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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1987-08-19, Page 19• Sky divers 'take t e plunge' at Grand They stand around in two tight circles, looking into the sky and then at a wind sock standing out on the lan- ding field. Someone jokes about their last will and testament, bequeathing a pair of socks to the one who survives. Someone else goes, in to check the wind -metre and then returns disap- pointed, explaining that the wind is picking up. They are the first time sky divers. The group of eight men and women have come from Burford, Ont. to _receive expert training in the sport at the Grand Bend Sport Parachuting Centre. They travelled that distance to jump with ram -air canopies, square parachutes which allow the diver to control both speed and direc- tion with accuracy. The Grand Bend Centre is one of 12 such organizations in Canada and was the first to offer modern chutes as au alternative to ex -military • round parachute. "We were actually the first people in Canada to start doing that (using. square chutes)," says Bob Wright, owner and operator of the parachute cent re.,) "The injury is much higher on the round parachutes due to the high rate of descent. You can't slow them down like you can square parachutes." As the would-be sky divers wait for the wind to drop to levels suitable for a first time jump; the death jokes - become more frequent. They range considerably in age and there are as many women as men in the group. Wright says that people who jump out of planes aren't a breed apart. "Usually they're sort of the younger parachuting. Two of the articles stand crowd younger twenties," he ex- out from the rest. The first is a tabloid plains. "1 don't know if they're a dif- feature about a sky diver who was ferent type. miraculously picked up by aliens; and "Mainly they're people who've saved from certain death as he plum - always wanted to make a parachute meted to the ground after his chute jump." Ordinary people looking fora failed to open. The second deals with challenge; looking for something dif- a young woman who was filing a law ferent. Wright says people 16 years of suit alter being paralyzed in a sky div - age and older can jump at the centre. ing accident. Jumpers under 18 need signed per- Asked why the articles are there, mission from their parents. He estimates that the oldest person to Wright.explains that they have a duo purpose. jump at the centre was approximate • - ly 60 -years -old. . , "I suppose they're up there to give ."We do take people if they are in people the realization that, though sky good shape, but we don't generally get diving is sate, there are some ac- inuuiries from older people." cidents that do occur," he says. Inside the parachute centre, a Wright explains that the ridiculous bulletin board hangs on the wall, - tabloid story is on the board to amuse covered with newspaper and participants but more importantly, to . magazine • clippings about • po;iit nut the gross exaggerations about sky diving which appear on a regular basis in the press. "It seems that we don't get any' publicity unless it's of the negative kind,.' Wright says. "It is sort of an- noying that the negative things always get reported and the positive things never do." Because sky diving accidents are usually spectacular. the media is quick to cover them. People often hear about falls and breaks, but rare- ly do parachute clubs receive coverage for meets and competitions. Facts also get distorted, says Wright. The media often leads people to believe that accidents are caused by equipment failure when in reality. it is usually human error which causes mishaps. FLYING HIGH — Debra Zawadski of Exeter takes the big plunge over Grand Bend. Zawadski took lessons at the Grand Bend Parachuting Centre and is pictured here as she leaves the plane on her first jump. Because the parachuting centre offers its students ram -air canopies and expert instruction, people come from all over Ontario to learn to sky dive. T -A photo lognIMMIISSIft- Ames voc Serving South Huron, North Middlesex August 19, 1987 & North Lambton Since 1873 .s2' ': PagelA "The public doesn't tend to hear about all the safety precautions that are taken," he says. "They don't realize the care that is taken with the equiprnent." Ron Pinder of the Canadian Sport Parachuting Association in Ottawa, estimates that there are one quarter of a million jumps in Canada each year. From that number there are roughly four fatalities and one serious injury (paralysis). An interesting companion statistic. provided by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation