posted May 6th, 2025 - The story of the new Block 20 (Zipper - Zipper) began for the NSL News with the update on January 20th, which covered the history of dive pool changes and explained that FAI/ISC had plans for more changes to come.

Some of the most experienced 4-way and 8-way competitors and coaches in the history of the sport shared their skeptical thoughts, Solly Williams on January 22nd, Gary Smith on January 24th, while the process of the planned changes continued.

It turned out that only one of the 22 block maneuvers did not return from the FAI/ISC meeting at the end of January. The previous "Piver - Viper" turned into "Zipper - Zipper" with a totally different maneuver and only two subgroups, after the previous version of Block 20 had featured a rare option with one 2-way piece and two individual performers. However, the transition from the old to the new Block 20 version began with both options as choices for the teams at SkyVenture New Hampshire in January. Both options were used by the three AAA Class teams at the indoor competition, even though the previous version was still the official one until the end of April.

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

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AXIS Flight School features new Block 20 by Arizona Airspeed - New Block 20 in Round 2 of the Shamrock Showdown 2025

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The NSL News update on February 16th followed up with more information. FAI/ISC had confirmed the May 1st deadline for "Piver - Viper", while they also announced that the old block maneuver would come to its end earlier, on February 28th for outdoor competition. The dive pool for the FAI Indoor World Championship 2025 in April would still include "Piver - Viper" for Block 20.

Coincidence made the final call when Block 20 was not drawn for the ten world championship sequences at Paraclete XP, even though the teams were well prepared for it after many years of its presence in the dive pool. "Piver - Viper" had appeared before though, in Round 2 of the Paraclete XP Indoor Championship 2025 at the end of February, right before the outdoor deadline.

It seemed like the Shamrock Showdown 2025, scheduled for the weekend following the conclusion of the indoor world championship, would become the first competition including "Zipper - Zipper" for Block 20. However, the Australian national outdoor championship was scheduled for the beginning of April, which was over a whole month after the outdoor funeral for "Piver - Viper". The Australian federation, including Mark "Stretch" Szulmayer, Chair of the ISC Formation Skydiving Committee, decided to leave "Piver - Viper" in the dive pool for a little longer, and it was drawn for the sequence of Round 3.

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Old Block 20 at Paraclete XP Indoor Championship 2025 and Australian Outdoor Nationals 2025

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Result of the Australian adjustment for the outdoor championship was the actually expected first appearance of "Zipper - Zipper" at the Shamrock Showdown 2025. The six teams who had previously attended the U.S. national indoor championship were back for their first 2025 outdoor competition at Skydive DeLand and the first outdoor meet experience with the new Block 20. Aethers and Arizona Airspeed were a part of this group of teams, and they did not have to perform "Piver - Viper" indoors right before the Shamrock weekend.

Arizona Airspeed had already created a demo version of the new Block 20 for the world's 4-way teams, in cooperation with the AXIS Flight School, who provide the NSL News with the Draw Generator for the numerous competition draws that are posted regularly at the NSL website. AXIS have updated the graphics of the dive pool and are now offering competition and training draws with the correct and current dive pool.

Making the necessary adjustments is another implication that comes along with any changes in the dive pool. The NSL News had to post previous competition draws with the note that Block 20 is still depicted with its previous version. The new NSL TV videos are featuring the videos of both versions between February and April.