This past May, USPA held its third annual Learn to Skydive Month, with the goal of welcoming more newcomers into our sport. Participating drop zones across the country and abroad held a free first-jump ground school sometime during the month. The goal was to introduce more people to skydiving without obligating them to jump but hoping they would not only make a first jump but continue to pursue the sport.

This year, about 25 drop zones joined the effort, some holding multiple free ground classes during May or the months prior. Participating DZs ranged from small, single-Cessna clubs to large multi-turbine skydiving centers.

USPA provided participating DZs with guidelines on how to promote and conduct the course. Essentially, USPA-rated instructors would teach the entire ground portion of the solo first-jump course to participants at no cost. Those who decided to jump (hopefully many of them) would then pay for their jumps and receive the additional training necessary to get in the air. USPA also gave DZs customizable pre- and post-event press releases to send to local media outlets informing them of the free class and inviting them to attend. Drop zones that signed up advertised the program on their Facebook pages, with flyers around the DZ and through direct emails to customers who had already made one jump.

Following the classes, the DZs provided feedback on the success of the promotion. Most reported that the classes went well and that many of the students jumped and some planned to return to pursue their licenses.

DZO Hristo Kilikchiev at Skydive Sofia in Bulgaria reports, “Participants were very excited and pleased; the online survey answers were 95 percent very good. We did this event for the third year in a row, with the lowest number of participants but the best ratio of participants to AFF starts and tandem jump applications.”

USPA’s third Learn to Skydive Month gave participating drop zones the chance to gain customers who have an interest in the sport, and even those who didn’t jump likely still left with better knowledge about skydiving and a favorable impression of the drop zone and the sport. 

Participating DZs

Adirondack Skydive, Fort Ann, NY

AerOhio Skydiving Center, Rittman, OH

Bay Area Skydiving, Byron, CA

Chicagoland Skydiving Center, Rochelle, IL

Cleveland Skydiving Center, Garrettsville, OH

Des Moines Skydivers, Winterset, IA

Lincoln Sport Parachute Club, Weeping Water, NE

North Florida Skydiving, Jasper

Sky’s the Limit, East Stroudsburg, PA

SkyDance Skydiving, Davis, CA

Skydive Carolina, Chester, SC

Skydive Finger Lakes, Ovid, NY

Skydive Lone Star, Luling, TX

Skydive Midwest, Sturtevant, WI

Skydive Monroe, GA

Skydive New England, Lebanon, NE

Skydive Pennsylvania, Mercer

Skydive Perris, CA

Skydive Puerto Rico, Arecibo

Skydive San Marcos, Fentress, TX

Skydive Sofia, Bulgaria

Skydive the South, Tuskeegee, AL

Start Skydiving, Middletown, OH

West Plains Skydiving, Ritzville, WA

World Skydiving Center, Jacksonville, FL