posted Dec 31st, 2016 - The end of this year is also the end of the 16th year of NSL News online updates. The database of the current website does not include the updates that were posted before January 2003.

Many of the news articles between 2000 and 2003 are still available in the archives, and the Sun Path Products NSL News has published some of them here and there in the past.

This time, it is the end of the 2000 season that brings back a preview of the FAI World Meet 2001. Arizona Airspeed's lineup for the 2001 season was the topic for the news article that was posted on December 24th, 2000.

NSL News Archives: December 24th, 2000

It took a while until the final decision was made. It is definite now: the same Airspeed 8 team squad that won the 1999 World Championship will represent the United States next year in Spain. As for the U.S. Nationals 2000, Dan BC, Jack Jefferies and Gary Beyer will return to competition from their retirement homes.

Mark Kirkby, Kirk Verner, John Eagle, Alan Metni and Craig Girard will complete the Airspeed 8 team for the World Championship 2001 in Spain. As difficult as it was to come to this decision, it will not become much easier from here on for the defending 8-way world champions. Pressure and responsibility will be huge.

After the experiences of the last world meet in Australia, Airspeed did not feel like taking on the challenge to win both events once again. The double challenge in Australia was successful in 8-way. But the 4-way Excalibur went back to France. Airspeed Vertical, the new Airspeed 4-way team and U.S. Champion 2000 with Craig Girard, Mark Kirkby, John Eagle and Neal Houston, made it very clear that their priority will be to bring the gold medal in 4-way back to the U.S.A. in 2001.

FAI World Meet 1999			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open		9,24,A	O,M,2,Q	14,P,11	19,3,15	N,8,12	C,1,E,20	K,23,17	B,16,21	L,22,J,7	G,5,6	Total	Avg
1	Maubeuge	FR	23	23	18	19	18	24	21	21	21	20	208	20.8
2	Arizona Airspeed	US	23	24	19	16	17	26	19	19	20	19	202	20.2
3	DeLand Norgies	NO	21	23	16	17	16	23	20	19	20	16	191	19.1
4	Sebastian XL	UK	21	23	16	17	17	23	18	17	20	18	190	19.0
5	Russia	RU	22	20	13	16	16	17	18	17	18	15	172	17.2
6	Australia	AU	20	21	15	15	14	19	17	17	15	16	169	16.9
7	Daedalus	DE	18	18	13	13	14	18	15	14	16	16	155	15.5

Vertical had no desire to do 8-way at the same time. Dan BC, Jack Jefferies and Gary Beyer had already retired from competition right after the world meet in 1999. The trouble began when they agreed to come back for the U.S. Nationals 2000. Airspeed 8 saw a chance to win the 8-way event without any training when the Golden Knights did not seem to be happy with their progression prior to the 2000 Nationals.

After beating the Knights in Perris, Airspeed did not expect the Army team to completely withdraw from the 8-way event. They thought that the Knights may represent the U.S.A. in Spain - even after losing the U.S. Nationals. Surprisingly, this strategy did not work out. The Golden Knights lost the event with honor and all consequences. The new leadership of the Golden Knights did not like the idea of being the second best team and still represent the U.S.A. at the world meet. They would rather withdraw.

The basic comment from the Golden Knights' headquarters was that Airspeed should have known better. If Airspeed decided to compete at the U.S. Nationals, they knew that they would have the responsibility to send their team to the world meet. When the Golden Knights made their decision very clear by forming two 4-way teams for the next years, Airspeed had to look for other options.

FAI Woirld Meet 1999			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Open		15,7,13	B,12,E,3	20,K,11	23,H,J	F,2,8	D,6,P,22	N,A,M,G,16	21,L,14	10,C,4	1,9,O	Total	Avg
1	Arizona Airspeed	US	22	25	20	20	16	22	25	19	21	21	211	21.1
2	Russia	RU	20	23	20	23	14	19	26	19	22	23	209	20.9
3	Maubeuge	FR	15	21	22	23	13	21	26	19	20	20	200	20.0
4	Australia	AU	15	18	12	10	12	16	20	14	14	16	147	14.7
5	Japan	JP	12	12	11	11	11	12	14	13	10	13	119	11.9
6	Germany	DE	13	13	12	12	9	10	15	10	11	10	115	11.5

For a while, the idea was to have Airspeed Vertical focusing on 4-way and Airspeed Zulu be the base for a newly formed 8-way team. Recruiting the other four people for the 8-way proved to be difficult. DeLand PD Blue was the number one choice. The world class 4-way team may have been a great fit for beginning the 8-way training on a very high level. However, PD Blue decided against this opportunity in 8-way.

Still without a solution, time pressure began to rise. The world meet in 2001 is scheduled for June. A completely new Airspeed 8-way team would have only six months left to get ready for a huge challenge at the world meet. Not only that this team would have the responsibility to defend the 8-way title that has never been won by any other country in the history of Formation Skydiving. The new team would have to face the Russian challenge once again. Even though Russia did not look like they were a serious threat for Airspeed at the World Cup 2000 in Eloy, there is a great chance that this will be different in June 2001.

Airspeed 8 will be very limited with their training resources since Airspeed Vertical will still focus on 4-way. And the Russian 8-way team will keep on training hard in the meantime. At the last world meet in Australia, Russia finished only two single points behind Airspeed 8, scoring 20.9 average. The potential for a similar performance will be there again, even though Russia scored only 16.0 average at this year's World Cup.

Looking at the situation from all different angles for a while, Airspeed finally decided to put the money on the veteran crew. Airspeed 8 with the most experienced group of competitors in the history of skydiving will probably have the best chances to gain from their incredible resources of experience and skills.

Psychological factors may have been involved in the decision, as well. A completely new Airspeed 8 team may encourage and motivate the Russian team with their perspectives, even if a new Airspeed 8 team would be the greatest talent pool in the world and train hard. The veteran Airspeed 8 squad beat the Russians already in 1999. There would be more respect on the Russian side. However, either way, the 8-way Excalibur in U.S. possession will be challenged and threatened more than ever before in history.

There is a good chance that things may be reversed in Spain 2001 compared to Australia 1999. Airspeed Vertical may win the gold medal in 4-way, and Airspeed 8 may lose the 8-way event for the first time. But there is just the same potential and possibility that Airspeed will win both events for the first time in the history of Formation Skydiving. We are taking chances once again, no risk - no fun? Good luck in six months..