posted Feb 12th, 2008 - The first scores of the 2008 season are posted, and they are not coming from Bedford, Arizona or Florida. The Carolina Skydiving League held a windtunnel competition in Raeford last Saturday. A total of 14 teams attended the 5-round competition, and the Rookie Class teams enjoyed a very promising participation with eight lineups.

The logistics of the windtunnel competition required each team to complete two or three rounds per 15-minute flying session. Two teams, Paraclete XP (AAA) and Last Minute (AA), even completed all five rounds within one flying session.

Paraclete XP posted the highest scores with a 20.2 meet average. The lineup consists of Paraclete XP owner Tim D'Annunzio and his son John D'Annunzio, former Airspeed 4-way and 8-way world champion and Paraclete business manager Kirk Verner, plus Andy Honigbaum who competed with Arizona Airspeed, as well, before he moved to North Carolina.

Fast Fockers and Raeford Trailer Trash came back from the 2007 season in the AA/Intermediae Class and competed in the A Class last weekend. However, the A Class competition will not be continued in Carolina this year, and last weekend's teams will have to move back up into the AA Class at the CASL outdoor meets.

Carolina Windfall and M.O.M. returned into the Rookie Class competition at the windtunnel meet. The other six lineups in this category were new names in the 4-way community.

Golden Knight Eric Heinsheimer was the event judge in Raeford. The Carolina Skydiving League will make a contribution to the Wounded Warrior's Fund in his name for the help at the meet. Eric Heinsheimer is the alternate for the Golden Knights 4-way team and also for the Knight Trax 8-way team. He currently recovers from a neck surgery and will soon be ready to train and compete again.

The tunnel meet weekend also served as the annual gathering of the CASL community for a planning session. Dan Winkelstein was elected as the CASL Director for the 2008 season, and he announced the meet schedule during the meeting.

The Carolina Skydiving League will offer an 8-way competition at three of the five events on Sunday. Canopy Piloting will also be included on Saturday at the meets in Raeford and Skydive Carolina. Former Angry Beez member Jan Lane agreed to help at all the meets with 4-way coaching and judging.

CASL Director Dan Winkelstein added that Carolina ICE showed the team's appreciation for the league's help in 2007 by presenting a framed picture, which will be displayed at the Paraclete XP windtunnel. He concluded the summary of the CASL meeting with a thank-you note for all the food and drinks that were available for the participants at the tunnel meet. However, he added that there was not enough beer...