posted Jan 17th, 2005 - The NSL News promised earlier that a DeLand Majik update was in the works. It has been quiet around the team after Majik won the world championship in September last year and also took the gold medals at the USPA Championship 2004 in October. The only news story touching DeLand Majik was posted when Gary Smith left the team to join the new team "DeLand Fire". The NSL audience has been waiting for news as of the team plans for the near future.

The current 4-way world champions still do not have all the details together. However, Solly Williams offered some insights in an interview with NSL News reporter Kurt Gaebel. More details of Williams' career can be found at his NSL Profile, which ends exactly at the time when the South African team Equanimity won the bronze medal at the world meet in 1997 and discontinued. The story of the missing years, which includes the path to the gold medals with DeLand Majik, will soon be added to Williams' profile. Here is the recent interview:

NSL News: Solly, DeLand Majik had a most successful team career over the last two years, topped with the gold medals at the World Championship of Formation Skydiving 2004 in Croatia. What are your feelings and thoughts looking back?

Solly Williams: What a ride, Kurt! If you think that we lost just once and averaged over 22 more then any other team ever and also hold a the 23.2 record which I hope will be around for some time. Such an experience, and I'm sure I'm not alone when I say the reality and success is only recently starting to sink in. Gary, Graham and I were deeply disappointed when Equanimity caved in 1997. It was a hard pill to swallow not only for us but also for Robbie and Fred. Business opportunities presented themselves in such a way that they needed to quit the team. I clearly remember the day when Gary and I reluctantly shook hands on the old basketball court at Skydive Deland and said: "Guess that's it, lets go make some money", as we were all pretty flat broke back then while pursuing our dream. Little did we know that an opportunity to win a world meet five years later would present itself. On the flip side, Doug and Joey were yet to win a nationals and were also dealing with some unfinished business. Our dreams all came true.

Looking back, I can only believe it was part of a greater plan. The French team was awesome over the last few years. They peaked in their home town in 2003 but, in my opinion this team should have dominated on a different scale. I always felt fortunate to beat those guys. We couldn't match their speed in many facets of 4-way, and we could only hope on the experience/choke factor to pull us through.

NSL News: Which teams do you see in contention for the US gold medals in 2005?

Solly Williams: Obviously, there have been some re-shuffles, and the dust hasn't really settled yet either, so it's maybe a little early to comment. Bottom line is Majik is going through some personnel changes, and that means the next best team at nationals last year should be the team to watch. That was the Knights. Bingo! Having said that, I doubt it will be a one horse race. There might be a surprise package or two. It's tough to get to above 21's consistently, let alone 22's. It will be interesting to see what "Fastrax" and the new "Deland Fire" can squeeze out of their year.

NSL News: Which nations do you expect to compete for the medals at the world meet in 2006?

Solly Williams: History dictates that France will duel with the US, and it's a matter of who is the best of the rest. With Majik (USA) and France going through a re-shuffle this means the winning averages will more then likely drop in 2005/2006. I don't want to stand in the way of progress, but I doubt we will see any team consistently averaging over 22 over the next two years. It takes something special for that to happen. I mean talent, smart thinking, hard work and some Majik. This means that teams like Italy, and perhaps Russia, can close the gap and make a run at better then third place.

NSL News: Gary Smith has left the team and will continue with a new team in DeLand. Is this the time to retire the team, or is there a competitive future for DeLand Majik?

Solly Williams: My personal goal back in 2002, when the Majik ball got rolling, was to have continuity with the Deland Majik team. In hindsight, I didn't spend enough energy on this aspect but plan to fix it over the next couple of years. In some respects, the first Deland Majik team is retired, which makes way for a new team and a new start. The team will never be the same without any of the 2004 members. Graham was the first to retire, and quite frankly, the team wouldn't have had the same edge without him. For the record, we are still together in the sense that we will be representing the USA at the World Games in Germany later this year. That will be our last original "Deland Majik" meet. We will be back to peak fitness and do a short camp to get back in the saddle.

NSL News: What are the future plans for Solly Williams?

Solly Williams: I had two major goals for 2005. My health was foremost, and getting myself back to a condition where I didn't need pain tablets and muscle relaxants to skydive was a priority. As you know, Kurt, I have just got off the operating table a few days ago having undergone some long overdue neck surgery. The next four weeks will dictate its success, and the future of my FS competitive skydiving will hinge on this. 2004 was a tough year for me, as well as for the team, having to put up with my problem. I love 4-way, and I would like to stay competing for a few more years and help make the Majik continuity become a reality.

The second goal is to bring to fruition a project that Skydive Deland has been working on behind the scene for the last 18 months or so. We will have a wind tunnel at Skydive Deland in 2005. It will be the biggest tunnel in the world and will also be the most realistic freefall simulator on this side of the Atlantic. I can't say anymore at this stage but stay tuned.

NSL News: Thank you for the interview, Solly.

Solly Williams: Thanks for your interest.

You can discuss the Majik future after the information provided by Solly Williams in the NSL Discussion Forum.