posted Jul 20th, 2023 - One of the two teams on the A Class leaderboard of the Pre-Nationals/Summer Classic combination last weekend had a longer travel distance, as well. Florida is not as far away from Raeford in North Carolina as Colorado is, and some of the CitiZens from Skydive City in Zephyrhills were able to travel by car to Skydive Paraclete XP.

The CitiZens were at least familiar with the travel route, even though they had not visited Paraclete XP's skydiving center before. They had trained in Paraclete XP's 16-foot flying chamber earlier this year for an indoor camp with Jeana Billings and Kirk Verner.

The Summer Classic 2023 was the team's first 4-way competition, even though some of the team members had attended the Paraclete XP Indoor Championship 2023 in different teams, as the NSL News reported on June 10th.

The CitiZens had decided earlier this year to travel to Skydive Paraclete XP and attend the Summer Classic. It was an opportunity to collect the first competition experiences with the complete lineup and become familiar with the facilities of the host, who will welcome 4-way teams again in September for the national outdoor championship.

Paraclete XP Summer Classic 2023		1		2		3		4		5		6		Total	Avg
Rank	A Class	2,J		F,G,B		H,21		Q,7		K,6		9,P		Total	Avg
1	CitiZens	8		14		7	-2	8		8		-		45	9.0
2	XP Born	4	-1	8		6	-2	3		4			4	29	4.8

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CitiZens - XP Born at the Paraclete XP Summer Classic 2023

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It is still a long road trip from Florida to Raeford in North Carolina. However, the team got the most out of the investment. Becoming familiar with the jump plane and the facilities was only one side of benefits. Performing well together under the pressure of a competition environment was an additional and new challenge that requires practice and experiences, as well.

Neither Summer Classic nor Pre-Nationals can offer the same logistical and psychological conditions that the USPA Nationals eventually bring on. However, any 4-way meet is helpful to prepare teams and competitors for the more challenging events.

It seems like the CitiZens could live up to the expectations that the earlier NSL News update mentioned. The Florida team did not have much opposition in the A Class competition of the Summer Classic/Pre-Nationals. No team had signed up for this category in Texas, and XP Born finished well behind the CitiZens.

The new team still had to deal with the competition pressure, as Chief Judge Randy Connell and his panel in Texas provided the judging environment that all teams can expect at the USPA Nationals in September.

USPA Nationals 2022		1		2		3		4		5		6		Total	Avg
Rank	A Class	E,4		21,J		Q,C,8		K,F,A		6,H		2,8		Total	Avg
1	SNE Gripswitch	8		6	-1	5	-2	11	-2	6	-1	10		46	7.7
2	Cinna Bun Syndicate	8		5		0		12		7		7		39	6.5
3	Toxic Turtles	6		4	-2	3	-1	6	-2	7		6		32	5.3
4	Rheal Dheal	5		1		4	-1	6	-1	7		6		29	4.8
5	Toxic Ex-Girlfriends	4	-2	3	-1	3	-2	5		5		5		25	4.2

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SNE Gripswitch - Cinna Bun Syndicate - Toxic Turtles at the USPA Nationals 2022 - Video Footage Courtesy of USPA/InTime

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The CitiZens got their share of the performance requirements and experiences, as the judges did not miss any potential infringements. The two point deductions exposed critical situations that are crucial in 4-way competition and that may not be taken as serious in a training environment. The team now has the opportunity to practice in the remaining training jumps what the judges will be looking for in September.

Team videographer Billy Colwell was not involved in the infringements and delivered flawless competition videos for the judges. The CitiZens have the valuable advantage of judgeable footage, including exit and sub-terminal maneuvers.

The new team from Skydive City was already performing on the scoring level that was required to win A/Beginner Class medals at the USPA Nationals in 2021 and 2022. In fact, the 9.0 average last weekend would have been enough to win the event last year. However, it will be a 10-round competition at this year's national outdoor championship, and the five rounds at Skydive Paraclete XP would only be half-time.

The CitiZens were also back at the place where they competed with different teams in February. The host encouraged the participating teams and competitors to use the 16-foot flying chamber of Paraclete XP nearby when the bad weather did not allow any outdoor rounds on Saturday. The teams were not allowed to perform the competition sequences, however, this option will not be available at all at the USPA Nationals after the competition draw is posted.

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	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 Zorro - Anion Flux - Air Force Night Fury at the USPA Nationals 2021 - Video Footage Courtesy of USPA/OmniSkore!HD

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