posted Apr 21st, 2025 - The Shamrock Showdown 2025 started once again with the introduction of the teams and the manual competition draw on Thursday evening. The new indoor world champions from France, Aethers, were introduced first and then pulled the sequence for Round 1 out of the hat, followed by ten other teams who created the complete competition draw.

Engineering and preparations for the first round on Friday morning were next, and the creeper pad was busy for a while before the last night and the start of the competition.

Aethers (FR), Arizona Airspeed (US), Cheetahs (QA) and Netunos (BR) had transitioned earlier from Paraclete XP and the FAI Indoor World Championship 2025 to Skydive DeLand and completed outdoor training jumps on the days before the start of the Shamrock Showdown in Florida, Aethers, Airspeed and Netunos in DeLand, Cheetahs at Skydive City. XP8 world champions Jeana Billings and Jennifer Davidson were also visiting DeLand to compete with Danny Suter and Dan Schultz for the same team they had put together for the Paraclete XP Indoor Championship 2025. Jennifer Davidson replaced Kirk Verner for the AAA Class competition of the Shamrock Showdown.

Shamrock Showdown 2025			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	AAA Class		17,M,10		20,19,F		18,22,K		N,G,3,16		O,E,P,21		9,L,5		6,13,1		C,J,Q,4		D,8,A,H		12,11,14		Total	Avg
1	Aethers	FR	25		23		21		24		34		32		23		32		29		18		261	26.1
2	Golden Knights	US	19	-2	24		18	-2	24		28	-1	26	-2	20		27	-2	26	-1	15	-2	227	22.7
3	Arizona Airspeed	US	23	-1	21		18		22		27	-2	28	-1	18	-1	24	-4	26		17		224	22.4
4	SDC Rhythm XP	US	20		17	-2	17		16	-2	24	-3	24	-1	19		18	-7	21	-1	15		191	19.1
5	Qatar Cheetahs	QA	17	-2	18		14		18	-2	24		19	-2	15	-1	24		21		12	-1	182	18.2
6	Airbus 4-way Illertissen	DE	15	-4	14	-2	13		16		19	-3	19		15		23		19		12		165	16.5
7	Jen and the Double D's	US	15		13	-1	13		13	-1	18	-1	13		13		18	-2	17		9	-2	142	14.2
8	4Action	US	9	-1	10	-1	8	-1	9		13	-1	10		9		11	-3	12		9		100	10.0
Rank	8-way		17,M,10		20,19,F		18,22,K		N,G,3,16		O,E,P,21		9,L,5		6,13,1		C,J,Q,4		D,8,A,H		12,11,14		Total	Avg
1	Netunos	BR	7	-1	10		11		10		9		9		11		10		7		9		93	9.3

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NSL TV Unfiltered: Competition Draw of the Shamrock Showdown 2025 - Round 1 on Friday Morning

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Then it was showtime on Friday morning for the first outdoor competition jumps at a major event this year. The Aethers members and their coach Mathieu Bernier had created a technically challenging sequence for the meet opener, and the numbers on the leaderboard are speaking their own language.

Eventually, the new indoor world champions widened the gap between themselves and Arizona Airspeed at the outdoor competition. The new Airspeed lineup, with Doug Hendrix and Alisson de Vargas ended up 37 points behind Aethers a week after the 15-point indoor difference at Paraclete XP, with Niklas Hemlin in the lineup.

The French leadership in 4-way Open is unchallenged at the moment, and the other national teams have to find ways how to close the wide gap. The race of the U.S. teams to become the national team in 4-way Open seems to wide open at the same time. The Golden Knights had won the national indoor championship title by 13 points (284 - 271) over the same Airspeed lineup who competed in DeLand. The 13-point advantage changed to three points (227 - 224) last weekend, and the audience can expect a thrilling 2025 season on the way to the world meet qualification at the USPA Nationals. The starting point has been defined after the ten rounds in DeLand.

Shamrock Showdown 2025			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	AA Class		F,M,K,1		20,19		18,22		N,G,H,15		O,E,P,21		9,L,B		6,13		C,J,Q,4		D,8,A		11,14		Total	Avg
1	DeLand's Hit Show	US	14		6	-1	6	-1	9		14		7	-4	9		12		9		7		93	9.3
Rank	A Class		F,M,K		19,21		4,A		N,G,H		O,E,P		9,L		6,B		C,J,Q		D,8		7,2		Total	Avg
1	Qatar Juniors B	QA	19		9		11		13		17		12		12		14		8		7		122	12.2
2	Door BlockerZ	US	17		5		8	-1	8		13	-1	8		8		7	-2	5	-1	7		86	8.6
3	Qatar Juniors A	QA	11		6		6	-1	7		10	-1	7		6	-1	10	-1	6		7		76	7.6
4	JumpFlorida Pop's Tards	US	8	-2	4		6		7		8		4		7		4		6		6		60	6.0

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Last load of Round 10 - NSL Live Talk with Solly Williams, Gary Smith, Luc Verstrepen after Round 10

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One of the most remarkable events at the Shamrock Showdown 2025 happened when the award ceremony was completed and the AAA Class teams had received their deserved credit and the cash prizes of the Skins Game. Two of the four A Class teams had been on a wind hold on Saturday afternoon and were on their way to the boarding area and resume their competition for the last two rounds.

The AAA Class teams, with the best 4-way competitors in the world, decided spontaneously to honor the participation of the teams who visited the Shamrock Showdown for the unique competition experience. The group of eight AAA Class teams gathered at the boarding area and cheered for the two A Class teams to make it a lifetime memory for them.

The same AAA Class teams then used the opportunity to congratulate and greet each other at the same place. The celebration of the completed ten rounds was in full swing at the Perfect Spot restaurant when Solly Williams, Gary Smith and Luc Verstrepen concluded their competition in the NSL Coaches Corner. Solly Williams and Gary Smith had made Skydive DeLand their home in 1995 when they brought their whole South African national team, Equanimity, to DeLand for a few years and then won FAI bronze medals for their country in 1997. NSL Live Talk began at that time, sometimes on record, often not.

AAA Class teams at the Shamrock Showdown after cheering for the A Class teams

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