DePaul Skydiving Club takes first jump

Does the idea of jumping out of a plane at 14,000 feet scare you? The common answer is yes. But for the newly founded Freefall DePaul Skydiving Club, they thrive off the raging winds and elevation.

The start of 2012 is the skydiving club's premiere year. With roughly 12-15 members, the co-ed team is off to a good start after their first official jump back in October of last year. According to the skydiving club president, DePaul senior Alex Thibodeau, the club is expecting to have a breakout year this spring and become more known on the DePaul scene.

There are many steps in the skydiving process, starting with a mandatory hour-long training session on the day of a jump, which jumpers are expected to attend. This includes putting on a harness and reviewing in-air body positioning and safety precautions. For first-time jumpers that aren't ready to face the ferocious winds alone, they have the option of a tandem jump with an experienced trainer strapped to them. Then at "around an elevation of 5,000 feet, jumpers pull the cord to release their parachute," Thibodeau said. But what if the parachute does not open? That could be trouble.

You'll be surprised to know that many of the daredevils in the skydiving club are novice skydivers who have experienced fewer than three jumps. The club is essentially what you make of it. "Members bring in their own personal skydiving goals," Thibodeau said.

Thibodeau was introduced to the skydiving team last year after seeing a poster on campus and meeting last year's president. When asked what sort of feeling he gets skydiving, Thibodeau said, "I'm scared of roller coasters, but seriously you feel like you're floating, not to mention the beautiful view."

"It's incredible and almost indescribable with all the feelings and emotions flying through your head before the jump," said sophomore club member Jordan Johnson. "Once the door opens, the wind rushes in and slaps you in the face. Before you know it you are falling towards the earth and trying to take it all in. Then it's all over and you are left begging to go up again for just one more jump. That's when you realize, you're hooked."

For daredevils like Johnson trying to take their skydiving skills to the next level, there are longer trainings available to work towards becoming licensed in skydiving.

The club's drop zone (skydiving site) is currently held at Chicagoland Skydiving Center in Hinckley, Ill. The cost to participate in the skydiving club varies from $120 per person to $240 for full membership along with a generous student discount.

"It wasn't hard for the club to be approved. The student officers just needed to do the leg work in the beginning to show that they were organized and had a plan from the start," said Lisa Hansen, director of club sports at DePaul.

"I have been skydiving just once before by myself. I actually originally did it to do research to see if working with a skydiving facility would provide the proper safety for a club," said Hansen. "I am really glad I did it but will probably not do it a second time."

New strategies that the club has taken on in an effort to stay more organized have included establishing a constitution and positions like head of marketing and a secretary. The evolving club plans to gain exposure through social media and a stronger campus presence.

"We want to get it out there to the student body that this club exists and we want any and all members we can get, even if they aren't DePaul students," said Johnson. "We will have posters, t-shirts and other things to really take the club to the next level."

"There's no other feeling that comes close to the feeling of freefalling from 14,000 feet in the air," sophomore member Cassie Snyder said. "My friends think that I am absolutely insane, but mostly it makes them realize how much they want to go skydiving as well."

"Call me crazy, but I had always wanted to taste a cloud and I swear the cloud tasted minty," Snyder said.

Upcoming jumps for the skydiving club are scheduled for early May. For more information contact Lisa Hansen lhanson3@depaul.edu or register for the DePaul Freefall Skydiving Club on Orgsync.