posted Jan 1st, 2024 - The last 4-way competition of 2023 took place at Skydive Elsinore in California. It was even an outdoor competition, which the weather in Southern California allows at any time of the year. However, the USPA Collegiates have been scheduled for this time of the year for a very long time, and the outdoor event needs good weather.

As the USPA Nationals, the collegiate championship is an annual event, and it always follows the major event in the United States a few months later in the calendar year. In fact, the date of the Collegiates is even more predictable than the outdoor championship, where the scheduling depends on the hosting location.

It's the winter's holiday vacation for the students when they meet at a place that offers the right weather conditions around Christmas and New Year. Thus the event usually takes place in Arizona, Florida or California.

The 4-way dive pool for the Collegiates was synchronized many years ago with the A Class of the National Skydiving League categories and has been identical ever since. Collegiate 4-way teams were not necessarily also visitors at USPA Nationals in the earlier years of both events. This has changed since the teams have been able to train more efficiently for both events.

USPA Collegiates 2023		1		2		3		4		5		6		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way (A Class)	19,H		K,N,D		G,4		L,2		9,J		O,M,A		Total	Avg
1	Air Force Artemis	17		26		16		16	-1	26		39		140	23.3
2	Air Force Tall Boys	19		25		17		17		24	-1	35		137	22.8
3	Air Force Gambit	14		16		12		12		15	-5	26		95	15.8
4	Air Force Halo	11	-2	16	-1	11	-1	8	-1	17		24		87	14.5
5	West Point Us or Them	9	-1	10	-6	11		11		13	-2	26	-1	80	13.3
6	West Point Blind Euge	10	-2	13	-2	11		10	-1	8	-5	26	-2	78	13.0
7	West Point Dynamic IFH	13		12	-1	10	-2	11		8	-4	22		76	12.7
8	West Point DLAB	9		7	-5	10	-1	8	-1	11	-1	21		66	11.0
9	Navy Yuan	7		5	-1	5	-1	6	-1	7	-2	13		43	7.2
10	Navy Duma	5	-1	8		5		5		5	-3	11		39	6.5
11	Huskies, Lions, and Knights	4		2	-3	4		4		4	-1	10	-1	28	4.7

---

Air Force Artemis - Air Force Tallboys - Air Force Gambit - Air Force Halo at the USPA Collegiates 2023, Video Footage Courtesy of USPA/OmniSkore!HD

---

The situation for the best collegiate 4-way teams is somehow similar compared to CISM teams competing at FAI/ISC competitions. Some of the best 4-way teams in the world (NMP PCH HayaBusa, Qatar Tigers, Papea) are performing smaller dive pools and easier exits and sequences at the military events.

Especially the Air Force teams have been used to compete in 4-way Intermediate (AA) and 4-way Advanced (AAA) at the USPA Nationals, and they have to scale down to A Class competition when they attend the USPA Collegiates. Artemis and Tallboys placed 2nd and 4th in 4-way Advanced (AAA) at Paraclete XP last year. Now they performed the six A Class sequences in Elsinore.

Halo and Gambit finished in 6th and 23rd place on the Intermediate Class leaderboard (AA) at the USPA Nationals. All together, they took the first four positions on the A Class leaderboard of the USPA Collegiates 2023.

USPA has included A Class competition (4-way Beginner) in the format of the national outdoor championship since the 2021 event. Two Air Force teams used the opportunity of identical dive pools and rules and competed at both events in the same category. Air Force Zorro won USPA gold medals, Night Fury added bronze medals to the Air Force collection in 2021.

USPA Nationals 2023		1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Advanced	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	Spaceland Saboteurs	36	-1	16	-1	13		13		14	-1	13		16		12	-2	12	-1	25		170	17.0
2	Air Force Artemis	31	-3	16	-1	12	-1	13		15		11	-1	17		13	-1	13		17	-1	158	15.8
3	CPI Chicken Bolts	27	-1	16		11	-1	13		15		13		11	-2	14		11		23		154	15.4
4	Air Force Tall Boys	26	-8	16	-2	11	-1	14		13	-1	14		15	-2	11	-1	11		21		152	15.2
5	Powered by MoonJuice	28	-3	16	-1	13		13		13		12	-1	13	-1	10	-2	11	-1	19	-2	148	14.8
6	Air Force 9 Ball	26	-2	10	-2	12	-1	12		14	-1	12	-1	16		12		12	-1	18	-2	144	14.4
7	SDC Rhuthless	24	-3	13		11	-1	11		12	-1	12		12	-2	9	-3	8	-3	18		130	13.0
8	Brick Tarason	22	-3	10	-1	8	-1	8	-1	11		11		11		8		9		15		113	11.3
9	Tequila Brothers	16		11		7	-1	8		10		6		9		9		9		14		99	9.9
10	Tequila Tribe	16	-1	10		9		8		8		10		8		9		5	-1	13	-1	96	9.6
11	Platinum XP	18	-1	10	-1	7	-1	8		5	-5	8	-2	11		8	-1	7		12	-2	94	9.4
12	Accidentally Competent	13	-5	11	-1	6	-2	10		10		9	-1	8	-2	6	-3	6	-2	10	-2	89	8.9
13	Five Finger Jeff Punch	14	-1	10		8		5		7	-1	5		9		8		7		12		85	8.5
14	Cocaine Bears	13	-5	10		8		7	-1	7	-1	7	-1	7	-1	6	-1	5		12	-1	82	8.2
15	Perris Asteria	14	-1	5	-2	8	-1	7	-1	4	-1	5	-1	9		8	-1	3		9		72	7.2

