[Members] Fwd: A News Update from the United States Parachute Association

[Larry.Bartlett at DuncanAviation.com]

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> From: "USPA" <e-news at uspa.org>
> Date: March 7, 2014 at 17:27:07 CST
> To: larryb at skydivelspc.com
> Subject: A News Update from the United States Parachute Association
> Reply-To: e-news at uspa.org
> 
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> March 7, 2014
> 
> Safety Day is Almost Here!
> 
> By now you should be fully prepared and ready to provide your jumpers with an informative and entertaining Safety Day. Most locations are hosting the event this Saturday, March 8. Once the day is over and you have had a chance to regroup, don't forget to provide USPA with a report about how the day went. We will be publishing a recap both in Parachutist and on our website. Drop zones must submit reports and photos by March 19 to be considered for print publication. Submissions should be made via the form that will be available on the Safety Day page after March 7. Don't forget to recognize your Ches Judy award recipient. The Ches Judy recipient photo should be a headshot or a cropable photo in which the recipient is prominent.
> 
> 2014 Winter USPA Board of Directors Meeting Recap
> The USPA Board of Directors met February 28-March 2 in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the third meeting of its term. From the meeting:
>  
> New North Central Regional Director Elected
> With the resignation of Merriah Eakins as the USPA North Central Regional Director, the board followed its guidance in the USPA Governance Manual and chose to elect a new director at this meeting. After reaching out to members for nominations, Michael Wadkins was elected. Wadkins, D-18691, joined USPA in 1993 and has gone on to become one of the most prominent instructor examiners in the U.S. With more than 11,000 jumps, Wadkins currently holds all USPA instructional and examiner ratings.
>  
> You can find Michael Wadkin's contact information, as well as those of other current BOD members, on our website by clicking on USPA Board of Directors under the About Us tab.
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> USPA Raises Minimum Age to 18
> New Basic Safety Requirement: Effective May 1, all first-time skydivers in the U.S. must be 18 years of age or older. All student skydivers who have made a skydive prior to May 1, 2014, must attain an A license by December 31, 2014, in order to be exempt from this rule. All licensed skydivers under the age of 18 are exempt from this rule. For skydivers jumping outside of the U.S., USPA will issue licenses only to those 16 or older.
>  
> Board Announces 2015 Competition Sites and New Events
> The board awarded 2015 National Championships events to the following DZs:
> The National Championships of Canopy Formation, Canopy Piloting and Style & Accuracy to Raeford Parachute Center in North Carolina in June.
> The National Championships of Artistic Events and Formation Skydiving (and Speed Skydiving as a demonstration event) to Skydive Arizona in Eloy in October.
> The National Collegiate Parachuting Championships to Florida Skydiving Center in Lake Wales in December.
> Exact dates and details will be published as soon as they are available.
> USPA has adopted the International Parachuting Commission's rules for wingsuit large-formation records.
> The board adopted 2-way mixed formation skydiving (MFS, held in 2013 as a 2-way vertical formation skydiving test event) as an official medal event starting at the 2014 Nationals. In addition, the advanced class 2-way MFS rules and dive pool will replace the Collegiate 2-way VFS event.
> A new advanced class has been added to the 8-way formation skydiving event. The eligibility rules for the advanced class will be modeled after the 4-way advanced class eligibility rules.
> For the second time, the board moved to allocate funds from the  U.S. Team Trust Fund to pay the entry fees of U.S. Team competitors at the 2014 World Championships.
> Other Notable Changes
> New BSR: The use of any extendable or fixed-pole camera mount, attached or handheld, by a tandem instructor or tandem student is prohibited.
> Effective immediately, the cost of the USPA Lifetime Membership has been increased to $2,500 for domestic members and $4,000 for foreign members.
> Former USPA Board member and chairman Major General John K. Singlaub, U.S. Army (ret.) was recognized as an Honorary Lifetime Member.
> The Honorary Lifetime Office of "Executive Director Emeritus" was conferred to William H. Ottley.
> 
> Mike Truffer leaves $400,000 to Team Trust Fund
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> Mike Truffer packed a lot of skydiving into his 63 years before passing away in June 2013, and he gave back to the sport he loved so much. A member since 1969, Mike served on the USPA headquarters staff for four years.
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> In 1980, Mike won a seat on the board as a national director and he served on the board for 16 years. In 2007, USPA's board of directors honored him with the prestigious Gold Medal for Meritorious Achievement.
