posted May 23rd, 2006 - The forecast called for a windy weekend, and the wind did blow, but it couldn’t keep the die hard competitors away. The beginning of the first day (Saturday) did show promise, with six teams showing up ready for the meet. Along with the threat of wind gusts, the following teams also blew in: O2 Project in the AAA Class, Controlled Descent and Air Pollution in the AA Class, plus three Rookie class teams: CK1 Snatch Force, Gong Show and USA Skydive.

Unfortunately, Mother Nature cooperated very well with the windy forecast. This resulted in jump number restrictions for safety and left some members of Gong Show and USA Skydive grounded. In true skydiving devotion, these dedicated souls decided to stick around to see if things would get better. The remaining four teams pressed on.

In the AAA Class, O2 Project only did the first three rounds and finished with a 12.6 average. O2 Project member Tom Petzold went on to provide the judging for the meet, while two of his team mates, Karl and Cheri Schuch, helped the Rookie Challenge teams with free coaching.

The competition in the AA Class looked close after the first round. Controlled Descent opened the meet with a 9-pointer, and Air Pollution scored 8 points for Q-13-8. Air Pollution fired right back with 12 points in the second round and took the lead after Controlled Descent’s 9-pointer.

Rookie Class team CK1 Snatch Force was able to complete one round under the windy conditions on Saturday and got 8 points posted on the scoreboard. Then the wind got too bad for any more jumping.

With Sunday’s forecast calling for even windier conditions by lunch time, Skydive Cross Keys made a most generous offer and demonstrated the drop zone's true team support. The management offered to have a pilot and the manifest ready for a take-off at 8 am sharp. Way to go, guys.

Controlled Descent and Air Pollution went on to finish the meet. Air Pollution dominated the AA Class match-up on the second day of the competition and finished with a 10.0 average. Controlled Descent completed the first meet of the 2006 season with an 8.2 meet average.

The friendly rivalry between Air Pollution and Controlled Descent goes far back in the MidAtlantic Skydiving League history. Both teams faced each other directly three times in the 2004 season, which was the closest one as of the scores. Both teams ended up with a 6.6 season average. However, Air Pollution won by one single point over the whole 2004 season (119 - 118).

The MASL 2005 season brought the two teams together at four different meets, and both teams finished the season with increased season averages, compared to the 2004 season. However, Air Pollution improved the scoring level significantly to an 8.6 season average (7.0 - 8.7 - 8.3 - 8.8), while Controlled Descent finished with a 7.0 season average (6.8 - 7.0 - 6.8 - 7.2) and had to accept Air Pollution pulling away.

Both teams are obviously motivated to continue the MASL race in the AA Class this year, and Controlled Descent has already caught up with Air Pollution's performance level last year. The constant pressure seems to push both teams to new performance levels since Air Pollution was obviously ready for the 2006 challenge. The team opened the 2006 season with a 10.0 average and successfully defended the upper hand in this 2-team race of the MASL AA Class competition.

Rookie Class team CK1 Snatch Force went on to complete two more rounds on Sunday and finished the meet with an 8.3 average after three rounds. This result placed the MASL team on the top of the Rookie Class leaderboard of last weekend's competition.

As predicted, the winds picked up again around 11:30 am and brought the competition at Cross Keys to the end. However, the support by the host made it possible for the teams to put scores on the leaderboard. In fact, CK1 Snatch Force was not the only MASL team on the very top last weekend. Air Pollution's 10.0 average also took the first place out of 20 teams in the AA Class rankings last weekend. Congratulations to the MidAtlantic Skydiving League.

Written by MASL Director Mike Minicozzi and NSL News