and Communication, states that the number of people kill- ed in Ontario alone per 100,000 automobile drivers in 1985 was 13.1. Wright acknowledges that there are dangers involvedin sky diving. Misconceptions however, are much more prevalent in the sport. For'in- stance, it is not considered to be a 'close call' when a sky diver uses his - or her back-up chute after the initial chute fails to open. "That's considered part of the sport really," says Wright. "Every one or two hundred jumps, you might have to use your reserve chute. It's not as manoeuvreable, but it certainly does the job." - First time sky divers are equipped with a number of safety devices. All. divers use a 'static line' on their first few jumps. The line is attached to the plane and automatically opens the chute seconds after the jump. Divers also have a radio receiver attached to their equipment through which an instructor gives directions from the ground. In addition to the ground instruction, a qualified diving not maintaining a level of competen- cy," he says. ''But some people don't have the time or don't have the money to do i1 that often." The cost of an average jump for so- meone who has equipment is $1e4, though prices depend -on the height of the jump. To buy the necessary equip- ment new can cost. approximately $3,000. Used eeuipment is available at considerably lower prices. instructor goes up in the plane with , The wind eventually drops to the re - the students to help them through the quired speed and the students arc initial jump. loaded into the small plane, three at • The students are carefully in- structed in the operation of the - reserve chute so that they know what to do should the first chute fail. 'Reserve chutes are round 'as oppos- ed to the square main chutes and are inspected on a regular basis. Wright, who does 40-50 jumps a month. estimates that the average sport jumper does uptte 100 jumps a season. Ile stresses the importance of jumping regularly. . "We don't recommend that people do it that infrequently txrcause they're a time. Those left on the ground walk ,out through a bean field to a large cir- cular patch with a huge white arrow set near the edge. The arrow can be Manipulated so that the diver knows ' howtomanoeuvrehischuteshould the radio transmitter break down. The plane circles high above and then the first chute opens. On the ground; the remaining students give a cheer. and when the divers begin to come in. the big question: 'Why do it?' is answered- With their feet back on the ground. they are absolutely exhilarated. FEET FIRST - - A first time jumper steers the ram -air canopy as close as possible to the target site. Soccer terms closing in on finals In Squirt action, all four Exeter teams played and were victorious this week. Exeter 1 travelled to Lucan to play Lucan 111. second in the standings. The flow of the game was up and down with the Exeter youngsters finally deciding the game in their favour 2-1. David Farquhar scored both goals for Exeter 1. Greg Geoffrey and Brian (layman played extremely well. Exeter 11 travelled to Ilderton and had no trouble staying in the running for second place overall Without any trouble, the Exeter kids went home with a 10-0 win. Some scorers for Exeter II were Theresa- Wilhelm, Brendan Kraft - check and Trevor Boersma. Luke Sims scored twice as Exeter 111 disposed of Nairn I. Exeter IV won their fourth con- secutive game this week. ; Jeff McLean scored both goals as Exeter IV defeated Ilderton 11, 2-1. Ilderton had taken the lead in the first half but Exeter stormed back in the second Minor Hockey registration. Though the basic registration fee for the 1987 minor hockey season has not changed, registration will be more expensive this season Exeter Minor Hockey (EMIIA . informed parents in a news letter last week. Last season the basic registration fee ..was - 8175. At that time the municipalities of Exeter and Osborne were able to grant EMHA roughly 850 in subsidies for each player in the system. That brought the registration fee to 8125 per player. This season, EMHA has received confirmation that Usborne will pro- vide a subsidy of roughly $20 for each player (half that of last year), but the town of Exeter has been unable to guarantee the subsidies. Tom McCann, president of EMHA -said Monday that town council sets aside funds•each year for the Squth Huron Rec Centre. Those funds are used to reduce any deficit that may exist. Any money left over once that deficit has been taken care of is chan- neled to minor hockey groups. Parents will be paying a, basic fee of 8155 for minor hockey registration. That includes