posted Jan 11th, 2011 - The current weather situation at the Dubai Championship 2011 does not even guarantee yet that the meet will be completed on Wednesday. The NSL News goes back in the meantime to another topic that is indirectly related to Dubai.

The story on 5 January 2010 covered the cooperation between the NSL News and the Blue Skies Mag. However, it did not include the actual story itself, which was a part of Blue Skies Mag's Happy New Year issue.

The "Turning Points" article covered the 4-way situation in the USA after Arizona Airspeed had recruited the new lineup for the 2011 season. Some of the top players, who were mentioned in the article, are also still competing in Dubai, such as the three players of the leaving Airspeed lineup, Perris Fury's Christy Frikken (Alpha Armada) and Paraclete XP4's John Eagle (Airspeed). It's interesting to take a look at this information while the teams are waiting for the call to start Round 8 in Dubai.

Turning Points

Reprinted with permission of Blue Skies Mag

Arizona Airspeed has a new lineup for the 2011 season, and this is not breaking news any longer at this point in time. Many people have looked at the new lineup (Mark Kirkby, Thomas Hughes, Niklas Hemlin, Josh Hall) from many different angles, including the NSL News with several stories.

However, there are always more and new aspects that add to the excitement that every new Airspeed lineup brings. It is quite amazing that a call from Arizona has stirred up the competitive 4-way community ever since Airspeed was formed in 1994. It seems like an invitation from Airspeed stands above anything else.

This time, Mark Kirkby, the only returning Airspeed member of the 2007 - 2010 lineup, needed three new members, which seems to be a lot, doesn't it? You would think that it would no be so easy to find world class 4-way competitors who can step in and bring Airspeed right back to the top level in the world. You would think that the best of the best have their own teams and commitments.

Apparently, that doesn't count when Airspeed calls...

The three new members moving from California (Josh Hall), Texas/Florida (Thomas Hughes) and Ohio (Niklas Hemlin) to Arizona do not only bring a new Airspeed world class lineup together almost instantly. This move also has a direct impact on the rest of the best on the very top level.

Josh Hall was a member of the team that would have been the new top contender for USPA gold medals next year. The USPA Nationals 2011 are the qualifyer for the World Meet in 2012. His move makes it very difficult for Perris Fury to achieve the team's big goal. Airspeed's new lineup has possibly weakened the toughest opponent at the same time.

You can speculate whether this was a strategig move or not. It is not very unusual that sports clubs recruit their athletes from the best teams around, which has the same impact on both sides. Top 4-way competition may have a more limited pool of top athletes, but it's all relative, isn't it? I have heard of strategic moves in the 4-way community in the past, so the thought is not that far off.

There is also new talent moving up to the top level, slowly and carefully, such as SDC Rhythm XP and Carolina Turbo XP. However, it is still easier to recruit the best from the best, especially if you recruit for Airspeed.

Mark Kirkby said that it was not a strategig move. He said that he just tried to find the best future team mates that he could get, and he had his own reasons why he would ask this 3-way from all across the country. Strategic move or not - the impact on the direct competition is there, and the other teams have to deal with it.

Perris Fury has most of the work after losing Point Josh Hall. Thomas Hughes' last team, Spaceland Force, silver medalist at the USPA Nationals 2009, did not even compete this year. He was somehow available for new 4-way projects, even though the Force (Ian Bobo, Shannon Pilcher, Gary Beyer) was still soliciting support for more training and competition. Niklas Hemlin's situation was similar. Team Fastrax doesn't really exist any longer. It is officially around without having a serious top lineup.

Realistically, Spaceland Force and Team Fastrax are not suffering any losses. Only Perris Fury has to make adjustments after Airspeed's announcement. Is this going to take away some of the excitement on the top 4-way level in the USA? Not at all. Fury will come back, most likely with even more motivation and energy than before. Golden Knights and Paraclete XP4 will challenge the new Airspeed lineup. Rhythm will get a year to get even closer to the top than they may have been thinking they could. Last not least, the new Airspeed lineup still has to become a team and show in a competition what they have to offer. It will be another exciting 4-way season in 2011.