posted Feb 22nd, 2021 - It is still just as difficult as last year to run live skydiving competitions. However, Eliana Rodriguez and Michelle Karamon keep offering the events of the Arizona Skydiving League in Eloy as long as there is any interest in learning more about 4-way competition from the best.

Three teams had launched the ASL 2021 season in January, and two teams followed up last weekend. AZ Defiance were back with the same lineup as in January and completed all six rounds. Arizona Airspeed's Mikhail Markine has been coaching AZ Defiance for a while, and he was still available before heading to North Carolina for the Paraclete XP Indoor Championship 2021.

He will have company on the trip from Arizona to North Carolina, not only from his Airspeed team mates. Michelle Karamon once again organized the ASL meet together with Eliana Rodriguez, and her own team, XPG4, will compete at Paraclete XP, as well. XPG4 have scheduled several days of indoor training at Paraclete this week, and before Round 1 begins on Saturday morning.

It will be the new XPG4 lineup with Brenn Richards in the tail slot, as the NSL News reported on January 27th. Airspeed members Chris Kuhlmann and Joey Marshall will be facing their former Ranch 2nd Generation team mates Michelle Karamon, Brenn Richards and Jeana Billings as opponents this time.

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Arizona Skydiving League February 2021		1		2		3		4		5		6		Total	Avg
Rank	AAA Class	B,19,3		H,N,9,11		1,J,18		10,L,P,M		G,2,C,8		4,20,K		Total	Avg
1	AZ Defiance	13		16		9	-1	12		10	-1	9		69	11.5
Rank	AA Class	B,19,11,H		H,N,9		1,J,18		L,P,M,8		G,2,C		4,20		Total	Avg
1	AZ Anteater	6		10	-1	6		8		-		-		30	7.5

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There will be even more air traffic between Arizona and North Carolina this week. A new team name appeared on the ASL leaderboard last weekend, AZ Anteaters.

However, the names of the team members are well known in the Arizona Skydiving League community.

Rebecca McGirr, Adam Mahan and Tom Stokes had Ian Pedowitz in their lineup when they attended the ASL December meet for Leg Strap Padding, with Alex Swindle on camera at both events. Claire Ratcliff completed the lineup last weekend.

Tom Stokes had also been in the Exit Practice lineup, who impressed the international opposition on the A Class leaderboard in June 2019.

Eliana Rodriguez explained that AZ Anteaters could not complete all six rounds when the winds picked up speed after Round 4. The more experienced AZ Defiance lineup were able to add the additional two rounds and complete the 6-round competition.

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Arizona Skydiving League December 2020		1		2		3		4		5		6		Total	Avg
Rank	AAA Class	13,A,B,H		5,1,2		M,7,O,Q		L,K,8,3		G,22,21		16,14,C		Total	Avg
1	AZ Defiance	15		8		19		9		11		10	-1	72	12.0
Rank	AA Class	13,A,B		1,2		M,7,O		L,K,8		G,22,21		14,C,H		Total	Avg
1	Crash Course	8		9		11		11		7		7	-1	53	8.8
2	Leg Strap Padding	9		7	-1	10		5	-2	6	-1	5		42	7.0
Rank	A Class	A,B,F		2,4		M,7		L,K,8		G,21		D,C,H		Total	Avg
1	Calm Down	4		2	-1	5		2		3		3		19	3.2

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It will still be a different lineup competing at Paraclete XP, and Rebecca McGirr, Adam Mahan and Tom Stokes will change the team name again. Leg Strap Padding, followed by AZ Anteaters, will turn into AZ Aadvark at the upcoming indoor competition. Tom Stokes is bringing his wife Debra Aubrey to North Carolina, and she is replacing Claire Ratcliff in the AZ Aadvark lineup. Eliana Rodriguez said that Debra Aubrey is not jumping from planes, while she is trained for indoor 4-way.

The team name for the Paraclete XP Indoor Championship 2021, AZ Aadvark, is not new without the AZ at the beginning, even though it depends on the meaning and the spelling of the unusual word.

Aardvark Zulu was a British 4-way team for the 2007 season in the United Kingdom, with two members of British national 4-way teams. Liz Matthews had won an FAI gold medal in 4-way Women with V-Max in Gap 2003. Aaron Faith and Liz Matthews then joined Satori together in 2008 (Julia Foxwell, Katie Woods) and became the British national 4-way team in 4-way Open.

The Arizona team plans to compete under AZ Aadvark, which could either relate to automatic opening devices (AADvark), or it is simply a spelling flaw. An aardvark is actually a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa...

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NSL Meet Weekend June 8th, 2019			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	A Class		21,N	6,D	F,K,L	B,J,M	Q,E,7	O,C,2	A,H,4	8,P	G,19	9,N	Total	Avg
1	Connected 4	DE	9	11	8	7	8	9	10	19	8	-	35	9.9
1	Exit Practice	US	6	5	9	15	9	9	-	-	-	-	35	8.8
3	Eggplant 4.1	US	6	7	7	13	-	-	-	-	-	-	33	8.3
4	Paranodon Futura	DE	8	8	6	7	6	10	7	16	8	-	29	8.4
5	The New Majority	US	3	6	6	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	25	6.3
6	4-Fingers	DE	5	6	5	7	6	8	3	11	8	-	23	6.6

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