posted Nov 7th, 2013 - The Sun Path Products NSL News has covered the team career of Carolina Turbo XP with many stories since the team was formed for its first competition season in 2009. The first article was published on 14 June 2013 after an indoor competition of the Carolina Skydiving League where VTSD finished with a 29.3 average in the Rookie Class.

VTSD attended a total of eight meets in 2009, and the seven outdoor meets could still be the standing record attendance. It was the beginning of the "Turbo Tale", as Blue Skies Mag headlined the latest "Turning Points" contribution by the Sun Path Products NSL News.

Several 2013 stories have included the progress of Carolina Turbo XP on the team's way to becoming 4way world champions one day, and the latest one on 3 October 2013 rewarded the Turbo efforts with the NSL News credit of the most improved top team of the year. Here is a copy of Blue Skies Mag's Turbo Tale.

Turning Points: The Turbo Tale

Do you ever dream of becoming a world champion? I have, many times, and I still do... Unfortunately, it has only been dreaming for me. I made it to several world championships, which was very exciting; however, making it to the very top has been out of my reach. Often it is the lack of opportunity that I have heard from others as the main reason, and I don't argue about that. However, I think I know better...

I could have quit my job earlier and turned into a full-time skydiver. I could have given my whole life a different priority to pursue the dream of becoming a 4-way or 8-way world champion. But I did not, and it was not for lack of opportunity. It was my decision to keep it safe and not live on the drop zone until I am good enough to catch the attention of the top teams.

There are others who go the opposite direction at the same crossroad: the Arizona Airspeed members who have lived in the desert, and the Golden Knights who go through boot camp and other drills and even combat before competing for gold medals.

USPA Nationals 2009	NSL Talk with VTSD

There are also the MIT graduates (SDC Rhythm XP) who sacrifice, or at least interrupt, their professional careers to pursue the highest goal in formation-skydiving competition. The Airspeed/U.S. Army/Rhythm stories are not new and all missions have not been accomplished yet, while new stories are already in the works.

It's the Turbo story that has been holding my attention for a while. I will not become a world champion myself, but I still like to follow the dreams of others—and see them come true, ideally. I get excited just thinking about it, believe it or not.

This time, the Virginia Tech teachers had to watch how some of their graduates decided to become full-time skydivers rather than using their learned knowledge for a professional career. I met the team when they still called themselves VTSD (Virginia Tech Skydiving) and had just won USPA's 4-way intermediate gold medals in 2009. That was three years after point Andrew Happick made his first tandem jump and 18 months after Tail Joey Coffineau got started.

Paraclete XP Indoor 2012	Paraclete XP Outdoor 2012

The VTSD members were not shy talking about their goals and dreams, which included becoming world champions one day. It's easier to say something like that at the beginning of a skydiving competition career, as the magnitude of such a goal is hard to see or imagine at that point in time.

However, they continued training and competing and came back a year later as the USPA advanced class champions. I spoke with the Turbo members again, and the goals had not changed for the future, even though a much more challenging situation was coming up. The open class competition would bring all the previous and reigning world champions together with the newcomers.The Turbo members knew at this point they would not be able to keep up with the pros in the sport without making a significant move on their end. They had to define their plans for a skydiving life that would allow them to continue pursuing their goals and dreams.

That's what they did, and they followed up with the next plan of action. They used the two years in the open class (2011-2012) to pave their road and create an environment at their home drop zone, Skydive Carolina in Chester, that would support their plans.

A change in the lineup brought all team members on the same professional agenda. Original members Andrew Happick, Doug Barron and Joey Coffineau joined forces with Joey Freeman, and the 2013 season brought the Turbo transition into a full-time skydiving team. Videographer Chad Wilcox and his wife Rhonda are also a full part of the Turbo family.

The Turbo members don't have the luxury of great support like the world champions from Arizona, the U.S. Army teams or the French and Belgian national teams. They are more in the same boat with the SDC Rhythm XP members who have to work in the skydiving world to make their living. However, they knew that this would be waiting for them, and it was the next step to get closer to the ultimate goal.

The first year as full-time skydivers was very successful for Turbo, and the team members are once again highly motivated to continue after the 2013 USPA Nationals. It's hard work, but it's a lot of fun at the same time, and even more so if you move closer to your goal step by step.

There is only one world championship every other year, and only one team can win it. It is mathematically a very limited number of competitors who can ever achieve this goal.

However, it is the road to being in contention for the ultimate title and the achievements on the way that make it worthwhile for the ultimate competitors. Carolina Turbo XP is picking up speed, and I wish them good luck, as I do for every skydiver who gives it a try.

USPA Nationals 2013	NSL Talk with Turbo