posted Oct 14th, 2023 - The teams in the 4-way Beginner Class (A Class) at the USPA Nationals 2023 completed ten rounds for the first time in the short history of the new event at the national championship. The 4-way Beginner Class was introduced as a test event in 2021 with a 6-round agenda.

It was a successful beginning, and the same format was copied for the second test at the USPA Nationals 2022. At least half of the new 4-way competitors in 2021 were back in one of the next categories (Intermediate, Advanced), while five new teams completed the next 6-round competition at Skydive Chicago.

USPA decided to integrate the new category fully into the format of the national championship, and the next group of 4-way Beginner teams completed ten rounds to determine their medal winners. The two A Class teams on the top of the leaderboard created a new exciting competition for the USPA gold medals, which was even closer than the one in 2021.

Air Force Zorro had won by four points over Anion Flux XP, with a 9.7 average for the six rounds, and there was even a jump-off for the bronze medals. This year, the CitiZens from Skydive City in Florida also won by four points over XP Falcons, while the teams had to complete ten rounds.

USPA Nationals 2023		1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Beginner	C,Q,4		L,6		N,P,B		M,F,K		J,A,21		E,O,H		9,19		G,8		7,2		D,O,K		Total	Avg
1	CitiZens	6	-1	9		10		18		8		16	-1	9		7	-1	9		11		103	10.3
2	XP Falcons	9	-1	9	-1	10		15	-1	9		12		8		7	-1	9		11	-1	99	9.9
3	Funderbirds	6	-2	8		10		15		8		12	-1	8		6	-1	8		8		89	8.9
4	Damage Report	7		7	-1	9		11	-4	9		6	-2	4	-1	4		7		6		70	7.0
5	Phoenix Pheathers	4	-1	5		8	-1	11	-3	8		2	-2	6		5	-2	6		5	-1	60	6.0
6	XP Born	6		6		7		7	-1	4	-1	9	-1	7		3	-2	5		1	-2	55	5.5

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CitiZens - XP Falcons at the USPA Nationals 2023, video footage courtesy of USPA/InTime

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The duel for the top spot in the 4-way Beginner Class had two very different halves. XP Falcons had the better start and carried a 1-point lead into Round 6. The Falcons had even started with a 3-point lead after Round 1 that the CitiZens eliminated with the highscore of 18 points in Round 3, the fastest sequence of the competition.

The Skydive City team was well prepared for the sequences with only random formations, which are guaranteed as a part of the A Class draw in a 10-round competition. The A Class dive pool includes all 16 rendom formations and eight of the 22 blocks. Even if each of the eight blocks is drawn for a different round there must be two rounds with only random formations and the potential for scoring opportunities.

The CitiZens took advantage of the faster sequences and first caught up with the Falcons in Round 3 (M,F,K) before taking the lead with the next highscore in Round 6 (E,O,H). Two more sequences with only random formations were drawn in the ten rounds, after two blocks came together in Round 7 and Round 9. CitiZens tied the highscores for the other two faster sequences and did not give away a round in the second half of the meet. Result was the 4-point lead and the 4-way Beginner gold medals after Round 10.

Paraclete XP Summer Classic 2023		1		2		3		4		5		6		7		Total	Avg
Rank	AA/Intermediate Class	2,J,F		20,15		H,21,G		Q,1,7		11,K,6		9,P,B		N,14,E		Total	Avg
1	Mile-Hi SpeedRun	13		8	-1	12		10		9		16		9		77	11.0
2	XP Falcons	7	-1	4	-1	1	-2	5		6		8		3		34	4.9
Rank	A/Beginner Class	2,J		F,G,B		H,21		Q,7		K,6		9,P		N,E,A		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 Falcons at the Paraclete XP Summer Classic, video footage courtesy of Paraclete XP

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All three medal winners in this category had collected previous outdoor meet experiences before traveling to Skydive Paraclete XP. In fact, only Damage Report in 4th place did not have any previous scoring numbers in their team records. CitiZens and XP Falcons both had attended Paraclete XP's Summer Classic 2023 in July and were familiar with facilities and jump planes. Funderbirds had competed at the Shamrock Showdown 2023.

The same three teams had personnel changes between their previous events and the USPA Nationals. Alix Raymond replaced Thomas Crowe for the Funderbirds, and Jeffrey Freese was on camera in Raeford. Only Joy Jing and Gustavo Alverado were back for XP Falcons. They had Holly Scott Sujack and Eric Harper in their new lineup, with Michael Koch on camera. XP Falcons tested the AA/Intermediate Class with their previous lineup in July and then decided to compete in 4-way Beginner at the USPA Nationals. The CitiZens competed in the same category that they would register for at the national championship.

The CitiZens had trained and competed with outside center Amaranth Aquarian all year, who was injured in one of the last training camps before the competition. The CitiZens and Amaranth Aquarian decided to look for a substitute in the same slot and found Yekaterina Payeras from California, who was able to join the team for one training weekend with the new lineup and coach before Round 1 in Raeford.

The CitiZens won with a new record average in the 4-way Beginner Class, and with the highest score for a single round, as well. They were also the cleanest team with only three point deductions, together with Funderbirds, who were the most improved team (3.7 - 8.9) with their new lineup. Only seven of all 56 teams at the USPA Nationals finished with lower numbers of penalties.

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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