---

USPA Nationals 2023: Air Force Artemis - Air Force Tall Boys, Video Footage Courtesy of USPA/InTime

---

Air Force teams did not even start in the 4-way Beginner Class in the second year of the category at the USPA Nationals 2022 any longer and competed in AA (4-way Intermediate) and AAA (4-way Advanced) before switching back to the A Class dive pool and rules for the Collegiates.

There is also a separate leaderboard for Collegiate 4-way Advanced Class teams (A) with the same dive pool and rules. The four Air Force teams all competed in the 4-way Open Class at the Collegiates (A) and took the first four positions on the leaderboard. Four additional teams posted their scores on the second A Class leaderboard.

The four Air Force teams at the USPA Collegiates had competed in 4-way Advanced (Artemis - Tallboys) and 4-way Intermediate (Halo - Gambit) earlier at the USPA Nationals in September 2023, and they had their rematches in Elsinore in the A Class three months later. Tallboys almost turned the outcome at Skydive Paraclete XP. They were one point ahead of Artemis going into Round 6 where they gave up the lead. Gambit were facing a different Halo lineup and had a successful rematch. Artemis won the Collegiates gold medals on the winning level of Night Fury (23.4) in December 2022.

USPA Nationals 2023		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Intermediate	7,G,15	4,F,19	M,14,D	22,J,8	N,C,L,1	11,20	13,6	H,E,Q,9	A,21,2	P,O,B,18	Total	Avg
1	Air Raid XP	11	14	14	10	14	9	11	18	12	12	125	12.5
2	Spaceland Toxic	12	11	12	8	12	9	11	16	10	13	114	11.4
3	Mile-Hi SpeedRun	8	8	7	7	11	7	9	15	12	11	95	9.5
4	CSC Constellation	10	11	6	8	10	8	10	10	11	8	92	9.2
4	SDD Brane Damage	9	10	9	9	10	5	8	15	9	8	92	9.2
6	Air Force Halo	7	9	9	9	10	7	9	11	7	13	91	9.1
7	SDMW Uprising	6	9	10	9	8	7	8	10	9	13	89	8.9
8	Spaceland Disturbance Delicious	9	9	10	7	12	7	9	9	7	8	87	8.7
8	Air Force Freak Show	6	9	8	7	9	7	9	14	8	10	87	8.7
10	Joanne and the Creepers	8	10	7	8	11	6	8	7	8	11	84	8.4
11	Air Force PoisEN	9	9	7	8	4	7	9	14	8	8	83	8.3
12	Quadrivium	8	9	8	8	11	7	6	9	9	7	82	8.2
13	Carolina Legacy	8	9	6	7	7	6	7	10	10	11	81	8.1
13	Carolina Fourtune	8	9	8	7	9	6	6	9	8	11	81	8.1
15	Perris Rising	6	9	10	7	9	7	8	8	7	9	80	8.0
16	Mustangs!	5	9	8	7	5	6	7	15	9	8	79	7.9
17	4Action	7	9	7	5	8	8	5	12	8	7	76	7.6
18	Moving XPieces	7	8	9	7	7	7	6	9	6	7	73	7.3
18	DeLand's Hit Show	6	8	6	7	9	5	5	10	9	8	73	7.3
20	Cross Keys Flying Pups	7	5	7	6	7	6	7	10	7	10	72	7.2
21	Wingin' It	5	8	9	6	5	5	5	11	8	8	70	7.0
21	Gabby's Here	6	8	8	6	6	4	9	9	6	8	70	7.0
23	Air Force Gambit	7	4	9	5	9	6	7	6	6	8	67	6.7
24	DeLand's Dis-A-Point!	3	4	5	4	4	4	7	4	6	6	47	4.7

---

USPA Nationals 2023: Air Force Halo - Air Force Gambit, Video Footage Courtesy of USPA/InTime

---