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Welcome to Sponsor A Skydive, where you can dedicate a skydive to someone you love or to the memory of a loved one lost. Skydiving is an exhilarating sport that focuses the mind, body, and spirit into a single action that cannot be explained. It must be experienced to ever be fully understood. Many would find the experience rewarding and fulfilling but few are willing to take that leap of faith.
Skydiving is my passion and I want to share that with anyone else who is willing to jump. My enthusiasm and that of my students can be in honor of your loved ones when you sponsor a skydive. Sponsoring allows me to purchase new equipment made with the latest technological advances to keep me, my fellow instructors, and our students safe while flying through the air.
Who Am I
My name is Mike Toombs and I have been skydiving for about 3 1/2 years. From my very first jump in March of 2007 I have been hooked on the sport of skydiving. I currently have over 500 jumps and am adding more every week. I am a Tandem Instructor, IAD Instructor, Skydiving Coach, and a Skydiving Videographer. IAD stands for Instructor Assisted Deployment. It’s the modern version of the Static Line, but instead of a static line opening the parachute, the instructor opens the parachute as the student leaves the plane. I love working with students and introducing new people to the sport of skydiving.
Skydiving is Very Safe
Contrary to popular belief, skydiving is a very safe sport. But it takes proper training and the right equipment to keep it that way. The United States Parachute Association (USPA) is the governing body for skydiving activities in the United States. Among other things, the USPA is there to promote safe skydiving through training, licensing, and instructor qualification programs. They establish rules and regulations that keep the sport safe for everyone. Without the USPA, skydivers would just be a bunch of crazy people jumping out of airplanes. Because of the USPA skydiving has become a very safe sport that nearly anyone can enjoy.
Improved Equipment
Equipment manufacturers have made vast improvements in skydiving gear over the past 20-30 years, which has also made skydiving a much safer sport for everyone involved. Modern ram-air parachutes are more predictable and controllable than their predecessors. Every skydiver has a main parachute and a reserve parachute. The 3-ring release system, invented by Bill Booth, allows jumpers to quickly cut-away a malfunctioning main parachute and deploy their reserve much faster than was possible in the past. Bill Booth also invented the throw-out pilot chute, a small parachute thrown into the relative wind to open the main parachute; the Skyhook, a device that very quickly deploys the reserve parachute once the main has been cut-away; and the Sigma Tandem System, the safest, most modern, feature-rich tandem system available.
An Automatic Activation Device (AAD) is an optional piece of equipment for licensed skydivers and required for all students and tandems. In the event that a skydiver has not deployed the main parachute by a specified altitude the AAD cuts the closing loop holding the reserve in the container. So, if you don’t open a parachute, it will open one for you. The two most common AAD’s on the market are the Cypres and the Vigil. The Cypres has been around since 1991 and has currently saved over 1,000 lives. The Vigil is a relative new comer to the sport, arriving on the market in 2003, and has since saved 71 lives.
How You Can Help
All of this training, licensing, and equipment costs money. The USPA requires annual dues, licensing fees, and rating fees. All of the equipment listed above, plus jump suits, goggles, helmets, altimeters and video equipment not only have a high initial purchase price, but also require a lot of money to maintain in order to keep them in safe working condition. By sponsoring a skydive, or series of skydives, you are providing the necessary funding to keep me and my students in the air and safe.
What You Get
When you sponsor a skydive you get to dedicate a particular jump or series of jumps to someone you love, or in memory of someone you have lost. Once that jump has been made you will receive a certificate stating who the jump was dedicated to, the date the jump was made, and the altitude the jump was made from, along with any other details you may want about that particular skydive. My current goal is to get the funding for two complete Sigma Tandem Systems for taking people on their first jump, two complete solo rigs for video and IAD jumps, and two student rigs for training new students. Each parachute system is good for about 500 jumps before it starts needing major repairs. So I am offering 500 sponsorship slots (1 for each jump) for each rig. You may pick which rig and the jump number you want to sponsor. If you don’t have a preference, then your donation will be applied to the next available jump number. If you would like to be notified in advance of the jump so you can watch, that can be arranged as well.
In addition to the certificate and your choice of jump number, you may also have your sponsorship listed on this website. You can write something special to the person you are dedicating the jump to, or you may provide a link to your website. The choice is yours.
Corporate Sponsors
Corporate sponsors, or those making large donations, have several options. You may sponsor a large group of jumps or a complete rig. If you sponsor a complete rig, you may also pay to have your company logo embroidered onto the container and sewn onto the bottom skin of the parachute. A logo on a parachute is fantastic advertising. Parachutes are easy to see for miles around, and everyone that sees it will watch it for as long as they can. Another option is to have a jumpsuit made with your logo on it. Including myself, there are three videographers at Fly Free Skydiving. Together we shot over two hundred videos last year and the first thing those people did was go home and show it to all their friends. Your logo could be flashed at the beginning of all those skydiving videos. That’s a lot of exposure for your company. Your company logo will also be added to this website along with a link to your website.
Whether you sponsor 1 jump or 500 jumps, your donation is greatly appreciated and will be used to keep skydivers safe and soaring through the air for a long time to come.