Breaking out of the comfort zone

As skydivers, one thing we learn early on is that, in order to improve, you’ve gotta step out of your comfort zone. I mean, hello, skydiving in itself is stepping out of that zone…that’s part of the whole point, is it not?

Though I do have to admit, there have been times while freeflying where I get into this comfort zone and tend to stay there. This happened the first time when I really got my sit down and didn’t want to mess it up by trying to move. So I didn’t. I stayed. Forward penetration and sideways movement to get to the group just wasn’t a priority. I had this sit, and I knew how to make it work, and I wasn’t going to do anything that could potentially mess that up.

Then, one day I went up with Sporto and he flew circles around me (literally) as I hung out in this rigid sit. Back on the ground he was like, “breathe, relax, smile and do something.”

He went on to tell me that I’ve got the fundamentals, I just need to put them in motion, start moving, start docking, and if you cork in the process, you cork, but just hanging out doing only what works will never help you improve.

Good point, Sporto! So I took it to heart. I did a lot of zoo dives with 4-5 other freeflyers and it taught me how to move! It was no longer a knee lock exit into relative sit where Rick and I just stare at each other – it was time to stand to get down to the group, push my hips forward and get moving!

I’ve noticed this same thing with docking. There are times where, my concern of “ruining” the jump overtakes my knowledge that, if I reach forward, I should move my other arm up or back to keep balanced. These are things I know, but they’re out of that precious little comfort zone, and it can be difficult to move past it.

After jumps like this, Rick and I can’t help but laugh at each other – we should have just gone for it. And if we cork, at least my video camera can show us visual evidence of what went wrong.

I’m sure other skydivers out there have experienced this… right? I mean, in the end, we’re all working to get out of our comfort zone, whether it’s taking that first step out the door, learning another discipline, playing with front riser turns under canopy…whatever it is, aren’t we all struggling to get comfortable with the unfamiliar?

One of the things I’ve heard a lot lately is from students/recent A licensers who are having issues with landing. Whether it’s finding your flare, setting up a landing pattern, standing up landings, or even just not landing off, these issues too can stem from being outside your comfort zone, and all of these things can be perfected with practice.

I’ve come to learn that having the attitude that,”I’m going to do this for myself,” really helps you get to that point. Trying to prove something to others only puts additional pressure on the situation, but if it’s something you really want, then make it happen for you. Besides, you can’t let little slip ups be the death of you, especially in front of others. From time to time we all cork, we all have a messy landing, we all have off days – even the best skydivers out there! So if you take out a formation and it gets caught on video, or you slide in a landing and catch a dry spot only to land it on your hands and knees in front of the entire DZ (like I did this weekend…oops), not to worry, because someone else is likely to do something else stupid in the near future. Then it can be your turn to rib them for it!

My two cents – take it or leave it.

Anyway – that all leads me back to this: step out of your comfort zone. Do something that scares you (and if that means making that first skydive, then what are you waiting for?), test out those front riser turns the next time you’re under canopy with time to kill – above 2,000 feet, give those freefly skills another try. Whatever it is that makes you nervous, do it…safely.

You might just surprise yourself with what you’re capable of – and you may even learn a thing or two along the way.

Blue skies!

Ashley

Jump for Diabetes 2010- what a blast!

Well, I’ve finally recuperated from a long weekend at Skydive Pennsylvania for the 2nd Annual Jump for Diabetes – just in time for another weekend of skydiving .

Let’s start with the juicy details: between raffles, sponsored jumps and generous donations, we were able to raise nearly $10,000 for diabetes research – and donations are still rolling in, so we may even surpass that mark when all is said and done!

I’m thrilled with the amount of people who stepped up to support this cause, from the gear donations throughout the skydiving community, to the incredible team of pledge jumpers who came in from all over the country to donate their time to the cause, to the participants at Skydive Pennsylvania – none of this could have been accomplished without your support.

So a HUGE THANK YOU goes out to all who contributed.

As far as raffles go, we gave away more than $10,000 in donated and discounted skydiving gear, local jumper Scott Diesel was the lucky winner of the PD canopy raffle and there were three happy winners in the Grand Prize raffle.

And guess what – we’re going to do it all again next year! We’re planning the event for Aug 12-14 at Skydive Pennsylvania once again, and we’ve already got 4 manufactuers confirmed to be on site. We expect it to be bigger and better than this year – definitely not to be missed.

Okay, so now that that’s out of the way …let’s talk a little about the skydiving, shall we?

