posted Jul 14th, 2010 - The NSL News story on 24 March 2010 explained why Joanne Hawley, member of the UK team Kaizen, missed the completion of the FSL Shamrock Showdown 2010. Coach Pete Allum had filled the slot for the remainder of the meet.

"Point Joanne Hawley had bad luck during the competition in DeLand and twisted her ankle. Coach Pete Allum filled the slot for the remaining rounds and the last training days in DeLand. Joanne Hawley will try to be back with her team for the indoor competition."

She did not make it back in time for the World Challenge 2010, and Vince Lamb filled the slot at the indoor competition in Bedford. She has recovered now and was back with the Kaizen lineup last weekend. Kaizen picked up the same pace as at the Shamrock Showdown without any training, and the team was very happy with the results. Joanne Hawley provided the following summary of the meet events.

July 10th, 2010			Round1	Round2	Round3	Round4	Round5	Round6	Total	Avg
Rank	AAAClass		Q,O,H,17	10,J,11	22,20,15	M,8,K,B	18,E,D,3	7,16,6	Total	Avg
1	UK Sonicnutz	INT	21	12	12	18	13	15	91	15.2
2	UK Kaizen	INT	15	11	9	17	12	10	74	12.3
3	UK TLD	INT	13	8	6	13	10	11	61	10.2
4	Fast Forward	NPSL	8	8	4	9	8	8	45	7.5
5	Gang Green	NPSL	6	5	3	7	7	5	33	5.5

UKSL July Meet

Written by Joanne Hawley

With only a few weeks to go till UK Nationals, the Hibaldstow UKSL meet provided the 27 teams a very useful dress rehearsal for the big competition. Using a Dornier and a Finist (which led to some entertaining exits!) the top three categories were finished by Saturday evening.

However, the Rookie Class teams awoke on Sunday morning to high winds and a tense wait to complete their final jump. High Altitude Heroes had been leading in the early part of the competition, but had been dramatically pushed into 2nd place in Round 5 by rivals Raykipo who scored a massive 13-pointer to their own 10-pointer.

Whilst some teams decided not to wait out the winds, others stuck it out for a tense afternoon of watching the windsock until conditions were better. Raykipo eventually held their nerve to score a comfortable 10-pointer to High Altitude Heroes' 8-pointer. The Rookie Class teams were getting a real taste of the pressure of competition.

In the AAA Class, Sonicnutz displayed some smooth skydiving to deliver a 15.2 average and take gold. Kaizen were back in the air for the first time after nearly four months of waiting for a broken ankle to heal. They scored a very respectable 12.3 average and a silver medal to welcome them back.

Unagi won the AA Class comfortably, but the rest of the category was a close fight. With the British National Championships just around the corner, the podium places look too close to call with Sirius, Old Skool and Slot Machines all flying well.

Team Gr4vity ably led by Jonathan Ashe (formerly of Team Bonobo) continue to dominate the A Class competition. Can anyone stop them at the nationals? There are rumours of Team Full Stop (who destroyed the opposition in the Rookie Class at the British Nationals 2009) have been training and might be the ones to give Gr4vity a run for their money. The UK Nationals 2010 are scheduled for the August 21 weekend.