posted Dec 26th, 2009 - The NSL News reported Ed Ganley's 4-way comeback after a 7-year break on 18 December 2009 and Ben Liston's North East tunnel meet at SkyVenture New Hampshire on 15 December 2009. There is actually a link between these two stories that is not obvious at the first view.

Ed Ganley was not the only former 4-way competitor who recently came back to attend a meet after a long break. A closer look at the lineups of the indoor competition at the beginning of December offered a surprise for the 4-way fans who have been around for at least a decade.

The Mercury Falling lineup in the A Class competition consisted of Mary and Mark Stose, Joe Borges and Brandy Verhalin. Mary and Mark Stose are two of the original Teiwaz members who trained and competed between 1999 and 2001.

Teiwaz was launched in 1999, won the USPA Nationals in the Advanced Class in 2000 and continued for another year with the original lineup. The team career with the four original members ended when Center Inside Pamela Geoffrey became mother of Jessica in 2002.

The three remaining original Teiwaz members (Mary and Mark Stose, Kurt Gaebel) continued without much training and with other new Teiwaz members until Mary and Mark Stose also decided to grow the family and had little Mary Stose a year after Jessica Geoffrey was born.

Mary Stose, who used to fly the Point position for Teiwaz, discontinued with any skydiving activities, while Teiwaz Tail Mark Stose still made a few jumps here and there at events of the recreational skydiving community.

The married couple were both passionate 4-way competitors, and it seemed difficult to believe that they had really terminated their activities in the 4-way community for good. The original Teiwaz members kept in touch over the years and met randomly at events that were not related to skydiving.

Mary Stose always hinted that she might consider a comeback at some point. However, she and her female team mate, friend and fellow mother Pamela Geoffrey always shifted the necessary executive action back and forth between each other:

"I will do it if she does it", and vice versa...

Mary Stose obviously made the first step now and signed up with her husband Mark for the indoor competition. Pamela Geoffrey has flown in Orlando's wind tunnel here and there over the years, as well. There might be a chance that the original Teiwaz lineup will eventually have a complete reunion, at a 4-way meet and in the air, indoor or outdoor.

The NSL News was digging deep into NSL-TV archives and found a few training videos of the original Teiwaz lineup in 2000. The Florida team won the USPA Advanced Class gold medals in Perris that year with a 13.2 average. Barry Jive's Uptown 5 and Optic Nerve with late Dr. Joel Shugar scored higher but were not eligible for USPA medals. Nemesis from Georgia won the silver medals with a 12.1 average.

Videos of the indoor competition in New Hampshire will probably follow soon and possibly show Mary and Mark Stose in action a decade after the first Teiwaz year. Time will tell if there will also be an outdoor comeback.