Associated Press Published

Some Jumpers Say They'll Skip Bridge Day Because of Scans

Official Bridge Day Logo

Some BASE jumpers plan to skip West Virginia’s Bridge Day festival next year because of a new security requirement.

The jumpers will have to undergo fingerprint scans, along with rappellers and vendors.

Alan Lewis of Tennessee is organizing a visit by jumpers to the Perrine Bridge in Twin Falls, Idaho, instead of Bridge Day. He told The Charleston Gazette that law enforcement in Twin Falls is more welcoming to BASE jumpers.

BASE stands for building, antenna, span and Earth, the fixed objects from which jumpers leap with parachutes. Bridge Day is the only time that BASE jumping is allowed from the New River Gorge Bridge.

Bridge Day Commission chair Sharon Cruikshank has said the scans are less intrusive than background checks, and the fingerprints won’t be saved.