posted Nov 17th, 2022 - The NSL News update that covered the November scores of the Indoor Cloud League Midwest team on November 5th included a brief mention that U.S. top team Skydive Midwest NEXT has changes in the lineup for the near future.

NEXT members Lauren Byrd, Megan George and team videographer Elliot Byrd, who was also filming Paraclete XP8 to their two world championship titles in 2021 and 2022, stepped back after the USPA Nationals 2022. Greg Oldendick and Gorka Amian have invited Katie Healy and Brian Nasset to join the new lineup, while the video slot is still open.

Megan George was the team founder and the last original member of SDMW NEXT who started in the AA/Intermediate Class of 2015. The original lineup (Megan George, Matt Congdon, Chris Haslam, Crystal Prom) attended three meets of the Midwest Skydiving League in 2015 before winning the Intermediate Class gold medals at the USPA Nationals, with Adam Elkin on camera.

Daniele Smythe replaced Crystal Prom in 2016, and the new NEXT lineup won again a year later at the USPA Nationals, this time in the AAA/Advanced Class and after attending two meets of the Midwest Skydiving League before the national championships, and again with Adam Elkin on camera. The same lineup stepped up into the 4-way Open Class, trained for competition again at the MWSL meets and finished in 10th place on the AAA/Open Class leaderboard of the USPA Nationals 2017.

FAI Indoor World Cup 2022			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open Top 10		O,18,14		L,C,F,9		1,J,H,19		3,E,P,Q		20,7,16		2,13,8		17,D,6		N,22,A,G		12,5,11		M,21,4		Total	Avg
1	Arizona Airspeed	US	29		54	-3	35		41		29		25		39		37		27		30		346	34.6
2	Aerokart Monaco Akdemie	FR	25	-1	58		28	-3	39	-2	25		25		33		32		24		28	-2	317	31.7
3	NMP-PCH Hayabusa	BE	23	-1	54	-1	30	-1	38	-2	26		23		32		31	-1	24		28	-1	309	30.9
4	ISR FireFlash	BE	22	-1	41	-4	27	-2	36		22	-1	21		31		28		21	-1	27		276	27.6
5	Skydive Midwest NEXT	US	22		44		28		30	-2	20	-1	22		26	-1	27		20	-1	24		263	26.3
6	HF Flying Circus	CZ	21	-1	39	-3	27	-2	33	-1	20	-2	21		28	-1	27	-1	21		23	-2	260	26.0
7	Meraki	UK	19	-1	43		25	-1	30	-1	23		20		26		27		20		24		257	25.7
8	Papea Masculino	ES	20	-1	41	-1	26	-2	31		21	-1	17	-2	25	-1	27	-1	21		24		253	25.3
9	SDC Rhythm XP	US	20		39	-2	25		31		17	-2	20		25	-1	22		18	-2	24		241	24.1
10	Out of the Blue	NL	20		39	-2	25		30		17	-2	19		27		23		18	-1	22		240	24.0
10	Echochamber Oceanside	SE	19	-1	43		24	-1	31		18	-2	17	-1	26		23		17	-2	22		240	24.0

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Skydive Midwest NEXT - SDC Rhythm XP at the FAI Indoor World Cup 2022 - Footage Courtesy of FAI/ISC/Airspace Charleroi

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Team founder Megan George then needed a break, and SDMW NEXT was on no leaderboards in 2018 and 2019 before the comeback in 2020.

The new lineup (Megan George, Lauren Byrd, Chris Haslam, Greg Oldendick, Elliot Byrd on camera) did not have great opportunities for training and competition in the time of the corona virus crisis and could only post some very promising scores at the Paraclete XP Indoor Championship 2020.

However, almost all team members of 2020 were back for the 2021 season, and Gorka Amian joined the team when Chris Haslam did not continue. The new lineup was once again hungry for competition, and they started aiming at the USPA medal positions.

The new goal became very realistic when the NEXT lineup of 2021/2022 traveled to Belgium in April this year to collect international competition experiences at the FAI Indoor World Cup. They finished in 5th place and outscored the new SDC Rhythm XP lineup.

Rhythm turned the table at the USPA Nationals this year when NEXT did not copy their new record performance level (19.2) that they had shown at the virtual SDC Cloud Games in June.

USPA Nationals 2022			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open		G,9,M,8		P,3,O,E		7,13,18		B,21,Q,14		20,L,2		D,1,A,19		5,11,15		10,17,N		F,C,K,H,22		12,J,16		Total	Avg
1	Arizona Airspeed	US	28	-2	32		23		26	-1	22		26		22		21	-1	35		23		258	25.8
G	Qatar Tigers	QA	23	-2	21	-3	20		23		19		23		18		20		29		19	-1	215	21.5
2	Hammertime	US	23	-1	26		16	-1	22	-1	18		20		16	-1	18		26		19		204	20.4
3	SDC Rhythm XP	US	23		24	-1	19		20		15	-1	19	-1	16	-1	17		25		18		196	19.6
4	XPG4	US	22		23	-1	17		20		17	-1	20		15		18		21	-2	16	-1	189	18.9
5	Skydive Midwest NEXT	US	22		23	-1	16	-1	19	-1	15	-1	18	-2	16		16		23	-1	17		185	18.5
G	Qatar Cheetahs	QA	19	-1	20	-2	15	-1	18		16		20		15		16		19	-3	14		172	17.2
6	Lightspeed XP	US	19	-1	19		14	-1	17		14		16	-1	14		14	-1	20		14		161	16.1
G	Qatar Lions	QA	16	-2	19	-3	15		17	-1	16		16		11		15		17		15		157	15.7
7	Spaceland Apex	US	17	-1	19	-1	13	-2	17		10	-2	17		13		12	-2	16	-3	13	-1	147	14.7
8	Corn Needs Butter	US	17	-2	15	-1	13		11	-3	10	-2	14		11		14		15	-2	14		134	13.4
9	SNE Fly Girls	US	13		10	-3	11		11		10		13		10		11		13	-2	9		111	11.1

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SDC Rhythm XP - Skydive Midwest NEXT at the USPA Nationals 2022 - Footage Courtesy of USPA/Omniskore

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Skydive Midwest NEXT lineups since 2015

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The 2023 season brings the next changes in the NEXT lineup, as Megan George, Lauren and Elliot Byrd will not come back. Returning team members Greg Oldendick and Gorka Amian did not hesitate for too long with looking for new team mates, and they have recruited Katie Healy and Brian Nasset for the 2023 lineup:

"We have big changes to announce. Megan George, Lauren Byrd, and Elliot Byrd are stepping down from NEXT to pursue other goals and passions. It has been an incredible ride training and competing along side them the past several years. We want to thank them for their steadfast commitment and dedication to the team! Greg and Gorka are going to continue the team and will be joined by Katie Healy and Brian Nasset. Katie competed at US Nationals in 2022 with 4s of Notsure in 4-way Advanced and earned a silver medal in 8-way Advanced with The Gr8 Rhevival. Brian competed with the Cinnamon Roll Fight Club and earned a silver medal in 4-way Intermediate. We are excited to have them join the team and are looking forward to getting started and training hard."

The competition with SDC Rhythm XP for the U.S. top spot behind Arizona Airspeed may continue, as the USPA bronze medalists of 2022 have to integrate a new team member, as well. Steve Loufek is replacing Carl Kallgren, and the NSL News will follow up with more information of the lineup changes soon.