posted Mar 3rd, 2005 - Yesterday's NSL News story included the note that the AAA Class team "Perris Storm" would be introduced soon. The first meet video of the newly formed team was already posted with the complete NSL-TV coverage of round one. The NSL News became interested in the Perris Storm story when the team posted a 10.3 average in the AAA Class competition of the SSL Valentine's Meet 2005. Storm's Inside Center, Dominic Guzman, provided enough information for the introduction of the team.

Each of the team members competed with a different team in the Southwest Skydiving League 2004 season. Guzman began competing with "Perris Pending" in 2004. Tony Domenico, Dominic Guzman, Steve Salomon, Justin Shekoski and Lori Thomas on video attended the SSL meet in June and won the AA Class competition with an 8.8 average. Tony Domenico was seriously injured in a car crash shortly afterwards, which grounded him for the rest of the year.

Guzman accepted an open slot offered by the AA Class team "Perris Precision" when Pending could not continue. Precision attended the two remaining SSL meets with Guzman (9.0 - 8.6) and finished as a guest team in eighth position at the Intermediate Class competition of the USPA Championship 2004 with a 9.1 average. Guzman works for Square1 and as a load organizer in Perris. He also organizes wind tunnel groups on the weekends.

Mike Anderson is Storm's Point and had been a "Perris Rebels" member of the last few years. The Rebels competed at two SSL 2004 meets in the AA Class (7.7 - 9.8) and took the third place as a guest team in USPA's Intermediate Class championship in Perris with a 10.6 average. Swiss national champion Nina Kuebler was the player coach for the Rebels and could not win USPA medals. Anderson decided to move up into the AAA Class for the 2005 season. Anderson's teammate with the Rebels, videographer Don Simonds, joined Perris Storm, as well, and will continue to shoot videos.

Bill Morrison, Storm's Outside Center, started his competition career last year, as well. Morrison has worked together with Guzman as a load organizer in Perris. However, he joined a different AA Class team from Perris, the "Perris-Ites". The Perris-Ites with Morrison attended five of the six SSL meets (5.7 - 4.7 - 5.8 - 7.2 - 6.8) and scored the highest average of the team's 2004 season (7.4) at the USPA Championship 2004 on home turf.

It must have been a fun year for Morrison. His Storm teammate Guzman mentioned that Morrison enjoyed the trip: "He started out just wanting a fun team and quickly found out that he likes this 4-way stuff. Now he is eager to do really well in 2005." The AAA Class with longer sequences, memory and possibly mirror images would also become Morrison's 2005 challenge.

Andi McKnew is the Tail for Perris Storm and the most experienced AAA Class competitor of the team. She already trained and competed in the AAA Class throughout the 2003 and 2004 season. "Perris KII" was her team at the May meet of the Southwest Skydiving League 2004 (8.5 average), and former FX and Airspeed member Christopher Irwin was KII's player coach. McKnew was also a 2003 member of "Audacity" with Christy Frikken and Beat Steffen.

Perris KII was a guest team at USPA's Advanced Class competition in 2004. The Russian world class 4-way and 8-way competitor, Elena Vertiprakhova, had joined the KII line-up for the competition in Perris, together with her Russian 8-way team's videographer, Alena Chistova. The guest team KII finished in 10th position with a 10.7 average.

Perris Storm's 10.3 average in a relatively slow 6-round competition at the SSL Valentine's Meet 2005 is promising and already very close to McKnew's best AAA Class meet average of 10.7 with KII. Storm plans to make 300 jumps this year. All members are tunnel addicts and plan to use Perris SkyVenture as much as possible for the team training. Former Airspeed veteran Dan B.C. will be one of the coaches for Perris Storm, along with a few others who have not been confirmed at this point. The next Storm scores can be expected at the SSL meet on March 19 in Perris.