posted Jan 28th, 2005 - The NSL News reported Pete Allum's move from the British team XL to the Italian national 4-way team, Sinapsi PD, at the end of last year. The new Sinapsi line-up with Livio Piccolo (Point), Arianna DeBenedetti (Center Inside), Luca Marchioro (Center Outside), Peter Allum (Tail) and Luca Poretti (Video) did not need much time to complete the plans for the 2005 season. The Italian team already completed the first camp with the new line-up at Skydive DeLand and made 80 jumps in two weeks.

The NSL News used the opportunity to meet with the team and get some background information. The Sinapsi PD members did not only answer all NSL News questions. The team also provided the NSL-TV with freefall footage. Sinapsi PD trained along with DeLand Fire for one week. Both teams agreed to run a little test meet yesterday. Due to Sinapsi's open doors, the NSL-TV is able to show two of the six rounds. Sinapsi also provided the Italian scores for this test meet, which are very promising for the team's future. The NSL News will hopefully be able to follow up with DeLand Fire footage and scores.

The Sinapsi PD team story was covered by the NSL News until the team decided to discontinue after the fourth place at the World Meet in Croatia 2004. Sinapsi had finished one single point behind the bronze medal position after a dramatic battle with the Russian Sky Panthers. Arianna DeBenedetti mentioned in her NSL Profile story shortly after Croatia that the team did not really know about the future. However, at least DeBenedetti felt that she was not done yet:

"However, I honestly hope that some months or even one year of stand-by will make us want to jump again. I would like to find once again the enthusiasm I had at the beginning. It is a "team thing" though. If somebody doesn't have it, then it slowly keeps everybody else down. But, well, at the end... I still need to get on that f... podium!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

That was in the beginning of October 2004. DeBenedetti, Piccolo and Marchioro did not need "some months or even one year of stand-by" to find enough motivation and energy to move on. In fact, Piccolo never wanted to stop anyway, and DeBenedetti and Marchioro began discussing new options already later in October.

DeBenedetti and Marchioro came to a dead end when they were looking at possible new team members on a world class level in Italy. The option of considering a foreigner filling the open slot came up when DeBenedetti and Marchioro began looking at other teams in the high-level 4-way community. Arizona Airspeed had British citizen Mark Kirkby in their line-up for many years. Neal Houston is Canadian. DeLand Majik had two South Africans with Solly Williams and Gary Smith. Looking into a new direction for a new Sinapsi member, it did not take too long until Pete Alum's name came up.

Allum is a very well known person in Italy and has been a popular coach in the Italian skydiving community for many years. He began his Italian coaching career with the first visit in 1989 and has come back to the country in southern Europe many times ever since. He already speaks fluently Italian and has even coached Sinapsi PD in the past. Allum added that he did not only go to Italy for coaching reasons: "I also like the food, the wine, the Italian way of life, the country and the people."

DeBenedetti did not hesitate for a second when Pete Allum came up during DeBenedetti's and Marchioro's brainstorming session. She picked up the phone in Italy and called Allum in DeLand. She remembers this phone call: "I was so excited that I spoke for 30 minutes in Italian with him, very quickly. He must have understood only half of what I said."

He understood enough. Finally, DeBenedetti asked him to join the team, and Allum responded that he was British. However, DeBenedetti asked him not to answer negatively right away but take some time to consider this offer. Allum on his side took the offer serious enough to discuss it right after the phone call for four hours with Anne Maxwell who he shares his life with. Allum and Maxwell live in DeLand and have a one-year old daughter Sian. Allum then left to Brazil for a coaching job, which gave him enough time to think more about the new Italian opportunity.

The three Sinapsi members came visiting DeLand for a tunnel training camp at SkyVenture Orlando in November 2005. Piccolo, DeBenedetti and Marchioro met with Allum, and the deal was signed and sealed. The next step was to make plans. The 2005 season will already show a very active Sinapsi PD. However, the 2006 season is the more important one. None of the current team members has ever won a medal at a World Championship yet. The goal for 2006 is not only a medal at the world meet in Germany, the new Sinapsi PD will be reaching for the gold.

However, the high goals were only discussed very briefly in the beginning. All team members have been competing on the top level in the world long enough to share the same goal silently. Allum also states very clearly that any medal pursuit is not driving him primarily: "I simply continue because I love 4-way. It is the joy of doing 4-way that gives me the motivation I need to do my very best."

The 2005 plans include the next 2-week camp in DeLand in March. The FSL Shamrock Showdown 2005 will be a part of the March camp. Two more training weeks in DeLand will follow in May. Sinapsi PD will also spend two weeks in Russia for training and competing at the Malevsky Cup 2005. The Italian Championship 2005 is scheduled for the end of July. The team will stay in Europe and train in Romania in August. Sinapsi will take time off in September and October and come back to DeLand in November. The NSL Championship at SkyQuest 2005 will be the team's final event of the 2005 season.

The 2006 world meet season will be much busier for the team. Sinapsi will spend the whole winter in DeLand and move to Italy for the summer. Pete Allum will bring his family with him for the 2006 summer season in Europe. The world meet in 2006 is scheduled for early August in Germany.

The first step of the new Sinapsi PD line-up has been done. The first training camp in DeLand gave the team a lot of information and was very successful. It seems as if the new team is already almost exactly at the same speed and performance level where the former line-up had been. It did not come that easily though. The team had some serious fall rate and level problems to deal with in the beginning. Three team members have to wear weight belts, Allum now carries 14 pounds in his one.

However, the team seems to be very happy with the achievements. "Much feels already very good, and some areas need work", says DeBenedetti. Allum adds that the communication system requires improvements. "It is not the Italian language though", he mentions with a smile.

Additional technical work comes with the required switch from right-hand to left-hand door exits. Sinapsi has trained from Pilatus Porters for many years. The right-hand door of the Pilatus is popular in Italy and France and was needed for the Mondial 2003 in Gap. The tail gate ramp of the MI-8 in Croatia 2004 did not require any team to switch from left to right or vice versa. However, the world meet in 2006 will be held from a Twinotter with a left-hand door. Sinapsi PD is now forced to find a way how to accommodate its right-hand pattern that the team has worked into the muscle memory.

The new line-up has already found its very specific solution, which will make the Sinapsi PD continuity plan a very unique current strategy. Center Inside and Center Outside have switched positions. Former center outside, Arianna DeBenedetti, is now exiting from the center inside position, while Luca Marchioro is in the center outside position. Point and tail stay where they have been. However, the exit formations with their typical positions and the right-hand pattern remain the same for Sinapsi. The team sets up many exit formations differently to accommodate the muscle memory of the right-hand pattern.

Pete Allum, who has trained mostly the more popular left-hand pattern, sees advantages and possible disadvantages of this very special continuity plan: "It all comes down to the same conclusion. Each team has pros and cons in the continuity plan if you compare with other plans. It is so specific that each team needs to find its own way. We have found this one."

The NSL News will follow up with more information of Sinapsi's continuity plan. The NSL audience can already discuss the specifics of this plan after watching the Sinapsi jumps on NSL-TV.