posted Jul 18th, 2011 - NSL News correspondent in Great Britain and Kaizen member Jo Hawley reports on last weekend’s third meet of the United Kingdom Skydiving League (UKSL) and looks ahead to the World Cup 2011 and the UK Nationals 2011.

With only four weeks to go till the UK Nationals 2011, the Hibaldstow UKSL meet saw a record 32 teams take part in a wet and windy competition. Planes circled looking for holes in the clouds while competitors tried to hold their nerve. Although only three rounds were completed due to the poor weather, it has given a useful insight into what might be to come at the national championships.

UKSL 2011 - July			Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total	Avg
Rank	AAA Class		H,7,19	C,J,17,11	K,P,12,G	Total	Avg
1	SonicNutz	INT	20	18	19	57	19.0
2	Kaizen	INT	17	16	16	49	16.3
3	Bodyflight Aerodyne	INT	18	17	11	46	15.3

In the AAA Class, an impressive field of eight teams were lead from the start by SonicNutz who showed that their hard work this season has been paying off. The team still feels that they have more to come, and the reigning Satori champions will no doubt be watching the Nutz’s form at the World Cup 2011 to see if last weekend's winner may have a chance of challenging them for the 4-way crown. Satori did not compete in Hibaldstow.

Bodyflight Aerodyne, the UK’s ladies’ team for the World Cup, performed strongly in their first few rounds, but a wobbly exit and loss of rhythm in Round 3 saw fellow Aerodyne team Kaizen snatch the silver medals by three points. Escondido posted some solid scores ahead of their trip to the World Cup, but last year’s AA Class winner Unagi will be looking for cleaner skydives in Germany after suffering from four infringements in three jumps.

UKSL 2011 - July			Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total	Avg
Rank	AA Class		H,7,19	C,J,11	K,P,G,21	Total	Avg
1	Eclipse	INT	14	13	14	41	13.7
2	Gr4vity	INT	13	12	14	39	13.0
3	Satori Red	INT	12	11	14	37	12.3

The AA Class competition was a close call with Eclipse again having the edge over their competitors.

However, with A Class 2010 champion Full Stop returning for the national championships, it remains to be seen if the other teams can keep up with them. Full Stop had destroyed the AA opposition at the World Challenge 2011.

With Kryos Airkix and Gr4vity replacing team members during this season, both teams did well to deliver strong rounds last weekend.

UKSL 2011 - July			Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total	Avg
Rank	A Class		H,7	C,J,19	K,P,G	Total	Avg
1	Raykipo	INT	12	10	13	35	11.7
2	High Altitude Heroes	INT	9	8	14	31	10.3
3	Enigma Pork Sword	INT	9	8	11	28	9.3

The A Class was the largest category with 11 teams. Raykipo, despite the continued absence of the team's mascot and losing their videographer the day before to a perforated eardrum, did not let the disruption affect their performance and took another gold medal.

High Altitude Heroes continue to battle for the top stop for the second year running. Taking silver, they posted the highest score in the category with a 14-pointer in Round 3. With ESL Championship and UK Nationals medals from last year, Raykipo would be unwise to underestimate High Altitude Heroes at this year's national championships in what is likely to be a close competition.

UKSL 2011 - July			Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total	Avg
Rank	Rookie		H,E,B	C,J,Q	K,P,G	Total	Avg
1	Atmosfear	INT	7	8	8	23	7.7
2	RAFSPA Hurricane	INT	7	7	8	22	7.3
3	Will Cooke to Manifest	INT	9	7	5	21	7.0
3	Fiasco	INT	9	6	6	21	7.0

The Rookie Class saw the most controversy and the closest battle with only three points separating the four teams on the top. Whilst Atmosfear and RAFSPA Hurricane took gold and silver, Fiasco and Will Cooke To Manifest were tied for bronze after three rounds. Under the count-back rule, Fiasco had won the most recent round and Will Cooke To Manifest were gracious enough not to make the rest of the category stay late into the evening in the vain hope that the weather might improve sufficiently for a jump-off.

With most teams doing their last pre-nationals training in the next few weeks, SonicNutz, Escondido, Unagi and Bodyflight Aerodyne’s thoughts have now turned to the World Cup, considering the international competition, as well as hatching plans for the Fun Flag...