posted Aug 7th, 2012 - The Northwest Skydiving League successfully held its second meet of the 2012 season last weekend. The weather was as good as the forecast had promised, and all teams completed six rounds on one day.

The NSL News reported earlier that former Elsinore Vengeance member Deb Coreia brought the Norhtwest Skydiving League back to action this year, which includes indoor and outdoor activities in her Washington/Oregon region.

Last weekend was very special for herself, as all of the Seattle-based members of Elsinore Vengeance took part in the meet. Deb Correia competed with Fun Sponge, Dave Correia was once again in the Sloppy Joe's lineup. Jeff Smith competed with the new A Class team Zombie Bait. The three Elsinore Vengeance members competed together in the AA/Intermediate Class of the USPA Nationals 2004, 2005 and 2006. Now they are thrilled to see 4way competition alive and well again in the Northwest. Deb Coreia wrote the meet story of last weekend's competition.

NWSL August 2012		Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Round 6	Total	Avg
Rank	A Class	2,6	J,8	F,4	L,M,7	H,K,A	Q,B,D	Total	Avg
1	Fun Sponge (US)	8	7	6	12	10	0	43	7.2
2	Zombie Bait (US)	2	4	5	7	8	8	34	5.7
Rank	Rookie	P,E,O	J,N,C	F,G,Q	L,M,J	H,K,A	Q,B,D	Total	Avg
1	Sinner G (US)	9	8	11	11	9	7	55	9.2
2	Yeah Team (US)	7	5	5	6	6	3	32	5.3
3	Sloppy Joes (US)	6	5	4	5	6	5	31	5.2

The August meet of the Northwest Skydiving League started with a forecast for the hottest temperatures in the Seattle area in two years, and indeed we had record-breaking temperatures. Held at Skydive Snohomish, most of the five teams were ready to go at 9:00, taking advantage of the cooler morning and the earlybird special the drop zone offers.

The difference in getting a good start was obvious by the scores, which far surpassed the results of the July meet. After conferring with the teams involved in the previous meet, it was decided to discontinue the handicap system.

Carolyn Chow judged the meet and offered coaching assistance for any of the teams that needed it. Carolyn was injured in the wind tunnel in March, and she made her first comeback jump during a lull in the meet in the afternoon.

A Class team Zombie Bait

Two teams competed in the A Class. Fun Sponge returned with Deb Correia, Jay Alspach, Kelli Alspach, Brittany Crolley, and Linc Harris on video. Zombie Bait, a new A Class team, competed with David Zhang, Jeff Smith, Kevin Porter, Chris Erickson, and Nicolas Inzerella on video.

Even with a score of 0 in the last round, Fun Sponge maintained its lead to secure the gold medal by a final score of 43-34. Fun Sponge upped the meet average from 4.8 to 7.2 and were very pleased with the performance. Zombie Bait's average of 5.7 was very respectable for the first time jumping together, especially considering that half of the team hadn't done the blocks.

Rookie Class winner Sinner G

Three Rookie Class teams of the July meet also returned to compete with the same lineups: Sinner G, Yeah Team and Sloppy Joe's.

Yeah Team had won the July meet before handicap while Sinner G took the gold medals after handicap at the first meet. This time around, Sinner G was the clear winner, with a very dramatic increase in their average from 3.2 to 9.2 last weekend. The pressure is now on them to move up to the A Class competition next month.

Yeah Team and Sloppy Joe's also showed a big improvement. Yeah Team increased the meet average from to 3.6 to 5.3 and Sloppy Joe's had an excellent meet, taking their average from 1 to 5.2 trailing Yeah Team by only one point at the end of the meet.

Sinner G has a unique approach to 4way, as the team has five regular members in the lineup. Helen Ursachii "roams" from one position to the other, while the other members have assigned positions.

Helen's father, Vladimir Ursachii, is a tandem instructor at Skydive Snohomish who competed in the 80s and 90s, first for Moldova, and then on the Russian national 4way team. He was a 10-time gold medalist at the Russian Nationals in 4way, a 2-time bronze medalist in 8way at the World Championships, and he participated in many world record formations, the last one being a 257way.

Helen Ursachii told Deb Coreia that competitors didn't know much about the theory of body movements and such in skydiving by then. Her father and his generation of competitors had to discover how things worked on their own when they started. Vladimir Ursachii is probably very proud to see his daughter now doing 4way.