posted Jul 29th, 2005 - The NSL News completes the series of interviews after the Malevsky Cup 2005 with feedback provided by Pete Allum, team member of Italy's old and new national team, Sinapsi PD.

Sinapsi competed as a guest team in Russia, Pete Allum then traveled to Florida for a few days before the next event was up for his team, the Italian national championship. In the meantime, Sinapsi PD also attended the World Games in Germany with the same line-up that qualified for this event last year at the World Meet in Croatia. Marco Arrigo was back in Sinapsi's line-up for the World Games. The NSL News reported the World Games scores and news with the story on July 18.

The Italian national championship was completed two days ago, and Sinapsi PD's Outside Center, Arianna de Benedetti, proudly announced that "Pete just became Italian champion 2005 with an average of 20.6." This news came along with a little update of Arianna de Benedetti's NSL Profile.

Sinapsi PD with Pete Allum is the new Italian 4-way champion and national team. Kiai with former Sinapsi PD member, Marco Arrigo, took the second place, and one half of Italy's 8-way team, Ex3mo, finished in third place. Marco Arrigo is also a new member of Italy's best 8-way team, which competed at the Malevsky Cup 2005, as well. The 8-way competition in Italy is now on the way.

The interview with Pete Allum took place after the completion of the Malevsky Cup 2005 in early July and before the Italian national championship this week.

NSL News: Pete, how did it feel to compete as a guest competitor and a guest team at the Malevsky Cup 2005?

Pete Allum: It was great to compete with my team Sinapsi PD, we have made about 200+ jumps, so it was nice to test our skills with some of the best teams in the world. It was a little strange being a 'guest.' However, as I am still serving out my 3-year sentence, it was expected.

NSL News: We will talk more about the eligibility issue later. Airspeed's Kirk Verner, DeLand Fire's Gary Smith and Fastrax members John Hart and Niklas Hemlin already provided the views of teams that competed in Russia after the meet. David van Greuningen and John Hoover followed up with views from the outside. With You, we move on to international participants of the 2005 events in Russia. What is Your general impression of the 4-way progression this year so far?

Pete Allum: I enjoyed watching Fire for their calm, well executed dives, they really have a good game after doing so little training, they are also technically good. Their standard was certainly close to Majik at the top of their game last year, The other top three teams, Sinapsi included, were a different league, at least one point per round below, but at least we all learned what we need to do to improve. The Russians were very impressive, especially with the amount of teams that they fielded and that were doing decent scores. The Belgians continue their upward flow, a very energetic group, with not that many jumps and heaps of potential.

NSL News: Can you evaluate the performance of the international top teams at the Malevsky Cup for us, please? Let's begin with the US teams.

Pete Allum: I have already said that I found Fire very enjoyable to watch, the leadership of the group is strong and has a sound base, with Gary, Shannon and Ian. But Natasha brings a healthy breath of life, talent and support to the mix. They look calm and poised, but you can start to see some of the speed coming into their rounds, especially in round ten.

The Airspeed teams put on a good show, they have their work cut out with competing in both events, I know that they will have learned a lot at the Malevsky Cup in preparation for the US nationals. From the outside it looks like they have some healthy competition amongst the 4-way teams. They have different ideas with regards to engineering, and it is interesting to see this with two teams who train side by side.

Fastrax was impressive, I know that they have made a ton of jumps together and have incredible support and financing, but even so, to make it to very nearly the top of the game in such a short time, well done, chaps! For them, to win a round and put some decent scores up amongst the top teams, shows that they are a force to be reckoned with at the US nationals.

NSL News: Airspeed competed in 4-way and in 8-way. Can You tell us how You see their chances to win this year's qualification and then the World Meet in 2006?

Pete Allum: Give me about a month to mull that one over and I'll get back to you...

NSL News: How do You see the potential of the Russian teams as top contenders?

Pete Allum: They have always shown potential, along with a flair for some very funky engineering! Like all teams and potential, it will require some hard work and a bunch of jumps. If those teams follow this time honored progression, then we will see them at the top. They already have a bronze medal from Croatia.

NSL News: Are You satisfied with Your team's performance in at the Malevsky Cup 2005? Where do You see Sinapsi PD after the event in Russia, a few months away from the World Cup in Eloy and one years away from the next World Meet in Germany?

Pete Allum: We did approximately what we have been doing in training, so we were not dissatisfied. But as competitors we have picked holes through our meet and seen so many possibilities to improve. Our exits are especially lacking, it took us six seconds to get out of the second point of Block 1 on the hill. We also have a couple of blocks that were quite a bit below par, we have already started training them and they have slipped off the 'list.'

NSL News: Where is France, and how far away is the rest of the field?

Pete Allum: I don't know, they did not field a team and are not planninmg to do so until after 2006, but who knows, maybe the team from Croatia will have a reunion?

NSL News: What do You think of the US 4-way competition this year, six weeks before the USPA Championship 2005? How do You expect the ranking order to be like after the ten rounds of the nationals?

Pete Allum: It is going to be an incredible race to watch, I have my seat booked at the US nationals where I will be competing with my other team, a player coach team. To guess the ranking would be ridiculous, at this level of the game it comes down to the day and how they handle the pressure. Heaps of effective training helps.

NSL News: I am sure You observed the 8-way competition in Russia. What were Your impressions?

Pete Allum: Actually, I only managed to see a few of the jumps, the match between the French and Airspeed was incredibly close and provided a great cliffhanger for all those watching. I thought the Italians did a good job, they look clean and disciplined, but then I am biased.

NSL News: Back to the eligibility issue. Some top competitors have recently taken position. Solly Williams is unhappy with the current FAI/IPC ruling in Your case. David van Greuningen thinks that the spirit of the rules should guide the officials to a better decision than the current one. Do You still see chances that Italy's appeal will be successful? What is the latest development in the case?

Pete Allum: Yes, I do see a chance that we will be successful. I think that the intention of the rule, when it was written, was for the competitor to miss out on particular meets and seasons, to make sure that they did not just hop haphazzardly from one country to the next. The way it stands right now is that I would have to wait five years from the last time that I competed to the next. I don't think that anyone had that in mind when the rule was written or the meet dates were planned. We have sent an appeal to the top and humbly await the reply.

NSL News: Thank You for the interview.