Did you know that the 4-way winners were already honored on Tuesday evening? posted: Oct 25th, 2008 Tonight is the time when the official event banquet of the USPA Nationals 2008 will take place at Skydive Arizona in Eloy. The award ceremonies for the specific events were already held the same evening when each competition was concluded.
The procedure was different the last time when USPA Nationals were hosted by Skydive Arizona in 2006. The award ceremonies for all events were also held on Saturday, as a part of the official event banquet. The winning teams of the early events had to wait the whole week to receive their medals.
This year's event management adjusted the schedule and handed... (more)
Did you know that attendance is down and quality is up? posted: Oct 24th, 2008 Back to the USPA Nationals 2008 where the event week continues with the traditional 16-way and 10-way competitions. The NSL News took a closer look at the participation records at USPA Nationals for the time period between 1997 and 2008. The results are interesting and surely reveal a declining attendance in 4-way, especially in the Advanced and Intermediate Class. (more)
Did you know that the French 8-way team is probably the best one Tim Wagner has ever seen? posted: Oct 23rd, 2008 Arizona Airspeed is the old and new USPA 8-way champion, and the five Airspeed Odyssey members (Eliana Rodriguez, Craig Girard, Mark Kirkby, Andy Delk, Steve Nowak) repeated last year's double gold feature. Airspeed's 18.3 average was more than enough to leave USA 8 far behind. The two recent personnel changes hurt the US national team of 2008 and at the World Meet 2008 more than expected and caused the team's average of 20.0 in August to drop by more than three points. It will be interesting to see what Arizona Airspeed will decide to do with the 8-way title this year.
The French 8-way team... (more)
Did you know that the Beck's Oktoberfest is back on tab? posted: Oct 22nd, 2008 It is a 21.2 average for the French 8-way machine after six rounds. Two faster rounds are coming up in the morning, and a 22.4 average or higher might already be on the scoreboard after Round 8. Everything is still possible.
Jerome David said that it was a nice coincidence for him when the team scored a great 20-pointer in Round 4 while he was in the NSL/PD News room. He commented in the interview that his team might be too tired to go after the record. He may change his mind now...
In the meantime, Larry Hill must have heard the desperate cry for beer help at the NSL News. Today's last message... (more)
Did you know that Airspeed Odyssey is 15 - 0 in two years? posted: Oct 21st, 2008 All teams completed ten rounds in the early afternoon, and Airspeed Odyssey did it again, this time with a 24.2 average and seven points over France Maubeuge. This makes it a 15 - 0 record for the 4-way world champions over a 2-year period. In other words: Airspeed Odyssey competed at 15 different indoor and outdoor competitions ever since this lineup was founded and won every single time. Does that say enough?
The NSL News followed Airspeed Odyssey around when it was time for the final round. Jack Jefferies observed the team's preparations and likes the way the team engineers the sequences.... (more)
Did you know that there are many battles all over and across the leaderboards? posted: Oct 20th, 2008 It is quiet now in Eloy after a very busy day. The beer truck area is not as busy as usual after a long day with seven competition jumps for almost all of the teams. The early start on Tuesday morning for the remaining three rounds does not motivate much to hang around for too long, as well. By the way, Larry, the Indian Pale Ale tab is running empty, and so is the one for the German Becks Oktoberfest...
Airspeed Odyssey is still controlling the Open Class competition despite a 2-point loss to France and Black Cat in Round 7. It will be interesting to see where this will lead the two challengers... (more)