posted Sep 26th, 2009 - The AAA Class "amateur championship" at the USPA Nationals 2009 has become a new twist, which caused the NSL News to add a team to the specific poll for this unofficial meet within the meet.

SDC Rhythm XP and the Midwest team's pursuit of Mass Defiance's 19.3 "amateur scoring record" caught the NSL News attention several times this year. Sebastian Tempest joined Rhythm on this trip after a great performance at the September meet of the Florida Skydiving League. Spaceland Blue's all-female lineup has been another NSL News candidate for breaking the Mass Defiance record.

A new lineup has to be seriously considered in this race, and two Mass Defiance members will actually try to beat their own amateur record in three weeks. Ben Liston and Brian Stephens have teamed up with Scott Latinis and Ari Perelman to compete at the USPA Nationals 2009.

All four team members are competing for Dallas Rogue in 8-way, as well, and decided to put additional efforts into the 4-way project. The Amphibious Attack Tigers will not have much training. Ben Liston reported that his 4-way team plans to complete 1.5 hours in the wind tunnel and maybe a dozen of additional outdoor training jumps to get familiar with the exits.

However, the team members bring in a lot of 4-way experiences and will most likely challenge the other top contenders in the "amateur championship" of the AAA/Open Class competition. Dallas Rogue is an underdog in the 8-way competition this year, and the Amphibious Attack Tigers are looking forward to "ripping a bit of 4-way after doing pretty much just 8-way this season", as Ben Liston said.

All AAT team members are also putting together a free coaching night and seminars at SkyVenture New Hampshire next week. Ben Liston had released a DVD with wind tunnel instructions earlier this year, as the NSL News reported on 10 June 2009. Now he and his AAT team mates follow up with instructions live in the wind tunnel. Ben Liston provided the details of this event:

USPA Nationals 2009 - AAA/Advanced Class
Who will break the Mass Defiance "amateur record" of 19.3 average?	SDC Rhythm XP Sebastian Tempest Spaceland Blue Amphibious Attack Tigers Others
	Current Results

Free Coaching and Seminars at SkyVenture New Hampshire

On Thursday, October 1st, members of the Formation Skydiving team Dallas Rogue will be offering free coaching and seminars at SkyVenture New Hampshire starting at 7PM.

Team members Ben Liston, Brian Stephens, Ari Perelman and Scott Latinis will be on-site and at your disposal. Come on out for the free seminars, to do some flying in the tunnel, or both.

The Coaches/Presenters

Ben Liston and Brian Stephens competed with the Mass Defiance 4-way team from 2004 to 2008, winning USPA's AAA/Advanced Class gold medal in 2005 and posting a 19.3 average in 2007. They have competed with the US Army Golden Knights in the 16-way event and won a silver medal with them in 2007. Ben Liston and Brian Stephens have done extensive tunnel and freefall coaching work with the West Point Parachute team and civilian teams around New England.

Scott Latinis has been competing at the national level in Formation Skydiving events for over a decade and has over 9,000 jumps. He has won four gold medals with Arizona Airspeed in 16-way and was a member of Arizona Vengeance in 2002. Scott is the captain of the Dallas Rogue 8-way team, and also has also been selected as the Alpha Team Co-Captain for the 2010 and 2011 World Team, which aims to complete a 500-way in 2011.

In addition to being a talented 4-way and 8-way FS competitor, Ari Perelman is an accomplished Freeflyer. He won a bronze medal in VFS at the USPA Nationals 2008, and has participated in both FS and VFS record attempts. He has a plethora of experience and has logged over 700 hours of tunnel time as a competitor and coach.

The Free coaching

All you need to do is book time with SkyVenture New Hampshire (normal rates apply), and Rogue members will be available to help you prep your flights, fly with you or coach you from a standing position during your flights, and debrief your flights all free of charge.

Come on out as an individual or with teammates. All levels (from student status to advanced flyers) are welcome. Rogue members will be happy to help you with basics skills, individual and team 4-way techniques, freeflying and VFS skills, and/or essential skills for big ways. Simply call the tunnel to book your time and mention that you’d like a Rogue coach to join you.

The Seminars

At 7:30PM, Ben Liston will be presenting a 30-minute seminar on basic and advanced individual FS skills. He will cover principals about effective body positions, turns, slide slides, forward/backward movement, carving, super-positioning (moving laterally and turning at the same time), fall rate control, and burble hops. Free electronic versions of the Mass Defiance instructional FS video will be available for anyone who buys tunnel time during the day or evening, just bring a laptop with you! Ben Liston will also try to bring some extra DVDs.

At 8:00PM, Brian Stephens will be offering a presentation on principals of 4-way Formation Skydiving. He’ll cover general block technique, and explain how to get the most out of your random work. Additionally, Brian will talk about slots, principals such as “the long axis,” and how to best utilize the tunnel as a 4-way team. He’ll also welcome specific questions about anything that has been challenging you or your team.

At 8:30PM, Ari Perelman will run a seminar on learning to freefly in wind tunnels, from back-flying to VFS. He’ll be covering specific techniques of different body positions and transitions, as well as approaches to learning them. Whether you are new to free flying or interested in VFS, come on out to learn how to reach your goals.

At 9:00PM, Scott Latinis will be presenting on principals of large formations and record attempts. He’ll cover skills you need to develop to get invited to big ways and be successful once you’re there. Scott will explain radials, the stadium principal, how to approach and dock on a big-way, the "half" rule, etc., along with how to use the tunnel to help you fly successfully with several hundred of your closest friends.

Ben Liston can be contacted directly by e-mail.