posted Feb 5th, 2005 - The NSL News decided to take a short break from the rules updates. All the details of the changes will still be posted in an overview. The NSL News continues to collect feedback from the top teams in the meantime. A new round of NSL-TV offers a little change of the topics from the rule book back to the actual freefall action.

Round nine of the NSL Championship 2004 challenged the AAA and AA Class teams with Block 18 and three random formations. All of the AAA and AA Class teams except one applied the same vertical technique where Point and Tail cross each other first. Only Arizona Blade was more familiar with the vertical technique where Center Inside and Outside go vertically first.

Thomas Hughes, Blade's Center Outside, commented the team's technique for Block 18 in the NSL Discussion Forum when the NSL News mentioned it for the first time. This happened in July 2004 when the NSL-TV posted round five of the SSL May meet. The sequence included Block 18 (18-A-12). Blade scored 14 points in time and a 15.3 meet average.

Hughes had good reasons to apply a technique, which is theoretically slower compared to the technique used by the top teams in the world: "We did this technique because of the experience level of the team when we first started, we were thinking of changing the technique but now our times are almost as fast as the faster technique but the catch is a lot more guaranteed. Above a 19 avg though I think it needs to be changed, we will see what happens next year!!"

Arizona Blade did not score above the 19 average level before attending the NSL Championship 2004. The 18.5 average at the USPA Championship 2004 included a score of 17 points in round eight, which included Block 18 (K-18-11). Only DeLand Majik (19) and the Golden Knights (18) scored higher in this round and used the faster technique.

Blade passed the 19 average level in November 2004 when the team posted its winning 19.9 average at the NSL Championship 2004. Hughes thought in July 2004 that it needs to be changed then. The new year brought a new team and the other Block 18 technique for Hughes. His new team, DeLand Fire, with former DeLand Majik member Gary Smith and former PD Blue members Shannon Pilcher and Ian Bobo, plus Natasha Montgomery, did not even consider using the slower technique. However, in round nine of the NSL Championship 2004, now on NSL-TV, Hughes and Arizona Blade demonstrate the advantages of the slower technique for the last time. The Blade score was 23 points for this round.

The A Class teams did not have to deal with Block 18. Zircon - Zircon is not in the dive pool for this competition class. It was replaced by Block 18 (Ritz - Icepick) after the two random formations (H-K-19). The NSL News would like to use this opportunity to point out one again the incredibly exciting A Class competition of the NSL Championship 2004. The energy and competitiveness of the two top contenders for the gold medals, GT Airlock and FSC JAMMM, was more than enough evidence that this competition class has become a solid part of the NSL structure.

The lead in the A Class had gone back and forth between GTA and FSC throughout the first eight rounds. GT Airlock of the Georgia Skydiving League came from a devastating round eight with a score of zero points, which had given FSC JAMMM of the Florida Skydiving League the opportunity to take back the lead by one single point.

Both teams had been very close to each other in rounds two, three and four after FSC JAMMM had built a three-point lead in round one. Rounds five through eight showed a very different scenario. The teams' scores had a difference of at least three points in each of these rounds. However, it evened out, and the FSL team was up by one point before round nine.

Both teams were highly foucused and concentrated going into round nine. The result was another close round. In fact, it was only the second time that the teams posted the same scores for a round. It is well worth watching these two jumps and see how FSC JAMMM works hard to defend the lead, and how GTA tries to find back the rhythm and put some great scores on the board. Both teams succeeded with their scores of ten points for the round, and FSC JAMMM carried the one-point lead into round ten. Enjoy the show, and give these two teams some credit for their great performances at the NSL Forum.

The whole round can be viewed on the NSL-TV 2004 page. Navigate to the "Archives" > "2004", and then go to "Images" > "NSL-TV". The scoring table of the NSL Championship 2004 offers the links to all jumps, as well.