photo by Javier Ortiz
The Winter 2025 USPA Board of Directors’ Meeting concluded Monday, March 17, in Daytona Beach, Florida. Following a wild week which included the Parachute Industry Association Symposium, Skydiving Technology Advancement Roundup (STAR) Awards and USPA Drop Zone Operators’ Conference, the 2025-2027 board began its first meeting of the term, discussing ways to best serve members.
First, board members elected the officers who will serve for this three-year term:
President: Sherry Butcher
Vice President: Josh Hall
Treasurer: Jack Pyland
Chairman of the Board: Randy Allison
Secretary: Ray Lallo
Member at Large: Brandon Radcliff
International Skydiving Commission Delegate: Jim Rees
Hall of Fame Representative: Mike McGowan
While the full report of the meeting will be available in coming weeks at uspa.org/bod, here are some highlights from this weekend, organized by committee:
Executive Committee
Chaired by Sherry Butcher
Membership Services
Chaired by Melissa Nelson
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Awarded the USPA Gold Medal for Meritorious Service to Tamara Koyn, D-10940; Connie Krusi, D-18905; and Maxine Tate, D-31547.
Governance
Chaired by Ray Lallo
Finance and Budget
Chaired by Jack Pyland
Group Membership
Chaired by Brian Naiman
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Made plans to work with and support general aviation industry associations to eliminate the use of ADS-B data by airport authorities to levy landing fees, as this use may become widespread, adversely affecting drop zones.
Safety and Training
Chaired by Michael Wadkins
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Approved an update to the tandem instructor medical requirements, allowing a Department of Transportation medical certification to serve as an alternative to the Federal Aviation Administration Third-Class Medical Certificate, after extensive research and collaboration with the FAA to ensure the DOT medical meets or exceeds existing standards. Moving forward, tandem instructors must hold one of these two medicals.
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Added a new Basic Safety Requirement (BSR), mandating that all USPA Tandem Instructors reconnect the lower lateral attachment hooks to the tandem container before landing—to be effective immediately, with compliance enforcement beginning July 1, 2025. This requirement, which has always been mandated by manufacturers, mitigates multiple safety concerns, including entanglement risks, complications during cutaways and severe landing injuries.
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Approved the new version of the Instructional Rating Manual (IRM) and the Examiner and Evaluator Manual, allowing USPA staff to finalize formatting, editing and printing under the guidance of the SIM/IRM Rewrite Task Force, led by Brandon Radcliff.
Competition
Chaired by Jim Rees
A full report of the Winter 2025 Board of Directors Meeting will appear in the May 2025 Parachutist.