posted Jan 4th, 2010 - It took a while until the 4-way teams finally got in the air at the USPA 2009 Collegiate Championships . The first round was completed Friday afternoon. However, Skydive Spaceland showed already at the 2009 USPA National Skydiving Championships that a meet can still be completed if the lift capacity is available, even with limited weather conditions. Most likely, all six scheduled rounds will eventually be completed at the end of Saturday.

The leaderboard after three rounds looks as it was expected. Virginia Tech's USPA gold medalist of 2009 in the AA/Intermediate Class, VTSD, leaves all other teams in the A Class dust, as well. VTSD is one of the four civilian teams in the 14-team field.

The other three civilian teams, DSS of the Embry Riddle school in Daytona Beach, Florida, Georgia Tech team Ductape, aka Trained Amateurs, and Jarlsbergs 4-way team have their own little "amateur meet" in the mid and lower area of the Advanced Class leaderboard. Ductape has even managed so far, which means after three rounds, to stay ahead of two Air Force lineups.

VTSD is once again performing quite impressively. The dive pool and competition draw is already much easier compared to the team's last meet at the USPA Nationals 2009. The USPA specific rules for the exit at the Collegiate Championships makes the A Class competition even easier for VTSD.

USPA so far applies a modified military rule that is also used at the CISM, the military world championships. The definition of the exit rules gives the teams the first formation of the sequence without having to launch it, and there is not much sub-terminal flying on the hill required after five seconds:

"Working time starts the moment of the first separation of a grip from the first drawn formation, or five seconds after any team member separates from the aircraft, which ever comes first; if the first separation is not on the video, the working time begins on the exit of the aircraft."

VTSD scored a 19-pointer in Round 1 for the 3-point sequence 8-A (Canadian T - Canadian T, Unipod). There surely is not much brainwork required to memorize this sequence, especially after previously competing in the AA/Intermediate Class, and the free transitions of the sequence are easy and fast.

However, the slow Block 8 repeats very often in such a short sequence. In fact, VTSD performed the block six times to get to the 19-pointer on the scoreboard, and working time is still only 35 seconds. It is impressive, no matter what the exit rules are and when the working time begins. It will be interesting to see what the Virginia Tech team will make out of the sequence for Round 6 (P,B,J). Any score below 30 would probably be a surprise...

Air Force Impulse, in 3rd place on the NSL leaderboard, is actually the leader after three rounds in the Advanced Class competition, which applies the same dive pool and the same sequences.