posted May 16th, 2012 - The Northwest Skydiving League was one of the first leagues that joined Florida, Georgia and Texas (1998) for the National Skydiving League and was launched by Art Bori in 2000. Harry Waller continued and directed the NWSL activities when Art Bori stepped back in 2003.

Deb Correia, who trained and competed with Elsinore Vengeance in 2004 and 2005, has been supporting 4way in the northwest region of the USA ever since, whether she was competing herself or not. The NWSL lost momentum over the years and had its last active season in 2007 when Overcast was the last and only NWSL 4way team.

The Nortwest Skydiving Leagues has now been re-activated, and once again it is Deb Correia who brings the 4way momentum back to the region. She has scheduled four meets for the 2012 season, and Skydive Snohomish is the hosting skydiving center this year. The NSL News went back in time and found the first publications of the time when the league was launched in 2000.

"The Northwest Skydiving League (NWSL) kicked off the 2000 season in grand style over the June 3 - 4 weekend. The NWSL, with sponsorship from Kapowsin Air Sports, hosted an Airspeed Skills Weekend featuring Arizona Airspeed team member Craig Girard. While the format was loosely structured, emphasis was to be on 4-way skills and techniques.

The combination of unseasonably warm weather and the presence of a World Champion resulted in a larger than expected turnout for the event. After being welcomed by drop zone owners Jessie and Geoff Farrington and NWSL Director Art Bori, Craig went about organizing the various groups. Expecting two or three 4-way teams and a smattering of other jumpers, Craig was somewhat taken aback when 9 teams plus another 25 jumpers interested in larger formations stepped forward.

Taking it in all in stride, Craig quickly got the various groups prepped and in the air. as Craig was heard to say numerous times over the weekend, “these are good problems to have.” Saturday saw Craig earthbound as he was continuously moving from group to group. Calmly and with attention to detail, Craig would dirt-dive one team, de-brief another, explain the fine points of diving to large formation jumpers, and then describe exit presentation techniques to another group."

NWSL 2007 - Sept.

Rd. 1

Rd. 2

Rd. 3

Rd. 4

Rd. 5

Rd. 6

Rd. 7

Rd. 8

Rd. 9

Rd. 10

Total

Avg

Rank

Rookie

B,K,J

A,E,D

F,C,O

L,H,Q

M,G,E

N,P,B

K,D,C

J,O,H

Q,G,P

A,F,L

Total

Avg

1

Overcast

10

7

5

1

7

6

3

5

6

4

54

5.4

NWSL 2007 - August		Rd. 1	Rd. 2	Rd. 3	Rd. 4	Total	Avg
Rank	Rookie	D,E,C	A,O,K	Q,H,M	C,G,F	Total	Avg
1	Overcast	8	3	5	8	24	6.0

"Finally, after a long day on the ground, Craig was able to get in the air to enjoy the spectacular views of Mount Rainier and Puget Sound. Even though the drop zone’s Super Twin Otter and Grand Caravan were kept flying continuously, there was some waiting between loads. Most teams preferred to slow things down and wait for Craig’s input rather than just get up in the air. It was definitely a case of quality over quantity.

Sunday promised to be even warmer. Temperatures eventually hit the mid-80s, about 20 degrees warmer than normal. Changing gears, Craig concentrated on jumping with as many groups as possible. At one point Craig would land, drop his gear, run to the loading area to don another rig, and meet up with his next group not only for one load but for 5 loads in a row. Throughout the weekend, Craig’s technical expertise and ability to convey his ideas brought success upon success.

Teams could readily see improvements from one jump to the next. For many jumpers this was their first exposure to ideas and techniques employed by top teams such as Airspeed. In the end, the combination of great weather, efficient manifesting, fast turbine aircraft, and of course, Craig Girard, made for a very successful weekend. The NWSL management and Kapowsin Air Sports were very pleased with the turnout. The event provided a great kick-start to the NWSL season and northwest skydiving. Blue Skies - Go Compete, 6/9/00"

Then it was time for the second NWSL competition in 2000, and the NSL News also found the leaderboard and the meet report in the archives.

"Beautiful weather in the Northwest and the success of the season opener brought new teams out to compete at the July meet of the Northwest Skydiving League, hosted by Skydive Kapowsin. A total number of nine teams has participated in the 2000 season to date, six teams in the Open/Advanced Class, three teams in the Recreational Class.

Team Loki came out to play after missing the season opener and won their first meet this year (handicapped class) right away. Team Loki is going into its fourth year with one new team member.

Another new team will catch the attention of competitors in the country. With a 12.8 average after six rounds, 30 Somethings made it to the top of the leaderboard in the Western Skies. The draw was on the faster side, but the result is still impressive. 30 Somethings consists of Martin Fox, Guy Medema, Rick West, Steve Platt and videographer Scott Krug. This is already the second team that the Northwest Skydiving League has placed on the leaderboard of the Western Skies.

Fish Bites appeared there first after their 11.2 performance at the season opener. LMTD-J won the competition in the Recreational Class again. Pictures, current rankings and more information can be found at the NWSL homepage. The meet report has been provided by NWSL Director Art Bori. Blue Skies - Go Compete, 7/21/00"