posted Sep 10th, 2010 - The ESL Championship 2010 is in full swing, while Friday was for registration, training and meet preparations at the USPA Nationals 2010.

The first event day on Texel in the Netherlands is over, and there is great competition in each category. Three of the four Dutch AAA Class teams are racing each other and are within four points after four rounds. It is even closer in the AA Class between FWCP and Creeps. The A Class competition offers the most exciting competition, as Jo Hawley predicted in her preview.

It is even more exciting to see that each competition class has currently a leader from a different country, except in the AAA Class with teams only from the Netherlands.

Skydive Chicago had a slow start in the morning, and the pace picked up hour by hour. Eventually, the line at the registration services was longer than the participants liked it to be.

The NSL Reality TV camera, however, had an early start and captured some morning stretching sessions at the very beginning. The lineup for registration was an object later in the morning and included the Founding Fathers. John Hamilton and Todd Hawkins informed the NSL News and the audience that the high-profile fun team from the west coast was still looking for a videographer. The Founding Fathers welcome any quick help.

Further back in the line was Scott Latinis who competes once again for the Amphibious Attack Tigers. Ben Liston was still missing, and Ron Hill filled the slot later for a training jump. The NSL-TV camera found the aggressive team at the mockup before the jump.

USPA Nationals 2010 - Friday at Skydive Chicago

An overview of the hangar area eventually included a clip where the Golden Knights prepared for an 8-way training jump. Matt Davidson had informed the NSL News earlier that the US Army team will also compete with two 4-way lineups.

This time, the veterans will join forces (Brian "BK" Krause, Kurt Isenbarger, Sean Sweeney, Matt Davidson), while the younger generation and second half of the 8-way team form the other 4-way lineup. The Golden Knights had shared experience and talent between their two 4-way lineups at the FSL Shamrock Showdown 2010.

The first lineup with the highly experienced 4-way and 8-way competitors changes the picture in the 4-way Open Class competition. The NSL News reported earlier that Paraclete XP4 and SDC Rhythm XP will probably have their internal battle for the USPA bronze medals. This 2-way has now turned in to a serious 3-way competition, which makes it even more exciting.

Last not least, this NSL Reality TV clip finished off when the NSL News ran into Arizona Airspeed's Eliana Rodriguez and Craig Girard. They had a surprise for the camera when Craig Girard pulled up the sleeve of his shirt.

His left ellbow is swollen to an extent that looks painful, and he confirmed that it is. He said that several contacts with the walls of the wind tunnel chambers had set the foundation for trouble. Then he bumped the ellbow once again yesterday, a little bit harder than usual this time, and the damage was done.

Even a lot of ice did not help much, and he needed a syringe and a doctor to bring back the ellbow to a normal size. This helped only temporarily so far, and Craig Girard may need more medical support during the competition. Little more than half a day until the competition begins...