Friday after set up we did the first Mrs. Potato Head jump of the weekend. A group of us freeflyers took it to our bellies in an attempt to put her together in the sky. Best part, she was a diabetic, so Rick had a needle-less syringe to stick in her ear. It was far from a success, with us walking away with zero pieces in place, and one lost piece somewhere in the LZ, but I gotta tell you, it sure was FUN! Thanks to Heather for bringing this tradition to Jump for Diabetes!

We gave away our first piece of gear on Friday too, a freefly suit from EG. EG suits came in from Jersey to attend the event. Thanks again EG, you were a hit at Skydive PA!

Saturday started off bright and early with long spots and off landings. We had a fun 2-way freefly practice jump to start out the day before diving into a weekend of incredibly fun freefly zoo dives, like this one:

Both mine and Rick’s parents showed up for the day which was awesome! My dad even got some great shots of me landing and packing. I’m not used to being on the other side of the camera!

The weather played nice until about 5 p.m., at which point our gear raffle picked up. This is where my dad’s height came in handy, as we were selling gear raffle tickets for $20 a body length, so a number of jumpers “borrowed” his 6’3″ frame to purchase their tickets.

(Grand Prize Raffle drawing, with Skylyn the ticket picker! *Photo by Suji Martens)

Saturday night 4 bands from around the Pittsburgh area showed up to play for us in the hangar…due to the rain. What an incredible party. The beer was flowing and we were even able to have a small fire with numerous smores consumed. Yum!

Sunday started slow because of rain and low clouds until about 3 p.m. This gave us ample time to finish out the raffles before completing the weekend with a couple more fun freefly jumps – starting with Justin’s 200th.

The last jump of the weekend was a 6-way freefly turned into a hybrid, rodeo, backfly, sitfly combo. Was one of the funnest jumps we all had that weekend…guess you had to be there!

I’m still working on a fun Jump for Diabetes video to show the highlights from the weekend, so stay tuned for that.

Thanks again to everyone who did their part to not only make this an incredibly successful weekend, but for making it a BLAST too!

Blue skies!

Ashley

Review: Infinity Containers, part 2

So for those who are paying attention, yes, this is my second review on the Infinity containter – but this time, I’m a little wiser, so I’d like to share a few aspects of this brand that keep me coming back for more.

Earlier this season I was talking to a fellow jumper who was looking to buy her own gear. She, like me, was on the smaller side, looking for a rig that not only fits her, but held a moderate size canopy. Most of the used small rigs out there hold 120s and below – not ideal for the recent A-licensed skydiver.

Of course, I wasn’t planning to sell off my gear so quickly, but when I saw a jumper in need, I took the opportunity to not only help her out, but to go down the path of ordering brand new custom gear myself. When it came to a container, naturally, I went with Infinity again.

(Brand new out of the box!)

The container has since been packed with a brand new PDR 126 and I’m currently sporting a green and white Triathlon 135 until my custom Sabre 2 -120 arrives.

(Packing up! *Photo by Steve Mead)

Here’s what I LOVE about this container:

1) Integrated secondary riser cover. Not only does this keep everything in place, whether you’re freeflying or belly flying, but it looks slick. It’s all one seamless piece.

(*Photo by VSE)

2) Bridle cover within the bottom flap. My old Infinity didn’t have this feature, and I have to say, for freeflying it’s the only way to go. I have no doubt that my bridle is secure when I’m out there on my feet and (attempting to make it) on my head.

(*Photo by VSE)

3) The people! I’m a big believer in customer service can make or break a company. Between Kelly, Tony and Gail, I was given the most incredible customer service ever – even when I was a total pain and asking Tony to send me pictures of fabric colors. Gail even went so far as to send me a picture of my rig before she shipped it off because she knew how excited I was. It’s little things like that that go a long, LONG way in my book. Love these guys!

4) Speaking of colors – the color options they have available are some of the best I’ve seen. I love that they have a charcoal option aside from the lighter silver. And I can’t say enough about the neon blue. Oh come on, you know color matters in this sport – don’t fool yourself, it’d matter to you too!

(All dressed in my Freak N Suit and Infinity…two of my favorite skydiving brands! *Photo by Steve Mead)

5) Sizing. It fits perfectly! Beyond perfectly. Since it was made for my measurements, it’s one of the most comfortable things I’ve ever put on my back. And as I’m flailing in the sky, I don’t even realize it’s there. This new one is so little and compact too!

6) All the little features like stainless hardware, articulated harness, completely freefly friendly…even the angled tuck tab for easy pin checks.

Needless to say, I’m a huge Infinity fan. Those crazy kids over at Velocity Sports Equipment really know what they’re doing! They got me hooked – I’ll forever be an Infinity users. Thanks guys, for an incredible product with impeccable service!

Blue skies!

Ashley

Good skydiver

That’s what I want to be one day…a good skydiver.

