on the town, more ‘shots’, and spend the next morning at the local spa fighting off the hangover.
Making Your Own Skydiving Traditions
If the above list hasn’t caught your eye, have you thought about making your own traditions? Your friends and you can come together and decide your own ways to celebrate. An after-jump brunch or dinner is a great way to start. The people who make up your club are going to determine the kind of traditions you will enjoy.
Birthdays are another big celebration worthy of a dive. The family can join you, and we can easily replace that pie-in-the-face with a slice of cake. Even presidents have been known to celebrate their birthdays in the skies! President George H.W. Bush was famous for celebrating his birthday high above the earth. Don’t let age stop you either: 100th birthdays are a milestone well known for sky diving celebrations!
No matter how you celebrate, skydiving can fit in with you, your family, or your club. Let us be a part of some of these memories, including those first steps. We also offer video services for our tandem dives, allowing you and your fellow sports enthusiast to review your jumps and follow your progress. If you’re waiting for the invitation, here it is. Join us and start making memories. Contact us to start your own skydiving traditions.