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> At the just-completed winter board meeting, Mike's life partner Sue Clifton presented USPA with a check for $400,000 from the Truffer Estate, receiving a standing ovation from board and gallery alike. It was the largest donation ever made to the trust fund.
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> Larry K. Bagley Receives USPA Lifetime Achievement Award
> 
> At a Friday evening reception during the board meeting, USPA President Sherry Butcher presented the 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award to Larry K. Bagley. More than 100 of the sport's luminaries and Bagley's friends and family attended the celebration. Bagley won election to the board of directors from 1975 to 1995, serving four terms as president and one term as chairman. Subsequently he worked in a variety of positions during his 16 years as a USPA staff member. The citation on the Lifetime Achievement bowl says it best: "For selfless dedication and commitment to the core values of the United States Parachute Association and the skydiving community as advocate, leader and wise counsel for nearly half a century."
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> USPA Database Transition Continues
> 
> When USPA staff started the transition to a new database, we had high hopes that the move would be smooth and quick. The software company had the same expectations and had allocated two to four weeks of direct support before handing us over to the help desk for further assistance. Four months later we are finally somewhat comfortable with phase one of the transition and have been handed over to the help desk.
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> We still have a long way to go, but our backlog is down and the turnaround time for processing memberships, licenses and ratings has dropped from nearly six weeks to just under two weeks.
>  
> Spring is just around the corner, so here are a few suggestions to help us to assist you in a timely manner:
> Respond to your first renewal notice. This will guarantee no lapse in your membership.
> Are you a current member? Check your membership card now, not at manifest when you are ready to jump.
> Check that your membership card correctly lists your ratings and that they are current. Are any missing?
> Are your appointments and awards listed correctly?
> If you are expiring soon, fax or email your application to USPA and use our expedite service if needed.
> If there is a problem or you need to renew your membership, email USPA at membership at uspa.org.
>  
> Thanks for your patience during this transition and have a safe spring!
> 
> SIS Photo of the Month!
> 
> This month's Sisters in Skydiving Photo of the Month (by Kelly Isenhoff) comes from the Girls Just Wanna Have Fun SIS event at Skydive Perris in California February 8-9. The event gathered 40 Little and Big Sisters with anywhere from eight to 6,000 jumps for a weekend of formation skydiving, freeflying, tunnel time and coaching from some of the sport's leading women flyers. Six new female jumpers also earned their Women's Star Crest Recipient awards. According to Big Sis Mary SantAngelo, one of the stand-outs of the weekend was Little Sis Heather Harer, who had only eight jumps when she injured her leg. Longing to get back in the air, she worked with Perris AFF instructor Anmar Herbst in the tunnel and on her currency jump. Current national intermediate freefly gold medalists Nicole Elliot and Hannah Betts also gave her canopy control coaching. By the end of the SIS weekend, Harer had increased her jump numbers by more than 150 percent!
>  
> Many drop zones across the country have SIS events coming up soon. Currently scheduled events include:
>  
> April 18-20: Skydive Atlanta, Thomaston, Georgia
> June 27-29: Chicagoland Skydiving Center, Rochelle, Illinois 
>  
> Being a Big or Little Sister is fun and easy and can create lasting friendships. Information on the program is available on the USPA website for new women jumpers interested in becoming Little Sisters, as well as for those with at least 100 jumps who would like to be Big Sisters. Many of the women who started out as Little Sisters over the past couple years have probably reached 100 jumps by now and are ready to become Big Sisters. Register now if you want to be a Big Sis!
> 
> New SIS Shirts Now in Stock!
> 
> USPA's new SIS shirts have arrived! The style is a gray, long-sleeve women's-fit cotton shirt, selling for $19.99 each. Order shirts online or by calling (540) 604-9740. Bulk discounts are available if you want to get some for your drop zone's SIS event. Contact us for bulk-order pricing.
> 
> Skydiving in the News
> Check out some of the recent cool news stories about skydiving:
>  
> Local teacher skydives for special needs student 
> Huge snowflake falls for kickoff of the Loop Ice Carnival 
> 9News Interview with Denver Broncos Thunderstorm Skydive Team 
> UMass team scores high in skydiving event held in Florida 
> Skydiving Proposal Takes Love to New Heights 
> Clewiston hosts Skydive Ultra Run 
> UMass skydiving club goes gold 
> Why Professional Skydiver Claudia Chose Volkswagen 
> At Harvey Field, the spirit of aviation's early days lives on 
> A Journey to the Center of the World 
> Blue Jays Closer Casey Janssen Pulls off Perfect Proposal After Going Skydiving 
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