posted Mar 9th, 2009 - The NSL News goes back again to the Valentine's Meet 2009 and the stories on 3 March 2009 and 5 March 2009. Both stories were related to the question how Airspeed Odyssey created an 18-point difference to Perris Fury after ten rounds.

The first five rounds of both teams could already be compared directly with each other. Airspeed's missing five rounds have now been uploaded and are available for reviews, as well. Perris Fury's complete set of competition rounds, except Round 6, have been available for a while.

Rounds six and seven were still completed on the first day of the meet, while four of the AAA Class teams finished the 10-round meet with the last three rounds on Sunday. Airspeed Odyssey won a total of six points in the last two rounds on Saturday and finished the seven rounds of the first day 12 points ahead of Fury, as the NSL News reported on 15 February 2009.

The question where the 18-point difference after ten rounds came from was raised when the Fury videos of the meet became available on 23 February 2009. Perris Fury looked sharp and fast, and it was difficult to imagine how Airspeed Odyssey created this 18-point difference.

The first five Airspeed videos did not make it much easier, and comparing the new videos directly raises additional and also different questions. Airspeed won two more points in Round 7, which must have been supported by a Fury penalty. The NSL stop watch has 18 Fury points clearly within working time, while a 17-pointer was posted on the scoreboard. Christy Frikken did not mention a penalty in Round 6 when she updated the NSL News after the meet.

The Sunday began promising for Perris Fury, at least by just looking at the scoreboard after Round 8. Fury had a good round, and 22 points were posted. Airspeed Odyssey had 21 points on the scoreboard for the same round.

Valentine's Meet2009	Rd1	Rd2	Rd3	Rd4	Rd5	Rd6	Rd7	Rd8	Rd9	Rd10
Airspeed Odyssey
Perris Fury						-

The review of the videos shows that Fury's 23rd scoring formation is on the edge and could easily be within working time, as well. However, it was a 22-pointer on the scoreboard. Airspeed's official 21-pointer includes a 3-point damage after completing 24 points within working time. Airspeed had a clear advantage all around and would have even increased the lead without the penalties.

The review of Round 9 raises additional questions. Perris Fury has an official score of 24 points, while the NSL stop watch has the 25th scoring formation clearly within working time. In fact, the 26th scoring point is on the edge and could also be within working time. Christy Frikken neither mentioned a point deduction in this round.

The NSL stop watch had Airspeed Odyssey's 25th point as much within working time as Fury's 26th point. Only a Fury penalty could explain the results for this round. Fact is that Airspeed officially won Round 9 by one point (25 - 24).

The 4-way world champions from Arizona had also more luck than Perris Fury in Round 10. Fury was already punished severely by the 2-point deduction that was reported from Eloy after the meet. Thus, the 12-pointer on the scoreboard was based on 14 completed points within working time. However, the NSL stop watch has Fury's 15th scoring formation once again clearly within working time, and only another penalty could explain the official 12-pointer on the scoreboard.

On the other side, Airspeed Odyssey's 18th scoring formation in Round 10 was right on the edge and could have been in or out, just as a few Fury points in the earlier rounds.

The NSL-TV videos and the stop watch finally bring more light to the question how Airspeed Odyssey created the impressive 18-point difference after ten rounds. The reigning world champions were clearly the better team in this meet, without a question. However, Perris Fury was also experiencing a few unfortunate situations that put the team even further behind on the scoreboard than the videos show.

The NSL-TV audience now has the opportunity to compare and judge all rounds between Airspeed and Fury. The results can still be commented and discussed at the specific discussion forum for this topic.