posted May 22nd, 2006 - The first big multi-league meet weekend of the 2006 season has been completed. The scores of 48 teams are already posted, and three leagues will provide their updates very soon. One of the meets in Europe was completely weathered out, as Gerhard Schut reported from the Netherlands:

"This weekend we made an attempt to launch the first competition of the Dutch Handicap Cup 2006. Three teams had registered for the A Class competition, Alles is Relatief, 4 Get-it and Tuthola's. We had some cancelations beforehand due to team changes and injuries. Unfortunately, the weather did not really cooperate this weekend, so we had to keep it down to a creeper contest between these three teams on Saturday, when we completed the first three rounds on the ground."

It did not get much better on Sunday. The weather forecast predicted even more rain, and the meet was eventually called in the early afternoon. Gerhard Schut said that the teams saw "some glimpses of blue sky, but these were rather small and moving fast." Teams and competitors in the Netherlands will have to wait until June 16 when the Tomscat Trophy will hopefully have better weather conditions.

The German Deutsche Sky Liga had two meets running at the same time, one in the northern and the other one in the southern part of the country. The weather was not much better than in the Netherlands. However, the southern league completed all rounds, and the northern part of the DSL managed to complete four rounds under windy conditions.

A total of 15 teams competed in Germany, 12 in the AAA Class and three in the A Class. League founder and manager, FAI judge and IPC Competition Committee member, Dr. Rainer "Exi" Hoenle, updated the DSL website with scores and comments throughout the whole weekend. The NSL News will follow up with more information of this event.

The Mideast Skydiving League had a very slow start into the 2006 season with only two teams competing, while the Florida Skydiving League event at Skydive City saw the effect of the summer situation already in May. Only three teams competed in Zephyrhills. However, the scores were also uploaded round by round, and the competition between DSL and FSL teams made it an interesting afternoon on the internet. The NSL News will also follow up with the FSL meet story later.

The Ranch Skydiving League got its first scores posted Saturday evening and completed its scoreboard on Sunday. The RSL celebrated a successful comeback with a total of six teams completing four rounds. The weather in New York upstate did not allow the completion of all six rounds.

Southwest Skydiving League Director Erin Murphy provided exciting information from the US west coast. The total number of 11 teams at Perris Valley Skydiving was even higher then the participation at the SSL season opener, the Valentine's Meet 2006. The scores in the AAA Class were even more impressive.

Elsinore Gravity with Lou Ascione (Inside Center), Melanie Curtis (Point), John Hamilton (Outside Center) and Steven Simar (Tail) visited from the nearby drop zone and SSL host in Elsinore and left the rest of the whole AAA Class field last weekend in the dust with excellent scores. The relatively slow competition draw, which was provided by Germany's DSL, did not slow down Elsinore Gravity.

The SSL team had posted its first 2006 scores at the SSL April meet in Eloy. The NSL News had commented the April race with Thunder on NSL-TV with several stories. Elsinore Gravity finished with a 17.7 average by then.

The local top contender, Perris Fury, did not compete last weekend since the team members had accepted player coach positions in several teams for the meet in Perris. The first direct showdown between these two SSL top contenders was once again postponed.

Perris Fury had posted an 18.7 average at the Valentine's Meet in February with a significantly faster competition draw. Elsinore Gravity finished the slow 6-round competition last weekend with an 18.2 average. It seems as if both teams are heading toward a serious horse race at one of the upcoming SSL meets.

Elsinore Gravity was still not without AAA Class competition in Perris last weekend. UK's national 4-way team in the Women's Class, Perris AirKix, delivered a serious message to France and any other contenders for the gold medals at the World Meet 2006 in Germany. AirKix with Julia Foxwell, Emma Hammersley, Amanda Kemp and Claire Scott could not really challenge Elsinore Gravity for the first place at the SSL meet. However, the 16.0 average has its own value and meaning.

French national coach Jerome David mentioned in an update for the NSL News on March 8 that his "personal goal for the team is to reach a 19-point average." It seemed as if the talent and the history of the team would allow such a scoring and performance level, which would almost guarantee gold medals in the Women's Class. Other contenders on a 19-point average level were not in sight in 2004 and last year.

This situation might have changed after last weekend's results in Perris. The Perris AirKix 16.0 average puts the UK national team into a position not too far from France's goals. The French team might face serious competition at the World Meet in August. SSL Director Erin Murphy said that video footage of the meet is on its way to the NSL office, and the NSL News will follow with more information.