posted May 25th, 2007 - The upcoming weekend will kick off the 2007 season at three different locations. The Ranch Skydiving League at the Blue Sky Ranch in Upstate New York is ready to send several teams into the races of the AAA Class and the AA Class. Christine Kelley has handed over the management of the league affairs to veteran skydiver and competitor Roger Cunha, who has prepared the league for the season opener.

Roger Cunha competed in the Point position with Ranch Pulse last year. His team, with Brian Ball (Tail), Dimitri Kavour (Inside Center), Bob Schuyler (Outside Center), Georgie Pulman and Mike Shatalov on camera in the line-up, won the USPA Nationals 2006 in the AA/Intermediate Class with a 13.5 average.

Ranch Pulse will come back for the 2007 season and compete in the AAA Class this year. Roger Cunha will be able to use the momentum that Christine Kelley has created in the past two years and the success of his own team to continue with the upswing of 4-way competition at the Ranch.

The preparations for the season opener of the Mideast Skydiving League at the Fastrax headquarters, Start Skydiving in Ohio, were interrupted by an unfortunate accident. Fastrax staff member Gene Newsom, team captain of the Fastrax Demo Team, was injured last Saturday. Start Skydiving provided the details of the accident.

"On Saturday May 20, the Team Fastrax Demonstration Team was performing for the Thundering Hearts at Camp Joy, Ohio. Thundering Hearts is a support group of families with children that have heart disease. Fastrax was jumping for the children. The demo consisted of six Pro-rated skydivers and was led by our demo team captain, Gene Newsom. There were more than 2500 people on hand to watch the performance. The landing area was secured by more than 40 adults and an experienced ground crew. The landings of the first five team members were uneventful. Upon landing, they waited to gather the 3500 square foot American Flag that Gene Newsom was preparing to land. As Gene approached the LZ, a child that had been sleeping in a cabin was awakened by the cheering crowd and ran out of the cabin into Gene's landing pattern. Gene took evasive action to avoid hitting this child, which placed Gene himself in grave danger. His actions caused the 75 lb weight on the flag to swing high and penetrate a tree which caused Gene to fall approximately 40 feet to the ground. His actions saved this young child from injury or possible death.

Gene was rushed to Clinton Memorial Hospital where the emergency team performed X-rays and a CAT scan to determine the extent of his injuries. It was determined that Gene had broken his back and needed to be airlifted to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio. Gene was stabilized and his family was consulted with regards to the surgery that would be required. The L1 was completely destroyed and there are multiple fractures below the L6. On Sunday morning, Gene underwent surgery on his spine and the results are nothing short of a miracle. The surgeons placed 6 screws and a 9" rod in Gene's back. They looked at the spinal canal and nerves and reported that there appears to be no damage. Gene should make a full recovery within 6 months."

The Fastrax management decided to dedicate the entire Memorial Day weekend at Start Skydiving in Lebanon, Ohio, to Gene and Nita Newsom and gave the event a special name: the "Gene is The Man Boogie". The weekend includes the first MESL meet of the 2007 season, and Team Fastrax invites skydivers to join the event and help:

"We invite everyone who knows Gene and Nita to come out and show your support both emotionally and financially. 100% of all revenue from tandems, fun slots, and everything else will go to support Gene and Nita during his recovery. Please come out and show your support. Norman Kent will be on hand filming a get well card. Having each of you wishing Gene well will be awesome."

The Mideast Skydiving League has a new league manager, as well. Fastrax' Point, Niklas Hemlin, has taken over the management from Randy Connell. He said that all Fastrax members will do their best to support all teams that attend the league meets at Start Skydiving.

The Czech Republic in Europe is the third location where the 2007 season will be launched this weekend. Jan Klapka joined the league network a few years ago and created an unknown momentum of 4-way competition in his country. He is a 4-way competitor himself, and his Bad Boys have been a part of the league in the Czech Republic. Jan Klapka continues with the league operation this year, and the first meet is coming up this weekend.