posted Jun 14th, 2009 - The Rookie Class leaderboard at the Paraclete XP Indoor Skydiving Championship 2009 shows some incredible scores, the highest ones that have ever been posted on any NSL leaderboard.

There is a reason for that, which relates to the rules for this specific indoor competition. There were only two competition classes, as of the rules for the dive pool and the sequences, where the teams could register for: the AAA/Open and the Rookie Class.

All three teams which have their scores on this weekend's Rookie Class leaderboard, VTSD, Carolina Windfall and Just In Time, competed already in a higher competition class earlier this year. They had the choice to move up into the category with the unknowns of the new blocks, including slot switchers and longer sequences, or go back to the Rookie Class competition. Obviously, they chose the competition class that made more sense in a situation like this.

VTSD, with Doug Barron (Outside Center), Joey Coffineau (Inside Center), Andrew Happick (Point), Ben Worrall (Tail) in the lineup, attended already the first two outdoor meets of the Carolina Skydiving League 2009 and posted their scores (10.0 - 10.2) on the AA Class leaderboard.

The 29.2 average after the five rounds in the Rookie Class this weekend shows how well the team is trained with short sequences of random formations in the wind tunnel. The 16-pointer in Round 5 of the CASL May meet was the highest outdoor score that VTSD has posted so far.

Carolina Windfall had to step down the same two competition classs, as the Carolina Skydiving League does not offer the A Class at the outdoor meets of the regular season. Windfall, with Tamara Blue (Center Outside), Dani Bridges (Point), Katie Rajala (Tail), Kathy Stringer (Center Inside) and Quincy Kennedy on camera in 2009, had already competed in the AA Class competition of the CASL April meet and finished with a 5.8 average.

Carolina Windfall competed for two years in the CASL Rookie Class and moved up into the AA Class this year. It was obviously a big step, as Point Dani Bridges explained for the NSL News:

"We had a lot of fun at the first outdoor meet, although we were not ready for intermediate. It would have been nice to try the A division, but we had a blast getting in the air and trying a lot of new things."

Windfall had also attended the first indoor competition of the CASL 2009 season in February at Paraclete XP where the same lineup posted a 10.5 average after six rounds. Stepping up into the AA Class in April and then back down into the Rookie Class this weekend must have been productive and stimulating for the team members, as the scores at the Paraclete XP Indoor Championship are like from another planet. Carolina Windfall is currently standing at a 19.2 average after five rounds.

Just In Time did not have to make a 2-category move after competing in the A Class at the CASL Indoor competition in February. This tunnel meet had actually offered the Rookie Class, as well, but Just In Time decided to have fun with five of the eight blocks in the A Class at that time. The 14.2 indoor average brought the 4th place of nine CASL teams in February.

Just In Time did not compete at the two CASL outdoor meets this year and now came back for next tunnel competition. This time, there is no A Class, and Just In Time stands at a 10.4 average after the first five rounds in the Rookie Class.

The NSL News is now waiting for the next scores from Raeford.