posted Dec 1st, 2017 - Ranch 2nd Generation and SDMW NEXT have a lot in common. Both teams won USPA Advanced Class gold medals, NEXT in 2016, R2G this year in Perris. NEXT had an earlier start in 2015 when they won their first set of USPA gold medals in the Intermediate Class, while R2G was still trying to find the right lineup for their goals.

Both teams also worked with coaches of the two top teams in the U.S.A. to get to their impressive performance levels, NEXT with JaNette Lefkowitz, R2G with Niklas Hemlin.

Most importantly, both teams represent a new generation of 4-way teams and competitors in the U.S.A. and R2G's team name leaves no doubt about it, Ranch 2nd Generation.

Now they also have the tail position in common, as original NEXT member Chris Haslam is replacing R2G's Brenn Richards in the tail slot. NEXT is not coming back for the 2018 season, and R2G's youngest team member, Brenn Richards, is taking care of her college duties. R2G held tryouts for the open slot, and Chris Haslam is the new team member.

USPA Nationals 2016		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
R.	Advanced Class	20,D,E,22	M,9,5	12,8,7	H,L,16,15	F,A,N,J,17	G,6,3	K,B,Q,P,C	18,10,11	13,21,4	14,1,19	Total	Avg
1	Skydive Midwest NEXT	16	21	12	13	26	16	31	11	14	9	169	16.9
2	Ranch 2nd Generation	13	17	13	15	20	14	24	11	13	10	150	15.0
3	AF Bachelor Party	13	19	13	15	18	14	20	11	12	12	147	14.7
4	CSC Survival Instinct	12	20	11	14	23	13	23	11	7	12	146	14.6
5	AZ Defiance	13	18	12	14	18	13	22	9	12	11	142	14.2
6	AF Obsidian	13	18	11	12	18	14	21	9	10	10	136	13.6
7	Four Horseman	11	15	13	15	19	11	19	7	13	11	134	13.4
7	CSC Swift	12	16	10	14	20	12	21	8	11	10	134	13.4
9	DeOrbit Burn	12	16	11	13	16	11	20	8	10	10	127	12.7
10	Perris Event Horizon	11	15	11	13	17	12	20	10	10	6	125	12.5
11	Fabio's Angels	11	16	10	12	16	12	15	7	10	10	119	11.9
12	Surge	11	15	9	10	16	10	17	8	9	9	114	11.4
13	Southern Mix XP	11	16	8	10	15	12	16	7	9	9	113	11.3
14	Synthesis	11	12	8	12	15	10	17	7	7	10	109	10.9
15	Perris Quattro	12	9	10	7	17	9	19	7	9	9	108	10.8
16	Perris Flight SP	10	13	9	10	11	12	18	9	8	7	107	10.7
17	Quatre Francais Invite	10	14	9	8	13	9	17	8	9	9	106	10.6
18	Perris Dauntless Five	10	14	9	11	16	9	11	8	8	8	104	10.4
19	Nimbus	11	14	8	10	15	9	14	8	4	6	99	9.9
20	Dallas Momentum	6	13	9	10	14	10	16	7	7	5	97	9.7
21	Dallas Disturbio	10	10	9	7	14	9	14	8	6	9	96	9.6
22	SDC Jetstream Tango	7	14	9	6	10	10	12	8	9	9	94	9.4
23	Elsinore Vortex	10	12	8	10	11	8	13	6	6	6	90	9.0
24	Dallas Disturbed	8	13	9	7	11	7	11	7	8	6	87	8.7
25	Deland Momentum	9	11	7	6	13	7	7	7	6	5	78	7.8

Both teams had competed directly with and against each other at the USPA Nationals 2016 before they were separated by the USPA rules when NEXT won the Advanced Class gold medals in Eloy. NEXT competed in the Open Class this year, while R2G won the new set of Advanced Class gold medals in Perris.

The combined NSL AAA Class leaderboard was placing both teams once again right next to each other, and R2G had reduced the distance from 19 points in 2016 to 9 points in September this year.

The NSL News recorded NSL Live Talk with both teams at the USPA Nationals 2017 in Perris. The conversation with NEXT took place before the competition draw. R2G and coach Niklas Hemlin were available for the NSL News after the 10-round meet was completed. Brenn Richards was already on her way back home at the time of the interview.

Both teams did not have any plans ready for the 2018 season in Perris; however, R2G members Michelle Karamon, Christopher Kuhlmann and Joey Marshall knew that they would continue, and they were eager to put more efforts into the pursuit of 4-way excellence.

USPA Nationals 2017			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way AAA/Open/Advanced		O,4,9	G,21,A,H	N,D,J,14	L,16,12	K,19,6	E,2,10	P,11,15	17,3,22	F,7,1	Q,5,M,20	Total	Avg
1	NMP PCH HayaBusa	BE	31	33	28	23	25	23	23	22	31	31	270	27.0
2	Arizona Airspeed	US	27	32	29	22	24	22	21	23	29	29	258	25.8
3	SDC Rhythm XP	US	29	31	28	23	22	20	23	19	28	29	252	25.2
4	Golden Knights	US	24	26	28	22	18	19	20	19	24	23	223	22.3
5	Airspeed Odyssey	US	25	23	27	19	22	19	19	17	23	23	217	21.7
6	Defiance	US	24	24	26	18	19	17	19	16	24	22	209	20.9
7	GKBC	US	24	19	24	15	17	17	18	16	23	20	193	19.3
8	Dallas 350	US	18	23	24	16	16	16	16	11	22	19	181	18.1
9	ISR FireFlash	BE	21	22	19	14	17	16	14	16	20	19	178	17.8
10	SDMW NEXT XP	US	15	25	17	17	15	16	16	15	23	14	173	17.3
11	Ranch 2nd Generation	US	18	20	17	15	16	14	15	14	18	17	164	16.4
12	Spaceland Lite	US	19	22	19	12	17	14	13	8	19	17	160	16.0
12	Fast4ward XP	US	17	19	19	14	16	15	13	13	19	15	160	16.0
14	Phoenix XP	US	16	18	19	13	13	13	14	14	15	17	152	15.2
14	AF Storm	US	17	16	17	14	16	14	12	12	17	17	152	15.2

The aftermath of the USPA Nationals included meetings and discussions of both teams about the near 4-way future and the 2018 season, and they resulted in the NEXT decision to discontinue, while R2G announced the new team member:

"As you all know the Tail slot on R2G has been vacant since, Brenn Richards stepped down. We've spent the last month looking for a new flyer. Well, the search is complete and so is the new R2G lineup!!! Ladies and Gentlemen, allow us to introduce R2G's new Tail Chris Haslam!! He's a history teacher from Chicago, a USPA 4way Intermediate and Advanced Gold medalist, and a 2nd Generation Skydiver! We have an aggressive plan for 2018, and we're excited for what the future holds. Next stop is the NH tunnel meet on January 20th."

An aggressive plan for the 2018 season means that the 4-way Open Class teams in the U.S.A. will have to watch out for the new challenger. R2G may step up into the Open Class competition like no other team before.

The 18.1 average that SDC Rhythm XP posted in the team's first Open Class year at the national championships after winning USPA Advanced Class gold in 2008 is the standing benchmark for the transition to the top level and will be in jeopardy next year. R2G seem to have the potential and the drive to even threaten Mass Defiance and other Open Class teams for the unofficial title of the best amateur team in the U.S.A...