posted Aug 15th, 2018 - Mike Pennock was one of the original founders of the European Skydiving League and the ESL Championship, as the NSL News had reported on 30 January 2004:

"This first ESL 2004 event includes competitions in Belgium (Schaffen) and Austria (Wiener Neustadt and Hohenems). The Belgium Skydiving Trophy (BST), Deutsch Sky Liga (DSL) and Dutch Handicap Cup (DHC) formed the European Skydiving League for the first ESL season in 2003. BST organizer Willy Boykens initiated the efforts and was supported by Dr. Rainer "Exi" Hoenle in Germany and Mike Pennock and Frederique van Hilst in the Netherlands."

"The Deutsche Sky Liga in Germany (DSL) was the first European league with its inaugural season in 2001. The Belgian Skydiving Trophy (BST) followed the successful example a year later, while the Netherlands merged their annual Tomscat Trophy event into the ESL schedule in 2003. The European Skydiving League was complete and was called the "Benedux League" in the very beginnings."

"The first season of the European Skydiving League was very successful. NSL and ESL worked closely together from the start and communicated topics as dive pools and schedules during the preparations for the new competition season. Several of the ESL meets were then synchronized with NSL meets. The ESL teams were included in the SkyVenture Competition and won free tunnel time once in a while. Teams from other European countries joined the ESL meets occasionally in 2003. The NSL Playoffs 2003 and the ESL Championship 2003 were also held on the same weekend and applied the same competition draw. The BST team Hayabusa won the first ESL Championship."

Scores of the ESL Championship 2003

Mike Pennock is still highly engaged with the ESL Championship that he is once again organizing this year in September. He recently invited teams for this year's event with a promotional video that he is opening with a statement that explains what is so special about the event.

He explained that the ESL Championship is an opportunity for teams to learn and enjoy international meet atmosphere in a professional environment. He said that he was fortunate enough to compete with Dutch national teams at two world championships. However, he also knows that only a limited number of teams qualify for the FAI/IPC sanctioned events.

He said that this was the main reason for the creation of the ESL Championship where the teams from all leagues and countries come together at the end of the competition season.

Mike Pennock is one of the most experienced event organizers in the history of the sport, and he is once again teaming up with a very professional host with just as many meet experiences. Mike Pennock and FSZ Saar in Saarlouis, Germany, both have organized many international events, including FAI/IPC sanctioned competitions. Registration is still open for all teams, even on a shorter call.