a 820 discount from EMHA. The letter explains that "Due to the efforts of last year's executive. we achieved a surplus which we fell . should be passed on in the form of reduced fees for this season only." That price is up $30 from last year's registration fee. . Ice rental fees have also jumped 10 • percent over last year.: Ice -time at the South Huron Rec Centre will cost 855 per hour this season. To maintain minor hockey at an af- fordable level, the EMHA has adopted a family plan, the letter noted. Working from the basic fee of 8155 or $95 if the child is a Tyke player ($115 minus 820 discount) a further discount of 820 will be added for the second player in the family and a 830 discount will be given to the third player in the family. New equipment In an effort to make the game of hockey safer, the Ontario Minor Hockey association has made neck collars mandatory for all players registered or affiliated with minor hockey. The association is considering the feasibility of providing the equipment to make sure all players are proper- ly equipped. N — IMAM Tasty Nu Bread Nne!l qualify WINNING PITCHER Dan Lewis was the winning pitcher for the Beauties and Beasts at the final game of the weekend slo-pitch tourney at Centralia. Always fresh. This Week's Features: Fresh Cheese or Onion IRolls only 1,49 doz. Delicious Chocolate Chip ' Cookies 1,49 ' Tasty ►4 Hni Summer Buys In Effect Thurs., Fri. Sol. (while supplies last) • We hove a wide variety Of Delicious Donuts . Try our butter torts, bIimarks and croissants el. 1 1 1 Corot Muffins6/1.99 Mild TastyNul Cheddar only 2.9911) Bakery &Chew' House Plumrose Creamy Havarti "Traditional quality" since 19217' Cheese 11) 3.99 Exeter 233-0332 • ■NO—MNSI IMNII■NI laccaNMl•INN Nt!INN half to score two goals. Playing well for Exeter IV were Matt Szabo and Gerry Corbett. In atom play, Exeter I remained in second place overall after defeating fourth place Lucan by a 2-0 score. U or s was a close game with both team3 missing excellent scoring chances. Marty DeBruyn scored both Exeter goals. Chris Jongkind and Chris McDonald played well for Exeter 1. Exeter I1 played at home against Lucan 2. In a well played game it -was finally Lucan 2 that came out vic- torious with a 2-1 win. Jeff Sararas scored the lone goal for Exeter II while Rob Lynn was a standout on defence. - In Mosquito play. coach Arnold Martens Spent most of the afternoon on the phone to make sure that he had a complete team to find that when game time came around Grand Bend only showed up with five players. Ex- eter 1 won 1-0 by default. The players had a fun game instead. In Pee Wee play. Exeter 1 con- tinued to put on a show. Last week they gave second place St. Colum ban a scare by almost pulling off an upset. However this week they did pull it off defeating first place Grand Bend by a 2-1 score. Peter McAllister scored both goals for Exeter I. It was a complete team effort. Exeter lI stayed in the running with two wins over Lucan. One of those games was a make-up game. In the first game. Danny. Vanderlaan scored four limes to lead Exeter to an 8-3 win. Also scoring for Exeter II were Sisavay t 1 ► .and Sivichay t 21 Sengkhounmany and Eugene Hart- man. The Exeter kids carried the play for most of the game. In the second game the play was the same, and Exeter II was in charge throughout. Tim Brand scored twice and Dan- ny Vanderlaan. Dean Pfaff and Sivichay Sengkhounmany scored one: each in a 5-1 win. In Bantam play, Exeter bantam boys and girls travelled to Ilyde Park for a game against second place Hyde Park. Exeter had a terrible start of the game and after 20 minutes, trail- ed by a 5-0 score. With a determined effort, they fought back to 5-3 and for some time it looked as if they were go- ing to pull out a win but another Hyde Park goal stalled the Exeter com- eback and the final score was 8-4 for Hyde Park. Henri DeBruyn was a standout for Exeter, scoring all four of the goals, some of them brilliant individual ef- forts. The last goal was scored with a beautiful head shot after a perfect- ly taken cornerkick by Chris Eccles. Christy Brintnell and Brent Bell played particularly well for Exeter. The Exeter boys and girls have one game remaining and are assured of third place in the standings. sportstest The Exeter pee wees travelled to Please turn to page 3 A .Jack Riddell Committee Rooms Clinton - 9 Rattenbury Street 482-3007 Wingham - 414 Josephine Street, North 357-1140 Exeter - 592 Hain Street, South 235-1544 (;oderieh - 36 Newgate Street 524-5336 Seaforth - 55 Main Street 527-2202 N141\ s4 Q41 11 III 1111 111 1211\ I'kl l\ I\I 1 \I 11111 R \I \si.,I N 1 \ 1111\ 1