posted Oct 10th, 2023 - The 4-way Super Sequence in Round 1 of the USPA Nationals 2023 and its impact on the Arizona Airspeed world champions caught most of the attention. SDC Rhythm XP and XPG4 were a part of this situation, as they both outscored Airspeed in Round 1.

SDC Rhythm XP claimed the highscore for Round 1, after their own four point deductions, and actually completed more formations within the working time of 35 seconds (52 - 51). The four infringements did not have much of an impact on the flow of the sequence for Rhythm, while Airspeed had to deal with additional delays due to the unexpected interruptions. The drama of Round 1 lasted only a very short time, as Airspeed came back with vengeance and had the lead back after Round 2, then never allowed any team to get anywhere close in any of the remaining competition rounds.

XPG4 also caught a lot of attention in 2nd place. The NSL News pointed out on September 20th that XPG4 was the first 4-way Women team in 2nd place at USPA Nationals. Due to the attention to the events on the very top of the leaderboard, the tightest battle on the 4-way Open Class leaderboard happened almost under the radar. SDC Rhythm XP and the Golden Knights ended up with a 1-point difference after Round 10, which Rhythm just saved over the finish line.

The story of this exciting bronze medal duel in 4-way Open began in Round 1, as well. SDC Rhythm XP also created a 9-point lead over the Golden Knights with the highscore in Round 1 (48 - 39). The new and young 4-way lineup of the U.S. Army did not have the Airspeed capacity to fix the deficit in one round, as Airspeed did in Round 2.

USPA Nationals 2023		1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	AAA/4-way Open	O,E,C,Q,H		20,M,J,1		10,12,B		4,18,L		11,17,5		8,9,22		A,19,K,13		G,3,2		21,14,15		D,F,7,N		Total	Avg
1	Arizona Airspeed	43	-8	29		22		23	-1	28		21		26		23		20		33	-2	268	26.8
2	XPG4	46	-2	21		17		17		20		17	-1	23		18		17		29	-1	225	22.5
3	SDC Rhythm XP	48	-4	19		17		16		20		17		22		17	-1	16		25	-1	217	21.7
4	Golden Knights	39	-3	23		18		17	-1	21		17	-1	24		15	-2	14		28		216	21.6
5	Pour Decisions	35	-1	18		15		16		18		16		20		15		14		23	-1	190	19.0
6	RhEvolution XP	27	-4	19		13		15		16		15		16	-1	16		13		23		173	17.3
7	Skydive Midwest NEXT	26	-4	18	-1	12	-2	15		17		14		17		15		13		23		170	17.0
8	Spaceland Apex	22	-5	11	-1	11	-2	14		15		13	-2	19		14		13		22		154	15.4
9	Alti-2 Technologies	24	-1	12	-1	10		13		13		11	-1	14		11		11		18	-1	137	13.7
10	Rhetirement Party	21		12	-2	11		10	-1	8		12		13		12		10		17		126	12.6
11	Rippin Flatties	10	-4	4		3	-3	5		4	-3	4	-1	6		3		5		10	-3	54	5.4

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SDC Rhythm XP - Golden Knights at the USPA Nationals 2023, video footage courtesy of USPA/InTime

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However, at least Jesse Stahler with his wealth of 4-way and 8-way experiences, knew that there were nine more rounds to come. The Golden Knights needed more time to cut into the Rhythm lead and did this systematically, round by round.

The training that they had with coach Niklas Hemlin since the Paraclete XP's Summer Classic in July had a serious impact on the U.S. Army team's performance and scoring level, and the Golden Knights were aware of it. The 9-point deficit after Round 1 did not keep them from following their routine and catching up slowly and safely.

The same lineup as in July completed only their second competition together. David Flynn was still in the lineup last year, and Drew Starr competed for the Golden Knights at the Paraclete XP Indoor Championship 2023, where SDC Rhythm XP performed for the first time with new team member Steve Loufek.

SDC Rhythm XP followed up at the Shamrock Showdown in March and also completed the ten rounds of the Cloud Games on home turf without any competition in June. Then they traveled to Norway for the third outdoor competition this year, the 23rd FAI World Cup of Formation Skydiving.

USPA Nationals 2021		1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open	13,5,D		Q,9,4		F,14,C,10		H,L,20,N		18,22,19		11,J,E,8		6,7,K		G,15,12		M,2,21		16,A,P,O		Total	Avg
1	Arizona Airspeed	22	-2	28	-1	24		30		18	-1	25		26		20		24		35		252	25.2
2	SDC Rhythm XP	26		24	-4	21	-2	27	-1	19		23		26		21		24	-1	29		240	24.0
3	Golden Knights Gold	21		26		20		25	-1	16		23		21		17		16	-1	25	-1	210	21.0
4	The Jets	16	-1	20	-1	18		22		14		17		21		16		19		24		187	18.7
5	Skydive Midwest NEXT	18		21		18		20		14	-1	18		20		14		18		21	-1	182	18.2
6	XPG4	16		19		15	-2	22		13		19		18		14		18		21		175	17.5
7	Elsinore Bullet	16		18	-1	17		20	-1	12	-1	18		18		14		18		22		173	17.3
8	Aviatrixx	13		16		14		12	-3	10	-1	13		13		10	-1	14		16	-1	131	13.1
9	Golden Knights Black	12	-1	12	-3	14		13	-1	11		13		12		10		13	-2	16	-1	126	12.6

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SDC Rhythm XP - Golden Knights at the USPA Nationals 2021, video footage courtesy of USPA/Omniskore

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The Golden Knights had their whole lineup present at the same event in Voss, while they still could not compete in 4-way Open. The U.S. Army had neither a 4-way nor an 8-way team at the USPA Nationals 2022, which was the qualification event for the outdoor world cup this year.

Arizona Airspeed, SDC Rhythm XP, Skydive Midwest NEXT and Lightspeed XP used up the 4-way Open Class contingent of the U.S. delegation, and the four Golden Knights were only witnessing the 4-way competition. Jesse Stahler and Mike Connors competed in 8-way for GKXP8, together with their former 4-way team mate and Golden Knights team captain Drew Starr. Nick Birkner and, Mitch Stockenberg are the official alternates for GKXP8 and did not have to compete in 8-way. The complete Golden Knights 4-way lineup, with team videographer Andy Sippl, then came back to action four weeks later at the USPA Nationals.

SDC Rhythm XP was under serious pressure when the most improved team on the 4-way Open Class leaderboard had completely eliminated the 9-point lead of Round 1 after Round 7. They mastered the situation by winning the following two rounds and then carrying a 1-point lead over the finish line.

It was at the USPA Nationals 2021 when SDC Rhythm XP and Golden Knights competed the last time at the same outdoor event and in the same finishing positions. Only the difference was very different when the Rhythm 2021 lineup came well trained to the national championship after competing for the United States at the FAI Tanay Mondial. Rhythm won by 30 points in Eloy 2021.