JustSkydivers.com The reason why

Posted by admin

Aug 1

I’m a regular skydiver at Peterlee Parachute Centre. In saying that, I should perhaps explain that I am as regular a skydiver as I can be bearing in mind my lifestyle. Like other skydivers there are hurdles in my way, that prevent me from participating in my chosen sport. Not only am I married with children, but also I have a job that involves working every other weekend. The work is a necessary evil that allows me to pay for jump tickets, so I shouldn’t really complain. On top of that every Sunday morning is taken up with my youngest son’s football (yet another passion of mine). So “me time” out of the home, is pretty much limited, a situation I am sure many skydivers appreciate.

I’m approaching the magic 100 jumps soon, and hope to progress beyond it as soon as time and money allows. My other commitments (namely family and home) mean the amount of free time out of the home to spend on skydiving is limited. However I do have limited time in the home, to spend online, on my other interest, my computer. Web design has been a passion of mine for quite some time, and Ian from Peterlee Parachute Centre spotted the opportunity to utilise my skills, hence the creation of his website www.skydiveacademy.org.uk

Well it soon became clear to me as a skydiver, is that what I needed, and I presumed other skydivers wanted, was an online drop zone. It would be open no matter what day it is, and unlike other DZ,s the weather couldn’t affect it either. So even if there is a gust of wind above 20 mph, or low cloud cover there would be somewhere to hang out. Hence the creation of www.JustSkydivers.com

So at the latter stages of 2008, the idea was conceived. I thought about what I would want to see on an online DZ. I wanted videos, photos, the opportunity to ask for help or advice, the chance to speak to other skydivers about their experiences whether good or bad. It had to be friendly, with no elitism. It needed to allow me to create areas that I wanted to talk about even if they didn’t currently exist. I wanted to know what was going on at other dz’s not only my local one. I realised at this point that I wanted a LOT! So I spoke to other skydivers about what they wanted, what sources of information would be of benefit to them. What they would like to see. How much control would they want over the website? The consensus of opinion was pretty much that for all of this you had to visit several sites, and even then it was not all available.

A goal was set – to help promote skydiving in the UK. To let skydivers have an online DZ to help them progress their skydiving no matter what their skill level or discipline, even when the weather was unsuitable for jumping. To make them feel welcome and a vital part of the community. To listen to their opinions and modify the environment to meet their needs.

In December 2008 www.justskydivers.com was first launched into the wind as a metaphorical widi. After a lot of research and time (when Peterlee was closed and I had free time available) JustSkydivers.com was deployed onto the World Wide Web to see what way the wind was blowing. An online DZ to provide skydivers with what they wanted – all in one place.

This wasn’t an easy task, and reality had to be taken into account. Some features would possibly encounter a “mal” before they were sorted, the “opening” on some plug-ins would be a bit hard! However I was determined to overcome these problems during the beta test. With the help and support of some of the Peterlee regulars we ironed out the creases so to speak, and arranged the site into a neat package that “ticked all the boxes” to what was required from an online DZ.

The site is on a constant cycle of development. We are continuously looking for improvements to enhance users experiences of the Online DZ. We encourage feedback from skydivers, and listen to all that is received.

This in short is JustSkydivers.com.

So this is what I say to all skydivers – Come on – Jump into the online DZ – www.justskydivers.com