Over the weekend we headed down to Canton Air Sports – yep, the old stomping grounds – where Mark Vickers was flying the Skyvan for the weekend. Not only was I able to jump my new rig – Beer, yes, duly noted – but we were able to get some great jumps in!

After the sun set we all sat around the big screen to watch some of the bad ass freeflying that took place that day – and I have to admit, I was in awe for most of it.

There are a couple friends of ours who are brothers – Joe and Dave (hey guys!) – who are two of the sickest freeflyers I’ve seen. It’s not so much about the wicked things they’re able to do in the sky (there’s that too) but it’s how dynamic they are together. No matter what’s going on around them these two always seem to have it together, this rhythm with one another. It’s incredible to watch! Even better, they are some of the nicest people you’ll meet on the ground too.

That aside, I love watching videos with these guys, and people like them, who are such good skydivers. The greatest part is that it’s not with envy that I watch these freeflyers, it’s with admiration and sometimes complete awe. In all reality, “good” isn’t the best descriptor here, pretty f-ing phenomenal is more like it . “Good” is what I aspire to be some day!

I like to think that watching videos of those people who are incredibly proficient can only help me learn – take away some of the little body adjustments and things of that nature and apply them to my own skydiving. Of course, time in the sky (and hopefully one day soon in a tunnel) is essential, but I can’t help think that I’m soaking up a little knowledge simply by watching the best of the best.

I’m always entertained by the days where I think I’ve picked up some of the smartest tricks in the book and when I get out the door and test them out it doesn’t go quite as planned. Sky -1, Ashley -0. A good laugh is always had! But what’s even better is when I’m able to apply even the smallest trick to make my sitfly just that much better.

The learning curve in skydiving is incredible. Each and every jump I’m amazed at how much Rick and I have improved. Relativity is rarely an issue these days, and docking has become common-place. We’re spending time in the sky with people who really know their shit, and I like to think we’re able to absorb a little of that knowledge through the sky – osmosis of sorts . Now, head down is a different story – I’ve spent so much time on my feet there hasn’t been a lot of time to get proficient, and clearly I’m just not picking it up as fast as I did sit. Rick on the other hand, he sticks some mad head downs…hoping some of that can rub off on me over time!

Anyhow, enough of my rambling – here’s a few YouTube videos that prove my point. God I love watching sick freeflyers!

Gotta love the song and the pink skyvan in this last video!

Blue skies!

Ashley

A trip to CSC

As I mentioned last week, all my posts from July have gone bye bye. So I’m working on getting these back up – stat. Though, they’re going to be slightly different, as I’m having to re-write most of them, but for those of you that have kept up, it’ll give you a little bit of a different flavor!

Recently we took an impromptu trip out to Chicago to jump at Chicagoland Skydiving Center (CSC). The idea was sparked by a couple of aspects. 1) It had been a while since we traveled (more than a month…that’s way too long in my book) so the itch was coming on bad, and 2) to visit with Ms. Sydney!

Needless to say, the trip was more than a huge hit!

Upon arrival at the DZ, we were welcomed with open arms. Within the first 5 minutes in the hangar, the DZO approached us, let us know where we could stash our stuff for the weekend, gave us a tour of the facilities, and when we ended up in the North hanger, he even showed us his Velo that just about exploded the day before…14 broken likes, yikes!

Not only that, he organized our first couple freefly jumps together! Hello – a little sitfly action with not only the DZO, but an incredible freeflyer at that! Nice! (Too bad I didn’t realize my memory card was full, otherwise I’d have proof of these first couple jumps…oopsie)!

The hospitality didn’t stop there, we were treated to privelages that you just don’t come across when visiting most dropzones. It definitely left an impression on us.

What else we noticed was that the staff there is huge! They have plenty of people working the desks and enough tandem instructors to give students the ultimate experience – a personal one they will remember! We were even reognized by name, as Lisa at manifest knew ours before we knew hers! Good stuff.

We finished out the first day of jumping with an incredible sitfly with Carolyn, the DZOs wife. She’s got great energy in the sky – check out that smile plastered on her face! How can you not have fun with company like that?!

Sunday we were able to finish out the day with a fun freefly with a badass belly flyer chick. Yes, you heard that right! We sat her upright and threw her out of the plane .

The rolling train ended quick, but as you can see, this girl got skills, especially considering she hasn’t done a freefly in 3 years!

Beyond all that, everyone is just so nice. There are significantly more female jumpers than in the NE Ohio area, and the best part is that all of them are so friendly. The chicks stick together there, support one another – just as it should be!

And you can bet, if you’re just hanging around, someone is bound to come up and chat with you between loads…that’s just the atmosphere there. Very Midwest.

