posted Dec 20th, 2011 - The SDC Rhythm XP tryouts were not the only recent indoor event. Mass Defiance member Ben Liston once again put together the annual windtunnel competition at SkyVenture New Hampshire, which was held on December 10th this year, the weekend before Rhythm invited their candidates for the selection of the team's new Center Inside.

One of the candidates, Rodney Cruce, competed at the indoor meet and won the AAA Class with a 22.0 average after ten rounds. DeLand Shmeland also had Sally Hathaway, Ari Perelman and James "Bu" Klinge in the lineup. The first three places in the AAA/Open Class went to the same three teams and in the same order as in 2010, only the distances were different, and the lineups, as well.

Ben Liston's own team, Mass Defiance in its different variations, was only two points behind Shmeland last year. Former Airspeed member Dennis Rook flew with Ben Liston, Brian Stephens and John Silva in 2010. Scott Latinis took Dennis Rook's slot on December 10th, and Shmeland replaced him with Rodney Cruce at the same event.

The different lineups worked better for Shmeland, as the distance between both teams was significant this year. Fallout, bronze medal winner in the Advanced Class at the USPA Nationals 2011, competed with exactly the same lineup as in 2010 and the USPA Nationals this year.

Another USPA medalist of 2011 finished in 1st place of the AA Class competition at the New Hampshire tunnel. T Minus 01 had won the AA/Intermediate Class competition at the USPA Nationals this year with a 12.0 average after a jumpoff round with Dallas Khaos XP and now mastered the ten easier indoor rounds with a 24.1 average.

Ben Liston always modifies the dive pools of the competition classes to fit the 12-foot tunnel chamber and applied once again four different categories this year. Several experienced competitors attended the competition in more than one category to help beginner lineups as player coaches.

December 10th, 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	11,Q,G,B	J,18,H,6	22,D,9	F,E,21,5	17,P,10	15,O,7	N,16,L,14	A,C,K,M,3	14,K,P,M	H,D,5,7	Total	Avg
1	DeLand Shmeland XP	21	21	19	23	18	23	20	25	25	25	220	22.0
2	Mass Defiance	20	19	18	20	18	20	20	22	21	26	204	20.4
3	Fallout	19	19	12	21	16	17	16	22	23	23	188	18.8
Rank	AA Class	J,P,Q,N	C,B,O,6	A,14,M	15,L,E	F,H,9	G,K,7	11,6	9,A,15	F,H,M,O	7,N,J	Total	Avg
1	T Minus 01	33	23	18	19	28	18	13	19	47	23	241	24.1
2	Sky Ninjas	26	21	15	16	31	19	14	19	49	19	229	22.9
3	50 50	33	22	15	16	31	19	10	19	37	21	223	22.3

Ben Liston reported some more details of the event:

"The 4th annual 4way NH Tunnel Meet drew record participation with 109 formation skydiving competitors who formed 35 4way teams. The grassroots philosophy of the event continued this year; countless people pitched in in various ways to keep the costs down for competitors, and four nationally rated judges scored the 295 meet rounds.

The unique meet format began with a morning Rookie meet that paired two Rookie Class competitors with two veteran flyers for a 5-round event, then the afternoon meet shifted to a 10-round event for experienced 4-way competitors. There were no cash purses for the event, but competitors vied for medals, bragging rights, and for prizes that came from the following generous event sponsors: SkyVenture New Hampshire, Skysystems USA, United Parachute Technologies, Chuting Star, Gu Sports, Bonehead Composites, Skydive Pepperell, The Radisson of Nashua, and Bev Suits. The 2012 event will happen in December next year with the intent of inviting other 12ft tunnels around the country run concurrent competitions with the same draw and rules."