posted Mar 9th, 2010 - The final preparations for the FSL Shamrock Showdown 2010 are in full swing for many teams. The French national 4-way team in the female category, Aerokart Deep Blue, has already arrived in DeLand and finished the second training day.

A personnel change was reported from the west coast. The Speedy Kids don't have their original Center Inside, Lou Ascione, available next weekend.

However, Melanie Curtis, Nick Grillet and Steve Simar have found a great alternate who will fill the Center Inside slot at the Shamrock.

Scott Latinis will be in DeLand anyway, as he competes with Dallas Rogue at the invitational 8-way competition.

Most of his 8-way team mates will be competing in 4-way, as well, and the very experienced 4-way and 8-way competitor from Texas will not have to sit down and only watch the 4-way action now.

Scott Latinis competed with Dallas Rogue at the USPA Nationals 2009, and he was also one of the Amphibious Attack Tigers in 4-way who finished with a 17.1 average in the AAA/Open Class competition.

His AAT team mates (Ben Liston, Brian Stephens and Ari Perelman) had already other 4-way commitments for the Shamrock Showdown 2010.

The NSL News story on 19 February 2010 reported that Mass Defiance will have a reunion with the original lineup at the Shamrock. There cannot be a MD reunion without AAT members Ben Liston and Brian Stephens.

AA Tiger Ari Perelman has another 4-way lineup, as well. He will compete with Jim "Bu" Klinge, Rodney Cruce and Michael Biederman, a team that has additional plans for the 2010 season.

Scott Latinis did not have any 4-way plans for the Shamrock Showdown so far, and he will now compete against his Dallas Rogue and AAT friends with the Speedy Kids.

The Elsinore team will be glad to have him, as Scott Latinis can easily fill the slot.

The AA Tigers outscored the Elsinore 3-way (17.1 - 15.1) when they competed for Elsinore BTE at the USPA Nationals 2009. Julia Herrmann was the 4th BTE member by then, and Lou Ascione joined the Speedy Kids for the 2010 season.

The original Speedy Kids lineup with Lou Ascione has been busy since the NSL News posted the last update. The team completed its first 3-hour tunnel camp with the complete lineup on the February 19 - 21 weekend at Paraclete XP.

Melanie Curtis summarized the results of the camp in a nutshell: "Covered just about everything, went fast, and had a blast!!"

She said that two of the Speedy Kids also worked with some of their friends from Texas on the same weekend.

She and Nick Grillet had a 2-on-2 camp with JT Gallinaro and Jon MacHarg.

JT Gallinaro and Melanie Curtis were team mates on Elsinore Eleven, a player coach team out of Skydive Elsinore that Melanie Curtis guided in 2007. She said that Elsinore Eleven was one of her favorite teams of all time:

"JT and I have remained close friends, and we were excited when this opportunity came up to work together again."

She said that the other tunnel camper, Jon MacHarg, fit right in: "He is another great, hilarious dude, up-and-comer for sure, stoked to be in the air and going big his first year competing in 4-way."

JT Gallinaro and Jon MacHarg will actually train and compete with San Marcos Asylum. George Conwill and Doug Feick will complete the lineup from Texas.

Melanie Curtis and Nick Grillet got some additional practice in their B-slots when they worked with JT Gallinaro and Jon MacHarg at the tunnel camp. Speedy Kids and Asylum will join their training efforts again for more tunnel training in early May at SkyVenture Arizona in Eloy.

Now it will be time for the first outdoor competition this year in DeLand next weekend. The Speedy Kids have more plans for outdoor training and competition later in the 2010 season.