As you can tell, I have nothing but good things to say about this dropzone. They busted out more than 150 tandems in one day, flying only the otter, and they made it look easy. And though it’s a busy dropzone, it has the feel of a small community. Good stuff.

I can’t recommend this dropzone enough if you’re in the Chicago area! Hell, even if you’re not, jump in your car and take a road trip. You won’t be disappointed.

Blue ones!

Ashley

Jump for Diabetes – THIS WEEKEND

Shocker! I’m talking about Jump for Diabetes. But, the good thing is, you’ll really only be hearing about this one last time. And of course, likely once after…gotta do a recap!

Anywhoosits – as if you haven’t heard this enough already, I’m putting it short and sweet – here are the reasons not to miss this event:

• High Altitude Jumps
• More than $10,000 in gear giveaways
• PD Canopy Raffle
• Onsite vendors including EG Suits and Guaranteed Wellness
• 4 live bands Saturday night
• RED BULL GIRLS
• Food vendors
• Oh, and HELLO – skydiving!

Needless to say, it’s going to be an incredible weekend. We have 10 sponsored jumpers who will be out jumping their asses off for the cause – myself included.

Fingers crossed for beautiful weather!

Can’t wait to see y’all there!

Love and blue skies!

Ashley

Sydney: Unfiltered

Okay, so as I mentioned on Facebook earlier this week, all my posts from July are gone. Bummer! But, since this week is uber busy with work, I’m taking the very rare spare time I have to recreate these posts. First, I’ve got the ever important interview with the lovely Sydney!

So clearly you can see why I love her….she compliments me! Ha, obviously it goes way beyond just that. She’s a badass skydive chick, what’s not to love, right?! Be sure to check out her blog over at Sydney: Unfiltered. What, you didn’t think I came up with that catchy title all on my own, did you?

And as a little update since the last time I posted this interview, Syd and some of her pals from CSC will be headed out  for Jump for Diabetes weekend, in LESS THAN TWO WEEKS! Woot!

In case you hadn’t heard, we’re planning high altitude jumps from the King Air that will be coming in to support that weekend. It’s going to be EPIC .

Love and Blue Skies!

Ashley

Random Midnight Fodder

So I’m up late, waiting on an announcement to come through for one of my clients, what a better time to blog than now, huh?

Honestly, I’m not sure where this post is going to take me, it very well may be random as my brain tends to be all over the place this time of night, so bear with me. I’ll try to stick to skydiving at the very least

This weekend Rick and I took a trip out to CSC again. I was finally able to get up in the air with Ms. Sydney for a couple of attempted hybrids. Yes, you read that correctly, couple = 2, attempted = failed. We’re not going to get into the nitty gritty of it – truthfully, we’re not entirely sure what the problem was that was making us not get our act together – but needless to say it was still a skydive and it as still a wicked awesome time. Great flying with you love!

It was nice to do some more freeflying with Doug and Carolyn while I was out there too. Doug was giving us both some great head down instruction, working on exits with flower grips and just getting the feel for the position right out of the plane. After a couple jumps and video reviews things really started to make sense to us! It’s fun flying with these two, can’t wait to get out there again!

I must admit that I was a little envious after Rick did a wingsuit jump Saturday evening. I considered it on Sunday before we left, but the schedule just didn’t permit. Now I’m kinda jonesing for some flight time…that’ll have to be in my near future .

Sad to say that summer is almost officially over. But, there’s still so much season left to enjoy, and so much to look forward to!

• This weekend we’re heading to the Work Stinks! Boogie at Start Skydiving in Middleton, OH. This was mine and Rick’s first boogie together last year so we’ve got fond memories of the jumps that were made and the experiences had. I’m excited to be going back this year. I’m sure there will be lots of photos and video to share when I return next week!
• At the end of the month we’re heading to California for what originally started as a trip to visit family who lives in LA, and is now also a trip to Elsinore for the Chick’s Rock boogie. Looking forward to meeting up with some jumpers I’ve been meaning to get in the sky with for quite some time. Hopefully I’ll be able to convince some of my cousins to jump out of a perfectly good airplane with me that weekend

Let’s see, what else? Oh yeah, I’m selling my Sabre 1 – 150. Anyone need one? It’s in great condition, just over 300 jumps on it, new oversize slider (and regular size slider) come with it. Slinks. With the oversize slider it’s never slammed me…in fact, it snivels! And it’s purdy…

Going to post on DZ.com soon, but wanted to throw it out there to the readers first. Email me if you’re interested: theskydivechick@gmail.com.

Okay, so enough rambling, it’s back to work for me. Still working on a fun Jump for Diabetes video I hope to share in the near future, so stay tuned for that.

Blue skies!


Ashley