posted May 11th, 2009 - The 2009 season slowly picks up the speed, as league after league launches the first regional meets of the year. The first meet of the Colorado Skydiving League is up this weekend, while the Florida Skydiving League already prepares for the third meet of the 2009 season in Sebastian. The first Grand Prix 2009 competition in the United Kingdom is also scheduled for the upcoming weekend.

The following weekend on May 23 is the first real multi-event date this year, with seven meets at diffent locations in the USA and Europe.

The MidAtlantic Skydiving League launches the 2009 season in June. League manager Cherie Schuch recently reminded the skydiving community that this year's MASL event schedule once again includes the traditional Karp Cup.

Skydive Cross Keys once again hosts the 8th annual Karp Cup 2009 in July. It is the memorial of the MidAtlantic Skydiving League for one of its 4-way competitors, Seth Karp, former member of team JetStream. Seth Karp lost his life in a landing accident in 2002.

Cherie Schuch also informed the NSL News that she and her husband Karl have formed a new AAA Class lineup, Cross Keys Inferno. They have joined forces with Lara Eisenberg and Mike Cotter for the 2009 season, which makes the team a lineup of two married couples.

Cherie and Karl Schuch have been training and competing with several lineups for many years. They won USPA's AA/Intermediate Class competition at the USPA Nationals 2007 with Cross Keys Air Pollution after a dramatic finish, including a jump-off round with Air Force team Ascent.

Then they formed a AAA Class team for the 2008 season, Wind Shear, and had bad luck with an injury of team member Szilard Kristof at the end of June. The Wind Shear 3-way eventually filled the slot for the MASL August meet and finished with a promising 12.2 average. However, it was the only competition for Cherie and Karl Schuch with Wind Shear in 2008.

Lara Eisenberg and Mike Cotter trained and competed with Cross Keys Vision in 2006. It was a very exciting season for the two CK Inferno couples, as they competed with each other in two different Cross Keys lineups throughout the whole 2006 season.

Lara Eisenberg and Mike Cotter were Cross Keys Vision members (Matt LaChance, Glenn Lambert), while Cherie and Karl Schuch had their Cross Keys O2 Project going (Szilard Kristof, Tom Petzold).

Both teams had a fierce competition at the Karp Cup in July 2006 where they ended up tied after six rounds with 13.9 averages, and they could not even break the tie in a jump-off round. O2 Project's 22-pointer in Round 6 can still be reviewed on NSL-TV, as well as Vision's jump-off round.

Both teams had their re-match at the AAA/Advanced Class competition of the USPA Nationals 2006. Vision with Lara Eisenberg and Mike Cotter won the silver medals with a 12.5 average. O2 Project with Cherie and Karl Schuch finished in 4th place with an 11.9 average.

Three years later, the two couples have now joined forces, and the results of the first training sessions are promising. Cherie Schuch reported that CK Inferno has completed six hours of windtunnel training and that "...things are going very well with the 4 of us." Kirk Verner and Andy Honigbaum have been coaching the new MASL lineup.

Cherie and Karl Schuch have continued to work with other MASL skydivers and competitors at the same time. Cherie Schuch reported that the tunnel camp in February was a really fun event:

"Our team trained Friday and Saturday morning. We flew with Dennis Miller from CK Blue Impulse Saturday night, and then we coached newer jumpers from Cross Keys on Sunday for two hours. It was an action packed three days!"

The action will continue, and the first MASL scores will be posted on the June 27 weekend.