posted Jan 1st, 2019 - The December competition of the Indoor Cloud League lived up to all expectations and brought the exciting finish that could only be hoped for.

Paraclete XP won the last month of the year by four points over the Hurricane Factory and reduced the final difference and Czech 2018 winning margin from six to two points (1461 - 1459). It was the closest finish in the history of the Indoor Cloud League.

It was a dramatic finish too. The Czech team had first submitted the video of a 24-pointer for the RR Class sequence that the HF Flying Rebels had scored. It turned out that the junior team was not eligible for this category any longer, after posting 31 and 25 points in October and November. The HF Dragonflies helped out with their 21-pointer for the same sequence, and the monthly total of the Hurricane Factory for December dropped from 146 to 143 points.

Paraclete XP's scores were not known at that point in time. However, according to the final scores, as they were posted on December 31st, Paraclete would have won the December competition by six points. The 6-point difference at the end of November would have been eliminated, and the two ICL powerhouses would have been tied in 1st place for an unbelievable finish after the 12 months of ICL indoor competition this year.

Indoor Cloud League 2018			Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Total
Flying Chamber: 14+ Feet
1	Hurricane Factory	CZ	128	120	139	144	143	124	60	76	116	127	139	145	1461
2	Paraclete XP	US	128	125	148	126	116	90	93	133	115	109	127	149	1459
3	iFLY Seattle	US	114	89	115	111	104	113	124	84	101	107	105	-	1167
4	iFLY Tampa	US	83	107	121	111	108	95	106	114	81	98	122	-	1146
5	iFLY Dallas	US	98	82	44	88	64	89	-	-	-	-	-	-	465
6	Flybox	IL	78	72	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	150

Jan Klapka had submitted scores and videos early enough (December 25th) to make an adjustment when the HF Flying Rebels turned out not being eligible for the RR sequence. However, he needed more help, even though he did not know that Paraclete XP would finish with a total of 149 points.

The story on December 29th then explained how the Czech 4-way team High Five added two more points to the December total of the Hurricane Factory before the Paraclete XP scores for December were submitted and posted. The Czech total was now up to 145 points, which was also the final number for the month.

High Five, who had also competed and won the Rookie Class for the Czech delegation at the ESL Championship 2018, were eventually the year's match winner for the Hurricane Factory, as well. They were not eligible for R and RR sequences any longer and had not submitted ICL scores in October and November, while they posted their first A Class scores at both World Tunnel League meets in November and December.

Then they came back with ICL scores just in time to save the 2018 victory for the Hurricane Factory with the additional two points for the RRR sequence.

Indoor Cloud League 2018			AAA		AA		A		RRR		RR		R		Total
Rank	December 14+		O,11,H,17		Q,9,11		E,N,7		D,O,H		M,E,N		M,Q		Total
1	Paraclete XP	US	26		28	-1	23		24		23		25		149
2	Hurricane Factory	CZ	26		29		22	-1	22	-1	21		25		145

High Five's 22-pointer was not even the highscore for this category. Paraclete XP came up with a serious effort to take the 1st place on the 14+ leaderboard in the last minute. Kirk Verner and Jeana Billings outscored High Five with Bubba Brunson and Emily Hillin in the lineup and a 24-pointer for the same RRR sequence.

Paraclete XP finished the ICL 2018 season with the highest total of the year on the 14+ leaderboard, which was almost enough to turn the top of the leaderboard. The Paraclete December team claimed or tied five of the six highscores. Only HF Flying Circus was able to fend off the Paraclete world class lineup in the AA Class, and only due to a point deduction.

XP8 team mates Kirk Verner, Brian Krause and Jeana Billings took on the AAA/AA sequences together with Phoenix XP member Morgan Womble and matched the pace of Flying Circus in both sequences.

At the end, the highest total for a month during the 2018 season was still not enough for Paraclete XP to win this year. The Hurricane Factory had won the 14+ title in 2017 by 102 points (1529 - 1427), and the difference is down to two points at the end of the 2018 season (1461 - 1459). The duel between the two ICL powerhouses can be expected to continue in 2019, while it can hardly get any closer...

Paraclete XP - December	AAA	AA	A	RRR	RR	R	Total
Teams	O,11,H,17	Q,9,11	E,N,7	D,O,H	M,E,N	M,Q	Total
Kirk Verner, Jeana Billings, Morgan Womble, Brian Krause	26	28(-1)	-	-	-	-	54
Nik Grimm, Chris Webb, Dee Caminiti, Kirk Verner	-	-	23	-	-	-	23
Bubba Brunson, Emily Hill, Kirk Verner, Jeana Billings	-	-	-	24	-	-	24
Jessica Belanger, Olivia Bauder, Brian Krause, Morgan Womble	-	-	-	-	23	27(-1)	48
Paraclete XP's Best of December	26	28	23	24	23	25	149