posted Apr 1st, 2022 - The Shamrock Showdown 2022 was not supposed to be just a duel between the reigning 4-way world champions from Belgium and arguably the currently strongest 4-way team in the world, Arizona Airspeed. The event has always been open for any other 4-way and 8-way teams, long before wind tunnels and pandemics kept teams away from traveling abroad and overseas.

There was one team that decided to take as much advantage of the opportunity as possible, and the travel distance was more than reasonable. Anion Flux XP has Skydive Sebastian as their home dropzone, and it takes two hours to travel to Skydive City by car, coming from Sebastian.

Anion Flux XP were eager to watch the best 4-way teams in the world do their business, and they even received more attention than they may have expected. They had only one day together with HayaBusa and Airspeed, who started the competition with seven rounds on Thursday. The Anion Flux XP members took off the Friday from work to be able to share at least one day with their role models.

The Sebastian team was not very well prepared for the outdoor competition. The NSL News reported on January 11th that Anion Flux XP has transitioned into the AA Class. It was still only indoor training at Paraclete XP that the team had completed before Round 1 of the Shamrock Showdown.

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Shamrock Showdown 2022			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	AAA Class		G,Q,12,C		K,N,P,18		L,2,20		F,1,5		7,3,19		10,6,D		B,H,16,13		J,E,A,4		14,O,8		11,22,15		Total	Avg
1	Arizona Airspeed	US	29		33		23		29		23		24	-1	27		32		22		20		262	26.2
2	NMP-PCH Hayabusa	BE	22		24	-1	18	-1	23	-1	20		20		23		30		17		15		212	21.2
Rank	AA Class		G,Q,15		K,N,P,18		L,2,20		F,1,21		7,19		6,D,9		B,H,13		J,E,A,4		14,O,8		11,22		Total	Avg
1	Anion Flux XP	US	7		6		5	-2	8		6	-1	5	-1	6		-		-		-		43	6.1

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Arizona Airspeed - NMP PCH HayaBusa - Anion Flux XP at the Shamrock Showdown 2022

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However, the benefits of the competition experiences side by side with the most professional 4-way teams in the world was more than enough reason and motivated Anion Flux XP to make the trip to Skydive City in March.

They had completed a second 2-day/2-hour indoor training camp at Paraclete XP in February and were at least somehow familiar with the AA Class dive pool. They managed the exits and the longer sequences as good as they could without outdoor training this year, and they ended up on a higher scoring level compared to their first competition in the lower A Class category.

It was also a new exit setup for the first outdoor jumps, as former inside center Austin Shelton replaced Logan Taylor in the outside center slot. New team member Felipe Della Giustina is the new inside center, while Katie Lazarus (Point) and Paul Civitella (Tail) continue in their familiar slots.

The 2021 lineup got started at Skydive Chicago's Cloud Games, and the results inspired the team to increase efforts and training. Anion Flux XP's second competition was the A/Beginner Class at the USPA Nationals 2021, where they won the silver medals.

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USPA Nationals 2021		1		2		3		4		5		6		7		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Beginner	G,9		D,A,Q		19,H		6,K		B,2		J,O,P		7,M		Total	Avg
1	Air Force Zorro	11		12		6	-2	7		9		13		-		58	9.7
2	Anion Flux XP	8		10		10		7		7		12		-		54	9.0
3	Air Force Night Fury	10		10	-1	7	-3	6	-2	8		10		13		51	8.5
4	CSC Constellation	6	-2	11		7		7		9		11		9		51	8.5
5	D.a.Danielson	7	-1	7		4	-1	7		6		10		-		41	6.8
6	Perris Chutists	8		11	-1	2	-2	8		8		-		-		37	7.4
7	Altitude Junkies	5	-1	6	-1	5	-1	6	-1	5		7		-		34	5.7
8	Toxic LED	3	-3	6	-1	4	-4	7		5		6		-		31	5.2
9	Unicorn Riders 2.0	4	-2	5		6		3	-1	5		2		-		25	4.2
10	Gold Diggers	4		1	-2	2	-1	3	-2	3		6		-		19	3.2

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Air Force Zero - Anion Flux XP - Air Force Night Fury at the USPA Narionals 2021

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The new Anion Flux XP lineup would still be eligible for the same category, while the team decided to transition to training and competition with the AA Class dive pool and rules this year. Their scores will be posted on USPA's Intermediate Class leaderboard, which is always the largest one at the national outdoor championships.

However, Anion Flux XP plan to be at least somehow in medal contention in September at Skydive Chicago, despite the short time period to get ready for the most important competition of the year. They have experienced the first battle at Skydive Arizona, where they split the two Air Force teams for the 2nd place. The meet experiences will be helpful for the even tougher Intermediate Class competition.

Anion Flux XP completed their third indoor camp at Paraclete XP after collecting new experiences at the Shamrock Showdown. Outdoor training now has the highest priority for the remainder of the year, even though random visits to a flying chamber may be scheduled, as well.

The team's new Intrudair jumpsuits for the complete new lineup will soon arrive and add to the motivation and excitement that Anion Flux XP can barely contain...