posted Jul 28th, 2019 - The Shamrock Showdown used to be an annual competition, where any team had the opportunity to register and then go through the weekend event together with many of the best teams in the world.

Top teams from Europe often used the opportunity to combine a winter training camp with a high-profile event at the beginning of the new Formation Skydiving competition season. The Shamrock Showdown served as a realistic evaluation for the visiting teams after the completion of the training camp.

The timing of the outdoor competition became more complicated when other events came up, such as the Paraclete XP Indoor Championship and the World Challenge, and were scheduled close to the Shamrock Showdown, which attracted often more than 20 teams after the inauguration in 2002. However, many teams enjoyed the busy start of the year, and several even scheduled the meet triangle between Raeford, DeLand and Bedford in their annual calendars.

Scheduling their event agenda became even more difficult for the teams when FAI/IPC became involved with indoor competition and eventually scheduled last year's FAI European Indoor Championship right after the World Challenge 2018, and then again also for this year's FAI Indoor World Meet.

---

Shamrock Showdown 2020 with $2,000 Prize Money and the popular Skins Game March 19 - 21 at Skydive City

---

Wind Games, Paraclete XP Indoor Championship, World Challenge and FAI/IPC indoor world cups or world meets are indoor events, and teams have options and choices to select any of the major indoor meets for their conclusion of the indoor winter season. Yet it is difficult and not very efficient for the teams to switch back and forth between indoor and outdoor meets without enough training of exits and sub-terminal pages.

At least the national teams, who used to attend the Shamrock Showdown in the past, were in their final preparations for the indoor world championship in March, which is the time when the outdoor competition used to take place in DeLand. The Shamrock Showdown 2019 was eventually canceled when the teams explained that they would not be able to switch to outdoor training and competition before trying to show their best at the indoor world meet.

The situation changes next year, when the main focus of the national teams will be on the performance at the next FAI World Championship of Formation Skydiving, the Mondial 2020 in Tanay. Teams will start with outdoor training much earlier at winter and spring camps, and the Shamrock Showdown will have once again the same purpose as in the earlier years: a serious outdoor competition test and the definition of the starting point at the beginning of an outdoor world meet season.

---

Thursday, March 19
09:00 - Sunset	Team Registration, Training Jumps	Skydive City
19:00	Meet Briefing, Competition Draw	Bird House Bar
Friday, March 20
07:00 - 09:00	Team Registration	Skydive City
09:00 - Sunset	4-way and 8-way Competition Rounds	Skydive City
19:00	Drinks + Videos	Bird House Bar
Saturday, March 21
07:00 - 09:00	Team Registration	Skydive City
09:00 - Sunset	4-way and 8-way Competition Rounds	Skydive City
19:00	Awards	Bird House Bar
Sunday, March 22 - Weather Day
09:00 - Noon	Optional: 4-way and 8-way Competition Rounds	Skydive City
13:00	Optional: Awards	Bird House Bar

---

The Shamrock Showdown 2020 will also have a new host. Each event took place at Skydive DeLand in the past. Skydive City in Zephyrhills is now inviting all 4-way teams to visit in March 2020.

There is a good reason why Skydive City was eager to host the next Shamrock Showdown. The long-standing skydiving center near Tampa in Florida is also the host of the USPA Nationals 2020. Just as the teams are looking for realistic meet experiences before competing at the major events, the Skydive City management wanted their own hosting experiences, as well.

The professional skydiving center has hosted other top events in Canopy Piloting and Wingsuiting before. However, a high-profile 4-way competition fits perfectly to the ambitious Z-Hills plans for the 2020 season.

The Qatar delegation, with the Tigers in 4-way and the Falcons in 8-way, and with their coaches Gary Smith and Jeremie Rollett, are familiar with the facilities and with the efficiency of the logistics for team training, after visiting Z-Hills regularly for training camps. Next March, they will also post world class scores at Skydive City and measure themselves up with the French delegation and any other 4-way and 8-way teams. The Shamrock Showdown 2020 is once again open for all teams...