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Unfortunately, the coverage did not include much of the US 4way competition at all since no team competed in the 4way Open Class. This leaves out a big part of the 4way world where US teams are always in contention for top positions. Only the Golden Knights competed for the USA in 8way and in the female 4way category in Germany.
One of the best US 4way teams was at the World Cup but did not compete in 4way. The Golden Knights Gold are a part of the 8way lineup and one of the best 4way teams in the world. The NSL News explained earlier why the Golden Knights focused only on the 8way competition. The German 4way team Paratec-Saar was probably glad to see the Gold team skipping 4way...
One of the main question is whether any of the other four top teams will be able to make Arizona Airspeed's life at least challenging in Eloy. It seems to be very difficult this year to make a well qualified guess since those five teams have only met once at the same time and at the same place, and this occasion was an indoor meet, the Paraclete XP Indoor Skydiving Championships 2011.
However, the NSL News tried to put all the pieces of this year's 4way puzzle together and reviewed all leaderboards where at least two of the five top teams posted scores. The Paraclete meet was the first one of those events and the only one with all five teams. It was also the only meet for Perris Fury this year, and even the Paraclete indoor scores don't say much at all since Fury did not have the complete lineup available. John Hamilton filled in for Uli Steuwe who had a late start into the 2011 season due to shoulder surgeries.
Paraclete Indoor 2011 | Rd. 1 | Rd. 2 | Rd. 3 | Rd. 4 | Rd. 5 | Rd. 6 | Rd. 7 | Rd. 8 | Rd. 9 | Rd. 10 | Total | Avg | |
Rank | AAA Class | A,20,18 | 6,5,14 | 12,2,C | F,21,3 | G,17,O,H | 8,4,13 | P,K,16,B | E,L,22,15 | 7,Q,9 | 1,19,J | Total | Avg |
1 | Arizona Airspeed | 24 | 25 | 23 | 27 | 39 | 20 | 38 | 27 | 40 | 25 | 288 | 28.8 |
2 | Paraclete XP4 | 24 | 24 | 21 | 23 | 36 | 19 | 33 | 26 | 36 | 22 | 264 | 26.4 |
3 | Golden Knights Gold | 21 | 24 | 19 | 24 | 37 | 20 | 34 | 26 | 34 | 24 | 263 | 26.3 |
4 | SDC Rhythm XP | 22 | 20 | 20 | 24 | 32 | 17 | 33 | 24 | 31 | 22 | 245 | 24.5 |
5 | Perris Fury | 24 | 21 | 18 | 23 | 34 | 17 | 27 | 20 | 31 | 19 | 234 | 23.4 |
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Three of the five teams were back at the Shamrock Showdown 2011, and the order between them was exactly the same. Airspeed won and beat Aerodyne Aerokart once again and NMP-PCH Hayabusa at the same time. Paraclete XP4 and SDC Rhythm XP were even farther behind than at the indoor competition.
An interesting aspect at the Shamrock Showdown was the fact that Rhythm had caught up with XP4 at the outdoor meet and performed on the same scoring level.
Shamrock Showdown 2011 | Rd. 1 | Rd. 2 | Rd. 3 | Rd. 4 | Rd. 5 | Rd. 6 | Rd. 7 | Rd. 8 | Rd. 9 | Rd. 10 | Total | Avg | |
Rank | AAA Class | N,H,3,1 | J,4,C,13 | 7,17,19 | B,20,15 | 12,22,M | F,18,2 | E,16,9 | G,8,21 | P,A,11,14 | 10,Q,D,L | Total | Avg |
1 | Arizona Airspeed | 25 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 22 | 24 | 29 | 249 | 24.9 |
4 | Paraclete XP4 | 18 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 18 | 23 | 20 | 199 | 19.9 |
5 | SDC Rhythm XP | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 15 | 18 | 24 | 19 | 20 | 23 | 197 | 19.7 |
World Challenge | Rd. 1 | Rd. 2 | Rd. 3 | Rd. 4 | Rd. 5 | Rd. 6 | Rd. 7 | Rd. 8 | Rd. 9 | Rd. 10 | Total | Avg | |
Rank | AAA Class | 10,C,5 | 20,P,2 | H,M,Q,K,A | L,J,16,12 | E,7,15 | O,11,22 | 14,B,17 | 6,13,9 | 4,3,21 | 1,G,8 | Total | Avg |
2 | Arizona Airspeed | 26 | 24 | 60 | 27 | 34 | 24 | 27 | 28 | 23 | 25 | 298 | 29.8 |
5 | SDC Rhythm XP | 22 | 23 | 56 | 23 | 27 | 20 | 24 | 21 | 19 | 22 | 257 | 25.7 |
Midway Battle 2011 | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6 | Round 7 | Total | Avg | |
Rank | AAA Class | 18,A,3 | 13,20,Q | 11,M,D,2 | 5,G,21 | K,O,1,10 | 17,P,C,14 | B,9,6 | Total | Avg |
1 | Arizona Airspeed | 24 | 21 | 27 | 24 | 23 | 28 | 28 | 175 | 25.0 |
2 | SDC Rhythm XP | 20 | 18 | 21 | 22 | 18 | 23 | 25 | 147 | 21.0 |
Carolina July 2011 | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6 | Total | Avg | |
Rank | AAA Class | H,7,19 | C,J,17,11 | K,P,12,G | M,8,15 | L,F,16,6 | 9,18,10 | Total | Avg |
1 | Paraclete XP4 | 24 | 23 | 23 | 19 | 23 | 20 | 132 | 22.0 |
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Carolina September 2011 | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6 | Total | Avg | |
Rank | AAA Class | 17,5,16 | L,A,9,21 | 20,15,2 | 19,M,1 | Q,22,E,F | B,P,13,G | Total | Avg |
1 | Golden Knights Gold | 27 | 23 | 17 | 22 | 24 | 19 | 132 | 22.0 |
Perris Fury, Paraclete XP4, Golden Knights and SDC Rhythm XP will be pushing each other, and they will be hunting Arizona Airspeed at the same time. Mark Kirkby is the only Airspeed member who knows how to win a national championship in 4way. Paraclete XP4 has two members (John Eagle, Kirk Verner) who have done that before, and Golden Knight Kurt Isenbarger won the 4way event at the USPA Nationals in 2002. At least those two teams have the same experience level that Airspeed has.
SDC Rhythm XP has tried to balance indoor and outdoor training carefully but has to deal with with the Midwest weather while Airspeed trains in Arizona. The Golden Knights have mostly practiced 8way exits this year and had very limited 4way training at all. Perris Fury had the late start and literally no competition experience with the new lineup. After all, it still seems as if Arizona Airspeed is the top contender in 4way.