posted Nov 7th, 2007 - It has been a long, exciting and successful year for Airspeed Odyssey. The new USPA champion 2007 and US national 4-way team for 2008 is on top of the 4-way world at the end of the 2007 season in many ways.

One of Odyssey's many top records is the attendance at 4-way competitions this year. Andy Delk (Inside Center), Craig Girard (Outside Center), Mark Kirkby (Tail), Eliana Rodriguez (Point) and Will Pesek (Camera) competed at a total of seven different meets, including two windtunnel competitions.

No other AAA/Open Class team that competed at the USPA Nationals 2007 competed that often. The Golden Knights attended five meets, Team Fastrax and Perris Fury four each.

Airspeed Odyssey's 2007 season began on home turf in Eloy at the Valentine's Meet 2007 in February.

The French national 4-way team, France Maubeuge, competed at the meet, and Perris Fury opened the 2007 season in Eloy, as well. Odyssey won with a 22.2 average, ten points ahead of the French team (21.2 average). Perris Fury posted the team's first meet average above the 20.0 benchmark.

Airspeed's 2007 odyssey across the skydiving world continued with the March trip to Florida. The FSL Shamrock Showdown 2007 was on the agenda. Team Fastrax, the Golden Knights, Norway Arcteryx and DeLand Groove were waiting in DeLand to challenge the Arizona team.

Odyssey's team captain Craig Girard had already mentioned earlier that his team was out to meet the best teams in the world at any time before going to the USPA Nationals 2007. The constant challenges and the meet experiences were supposed to prepare Airspeed Odyssey well for the final showdown in September.

Team Fastrax was the toughest challenger at the FSL Shamrock Showdown 2007, and Odyssey had to work hard to win the 10-round meet (230 - 227). The Golden Knights finished with a 22.2 average at the team's first meet of the 2007 season.

The month of April brought the first trip across the Atlantic Ocean for Airspeed Odyssey. The World Challenge 2007 at Bodyflight Bedford was the first windtunnel competition this year. Team Fastrax made the same trip to Great Britain, and Team XL, Hayabusa Defence and the Russian Sky Panthers were also on the list of new challengers for the Arizona team.

The tunnel competition in Bedford was a key event in 2007 for Airspeed Odyssey, as Craig Girard explained later in an NSL-TV interview. He felt that the experience of a 28.0 average after ten rounds was the breakthrough to a higher performance level for his team.

Team Fastrax was even closer compared to the FSL Shamrock Showdown 2007 a month earlier. One single point separated the two top teams at the end of the meet. XL, Hayabusa Defence and Sky Panthers were left in the Airspeed/Fastrax dust.

Airspeed Odyssey had already seen and defeated the best teams in the world after only two meets. However, it was only the beginning of the season, and Odyssey was still hungry for more meets and more opponents.

May and June brought a break from competition and only training for Odyssey. The next trip in July included the crossing of the Atlantic once again, only much further to the east this time.

The Malevsky Cup 2007 in Russia was on the Airspeed agenda.

Team Fastrax matched the Airspeed travel plans once again. It was already the third time that both teams would compete with each other in 2007. The Malevsky Cup 2007 turned out to become a 4-way showdown between Russia and the USA.

Three Russian world-class teams were in Stupino to challenge the two US top teams. The Sky Panthers competed with Airspeed and Fastrax in a real skydiving competition this time. Black Cat and Crossroads joined the Sky Panthers on Russian home turf.

None of the challenging teams had a chance at the Malevsky Cup 2007. Airspeed Odyssey really looked like a new team after the experience of the tunnel competition in Bedford. The 26.0 average after the ten rounds in Russia was even too much for Team Fastrax (24.7), which had been so close at the earlier two meets. The Russian teams posted world-class scores (23.8 - 23.6 - 22.6) and it just wasn't even good enough to stay close.

There was another meet on the schedule for Airspeed Odyssey the same month. The team now traveled from Arizona to Carolina to meet the Golden Knights on the Army team's home turf in Raeford. The Paraclete XP Money Meet 2007 turned out to be much more challenging for Odyssey than the team might have expected after the incredible results at the previous meets.

The Golden Knights seriously threatened Airspeed and ended up the same single point behind as Team Fastrax in April. It was a serious warning and a good experience for the Airspeed competitors, as Craig Girard confirmed later. His team had performed more conservatively and not as aggressive as in Russia. He said that all Airspeed members realized that they always have to try to win each round with the highest possible score if they want to stay ahead of the competition.

The Raeford meet had now given the Golden Knights more confidence, which was not the best timing for Airspeed Odyssey. The Paraclete XP Money Meet 2007 in Raeford was the team's last test before the USPA Nationals 2007. The FAI World Cup 2007 in August did not fit to the competition schedule of any US team and turned out to be an exclusive European event.

Airspeed Odyssey had learned enough in Raeford though and was prepared to apply the comprehensive collection of meet experiences of 2007 at the USPA Nationals 2007 in September. The results of the meet at Skydive Chicago are well known, as the NSL News reported live from Ottawa.

The new USPA 4-way champion found a perfect combination of aggressive competition performance and accurate execution for the judges. The odyssey to the several different locations this year and the large collection of meet experiences with this line-up paid back well for the Arizona team. Airspeed Odyssey won by 9 points over Team Fastrax and 23 points over the Golden Knights at the end of the 10-round meet.

The very last meet of the 2007 season brought Airspeed Odyssey back to their home turf. $10,000 were in the purse for a windtunnel competition at SkyVenture Arizona in October. The home team won the $5,000 for the first place with a 26.1 average. Perris Fury (23.5), Team Aeon (18.2) and Arizona Divewerkz competed at the same meet.

The 2007 competition season is over for Airspeed Odyssey, but the training has already continued. The big goal is actually the first set of 4-way gold medals for this line-up at the World Championship of Formation Skydiving 2008 in France. There is not much time for rest, as the competition in France will be held from Pilatus Porters with right-hand doors.

Airspeed has already completed a trip to Raeford in October that included low-altitude jumps from a Pilatus Porter and tunnel training in the new Paraclete XP windtunnel. Another trip to DeLand may follow if the Pilatus Porter in Eloy will not be ready for team training early enough.

The Airspeed competition schedule for 2008 will not be much different compared to 2007. The team is fully aware of the value that competition experience brings to a team. Several competitions are already on the team agenda, including the FSL Shamrock Showdown 2008, and will create a new meet odyssey for the 2008 season. The Airspeed goal will remain unchanged: meet as many strong opponents as possible and find the toughest challenges, then apply the experiences at the final showdown in France.