posted May 22nd, 2009 - The next opportunity for the rest of the world to beat the Airspeed 4-way world champions is coming up in June.

It will be another indoor competition where Eliana Rodriguez, Craig Girard, Mark Kirkby and Andy Delk will try to defend their 17 - 0 winning streak. The 17th victory came with £5,000 at the World Challenge 2009. The Paraclete XP Indoor Skydiving Championship 2009 on the June 13 weekend offers $6,500 for the winner of the Open Class competition.

The Paraclete XP meet is another competition where Airspeed also defends the title of the past two years. The reigning world champions from Arizona already won the $8,000 for the first place in 2007 and again in 2008. The NSL News reported both events live from the competition site. The latest NSL You Tube TV shows the Top 3 teams of 2008 in the windtunnel with their rounds nine and ten, plus Airspeed's Round 11.

The event was only an outdoor competition in its first year. The SkyVenture windtunnel in Raeford was still under construction in July 2007. Airspeed won the first place and $8,000 with a 23.5 average, one single point ahead of the Golden Knights. In fact, the Army team, with Matt Davidson, John Hoover, Kurt Isenbarger, Brian Krause and Larry Miller (Camera) in the lineup, was even two points up going into Round 10. Airspeed came back with its famous magic in Round 10 and pulled it off, once again.

Construction of the Paraclete XP windtunnel was completed when the 2008 event came up. Owner Tim d'Annunzio now invited the teams to complete a 10-round outdoor and indoor competition on the June 21 - 22 weekend. Airspeed won both events, the outdoor competition clearly over the Golden Knights and Perris Fury (23.5 - 22.7 - 22.6) and the indoor competition after a fierce battle with the same two opponents.

Airspeed eventually won by two points with a 29.8 average, two single points ahead of Perris Fury with Thomas Hughes and the Golden Knights who needed a jump-off to break their tie in 2nd place.

The 3rd year of the Paraclete XP Money Meet now turns the event into an indoor competition only. The rules for the Paraclete XP Indoor Skydiving Championship 2009 were already posted with the NSL News story on 25 April 2009. The event page shows that the event offers several different categories and cash prizes for each event: 4-way Open ($6,500 - $1,000 - $500), 4-way Intermediate ($3,000 - $750 - $250), 4-way Rookie ($2,000), 8-way, 2-way VRW ($4,000 - $1,000 - $500), 4-way VRW.

The definition of the competition classes is different compared to the IPC, USPA or NSL rules. The Open Class is for all teams that want to challenge Airspeed for the $6,000 cash and the prizes for 2nd and 3rd place. The Intermediate Class applies the complete dive pool, as well, with all 22 blocks and 16 random formations. The rules say that this category "supports non-professional teams". Both events go over ten rounds.

The dive pool of the Rookie Class competition at Paraclete XP is actually identical with the AA Class of the NSL and USPA's Intermediate Class. The competition is scheduled over six rounds, and there are special rules for the lineups: "75% of the team must have less than 500 jumps or less than 5 hours of tunnel time. This division can have one ringer per team."

The working time is defined in different ways, as well. As in 2008, the clock for the Open Class teams begins ticking as soon as "the team launches off the net". The video of last year's competition shows how the teams set up the first formation of each sequence standing upright on the net. The indoor competition at Bodyflight Bedford required all teams to enter the flying chamber through one door and then build the first formation. The working time began when the first person entered the chamber.

The same rule applies for the Intermediate and Rookie Class teams at Paraclete XP this year: "Intermediate and Rookie Divisions time starts when the first team members head and shoulders are through the door."

Each team will have three minutes to warm up before the competition begins. These three minutes have to be used on Friday evening before the competition draw.

New is also the 8-way competition. The Paraclete XP 16-foot tunnel chamber allows 8-way teams to train, as Paraclete XP and the Golden Knights lineup have already done extensively. The new Dallas Rogue lineup has also scheduled an indoor training camp at the end of May.

Paraclete XP and Golden Knights have already signed up for the 8-way tunnel competition in June. Both teams have new lineups for the 2009 season and plan to win the USPA Nationals this year.

The rules don't mention any restrictions or limitations for the 8-way competition, which indicates that the teams will apply the complete 8-way dive pool. It will be the first 8-way indoor competition in the history of the sport.

The 4-way competition features the same three world class teams that gave each other this incredible indoor race last year: Airspeed, Perris Fury, Golden Knights. Perris Fury will compete with the original lineup, which took the 2nd place in Bedford this year. Thomas Hughes had replaced injured Chris Farina at Paraclete XP last year.

The Golden Knights have signed up two lineups, Black and Gold. The members of the two lineups have their main focus on the 8-way event this year. Veterans Brian "BK" Krause and Matt Davison are leading the 8-way project and have Sean Sweeney in their 4-way lineup. The NSL News will follow up with more details of the new Army team.

SDC Rhythm XP will also attend the team's first competition with new team member Rob Radez. The NSL News story on 30 January 2009 had already provided video footage of USPA's Advanced Class champion of 2008. The tunnel meet in June will show where Rhythm begins the 2009 competition season. The first outdoor competition of the Midwest Skydiving League 2009 season is scheduled one week later on Rhythm's new home turf at Skydive Chicago.