posted Sep 17th, 2014 - Once again the Golden Knights did not have any serious 8-way competition at the USPA Nationals 2014 - just as it happened to be at the FAI World Championship of Formation Skydiving a few weeks ago.

However, the drama came in different ways this time at Skydive Chicago. The Golden Knights missed the first golden opportunity for a new world record in Round 4 at the world meet, but it came back in Round 8 at the nationals, as the Sun Path Products NSL News explained on 15 September 2014, the night of the 8-way competition draw and before the first 8-way round.

The US Army team performed in general much better at the USPA Nationals than in Prostejov where the gold medals came almost too easily. There had been a battle for the first place with the French 8-way team at the Mondial Dubai 2012, which pushed the Golden Knights to a new scoring level (22.7) by then.

USPA Nationals 2014		Rd. 1	Rd. 2	Rd. 3	Rd. 4	Rd. 5	Rd. 6	Rd. 7	Rd. 8	Rd. 9	Rd. 10	Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Open	22,A,P,E	1,7,9	8,17,O	C,11,20	G,D,N,14	K,6,18	12,M,16	15,B,J,F	Q,13,3	4,10,19	Total	Avg
1	Golden Knights	26	22	18	19	24	23	28	31	25	21	237	23.7
2	Arizona Airspeed	17	17	14	16	16	18	20	19	15	17	169	16.9
3	Paraclete XP8	15	16	13	17	11	17	19	22	17	16	163	16.3
4	Amphibious Attack Tigers	10	13	10	13	14	13	15	10	11	13	122	12.2
5	Mouzle Bordel (FR)	8	10	7	7	8	10	7	10	10	9	86	8.6

The new lineup, after former team captain Brian "BK" Krause retired from the US Army with the first gold medal for the Golden Knights since 1997, had a good first year (22.3) and was expected to rise to a new 8-way scoring level in 2014. New team captain Sean Sweeney had big shoes to fill (Brian Krause) and highly experienced 8-way veterans (Kurt Isenbarger, Matt Davidson) to manage under his umbrella.

Then came the 2014 season, and his new lineup never made it to the 22-average level. There was a lot of pressure on the youngest team captain that the Golden Knights have had in a long time, maybe in the history of the US Army team.

It did not get much easier when his team missed the golden opportunity for a new world record in Round 4 at the world meet. It was simply disappointing, and Brian Krause was sad when he saw his team missing the marks. He still feels like being a part of the Golden Knights 8-way team that he guided to the gold medals in Dubai.

The Golden Knights were looking for redemption at the USPA Nationals, and their toughest opponent was once again their own performance. However, Sean Sweeney must have found a way to generate new energy after the disappointing world meet experience, as his team was on a different performance level from the first round on, as the Sun Path Products NSL News reported on 16 September 2014, the first day of 8-way competition.

They mastered especially the sequences with one block and three random formations very well (Rounds 1 and 4) and seemed to be ready for the next world record opportunity in Round 8.

They were still ready when it was show time at the very end of the first 8-way day. Then the new dramatic outcome of Round 8 was almost too hard to take. The Omniskore video shows that the Golden Knights were on track to set the new world record when a penalty for the incomplete 25th formation flashed across the screen.

It was only a fraction of a second that was missing to complete the Diamond Flake, and the score went from 32 points within working time to 31 points on the scoreboard. It was even more dramatic at the end since the Golden Knights missed the 33rd point in working time also just by one grip and one frame on the screen. The 33rd point would have compensated for the point deduction and still given the Golden Knights the new world record for a single round.

It did not happen, and the Knights have to wait for the next opportunity. However, there was something that was probably even more valuable than the world record for a single round. Sean Sweeney's lineup finished with a 23.7 average and has finally lived up to the high expectations with a very strong statement.

The 2014 lineup of the Golden Knights 8-way team has posted the highest average in the history of 8-way Formation Skydiving and risen to the next scoring level. New and old team captains Sean Sweeney and Brian Krause can celebrate together, and Eric Heinsheimer still owns the 31-pointer world record from 1997...