posted Oct 29th, 2007 - No scores of the NSL Championship 2007 were posted on Friday or Saturday, and the weather forecast for Sunday was not very promising. However, there were enough other events in DeLand last weekend that made it easier to stand the weather pain.

In fact, the combination of not much hope for jumping on Sunday and a great crowd on site to celebrate Skydive DeLand's 25-year anniversary and Norman Kent's filming achievements was not the greatest foundation for an early start on Sunday morning.

8:00 am was the official take-off time for the first competition load on Sunday, even though nobody really expected reasonable jumping conditions in the morning or at all. It was a surprise when the unpredictable Florida weather was good enough to get the jump planes in the air.

As a result of the surprising weather conditions and the celebration at the Perfect Spot the night before, the first few hours on Sunday morning became a very challenging situation for meet management, teams, competitors and videographers.

There were quite a few people who did not make it as early to the dropzone as it might have been on another day... The first boarding calls were announced when some teams were still scrambling to gather the complete line-ups, find alternates or videographers. Perris Fury's videographer Niklas Daniel was on each load to cover as many teams as possible in the morning until he got enough help.

It was a big challenge for everybody on competition site, and it turned out to be a very successful group effort. Eventually, scores for two complete rounds could be posted, the trophies for all four competition classes were taken to three different states, and the NSL Championship 2007 had a happy ending.

The celebrations on Saturday evening and night paid back well for the unfortunate weather situation last weekend. Skydive DeLand owner Bob Hallett welcomed a big crowd with skydiving celebrities of the last three decades, visitors for the aniversary party and regulars in DeLand.

Hallett moved to DeLand 25 years ago and built the skydiving center literally from scratch. Tom Piras was his partner for many years. Skydive DeLand is now one of the most popular and professional skydiving centers in the world.

It was a coincidence that Solly Williams, who joined the Skydive DeLand management years ago, also celebrated his birthday Saturday night at the Perfect Spot. Williams came to DeLand when his South African team Equanimity prepared for the World Championship of Formation Skydiving in Turkey 1997 where he won his first international medal with a 3rd place finish. He settled in DeLand and then became 4-way world champion in 2004 with the US team DeLand Majik.

Two of the three reigning 4-way world champions from DeLand, Fire members Shannon Pilcher and Ian Bobo, attended the Saturday night celebrations, as well. DeLand Fire's Outside Center, Gary Smith, was just on the way back from his summer residence in the Netherlands last weekend and could not join the party.

Shannon Pilcher was also ready to help as an event judge for the competition and provide the present teams with hints and advise. There was not much work for him on Saturday, and the meet situation on Sunday did not allow anybody enough time to pay attention to anything but trying to get in the air.

One of the highlights on Saturday evening was Norman Kent's presentation. One of the most experienced and skilled professionals in skydiving videography and photography, celebrated his 32 years in the sport.

The celebration included a USPA presentation of the gold medal for meritorious services that night. USPA President Glen Bangs had the honor to present the award to Norman Kent. Kent's son Ramsey represented the next generation of skydivers when his father introduced him to the cheering crowd Saturday evening.

Skydive DeLand featured Norman Kent's artwork, photography, videos and movies throughout the whole weekend at the dropzone's facilities. The Saturday night celebration was the highlight of the show.

The 25-year anniversary celebration and the Norman Kent show also included a special movie session.

Bill Booth, inventor of the tandem jump and the 3-ring release system, helped the crowd in the Perfect Spot to some of the oldest and best skydiving movies, like "Wings" or "Skydive" by Carl Boenish.

Many in the attending crowd grew up as skydivers with these motivating movies and its "actors" as their role models and heros. Some of the visitors could even watch themselves in the movies.

It was obviously a very fun and entertaining event on Saturday evening and night. However, it also made it more challenging to get the meet started next morning when the weather was surprisingly supportive.

Two rounds of the NSL Championship 2007 were completed, and only three teams missed the completion of Round 3. Optic Nerve had already given up on the weather at the end of Saturday and left the competition site. Perris Fury was prepared to join the AAA Class competition if the circumstances would have allowed it. Unfortunately, there was no chance to coordinate for a jump order on Sunday morning that would have allowed Perris Fury to compete, as well. The NSL News will follow up with more details of the actual competition.