posted Jun 23rd, 2005 - The scores of last weekend's competitions are almost complete, only information from Georgia and Virginia has not become available yet. The statistics are already very close to new record numbers, additional results from the missing two leagues could even top the record participation of the May 21 meet weekend.

A total of 81 teams had competed at twelve different events in May. 78 teams from nine different leagues are listed with last weekend's scores so far. However, while the AAA, AA and A Classes are slightly behind the May numbers, the Rookie Class participation has already set a new record (11 teams in May, 13 teams last weekend).

The NSL News story on June 17 had offered a preview of the meet weekend, including the teams that were expected as the top contenders in the different competition classes. Last weekend's scoring overview shows most of these teams in the positions they were expected to take.

Team Fastrax was expected to be the top contender of the AAA Class, thus it was no big surprise that the Mideast Skydiving League team ended up on top of the leaderboard with 31 listed teams. However, the Fastrax meet average of 22.8 was probably much higher than many would have expected.

It was a fast competition draw, and the first two rounds offered the AAA Class teams the opportunity to create a cushion for the slower rounds three, four and five. Round six would then complete the competition with a faster round. Team Fastrax did exactly that in an impressive way.

The Fastrax result of a 22.8 meet average might be the needed and much awaited breakthrough for the hard training team. Team founder John Hart and player coach Niklas Hemlin had mentioned several times that they feel the team has worked itself up to a top performance level, however, the earlier 2005 scores had not reflected the whole potential of the team at the previous meets.

Fastrax had won the bronze medals at the USPA Championship 2004 with a 17.1 average and opened the 2005 season with an 18.3 average after ten rounds at the FSL Shamrock Showdown 2005. A 16.3 average followed at the MESL May meet. Last weekend's 22.8 average is the team's new record score.

The meet organizers in the Netherlands provided the competition draw and created the opportunity for a confidence builder for all teams. The circumstances could not have been much better for Fastrax. The meet took place on the team's home turf at Skydive Greensburg in Ohio, and the timing was almost perfect.

Fastrax will travel to Russia and compete at the Malevsky Memorial Cup 2005 at the beginning of July. Several of the best 4-way teams in the world will be in Russia to compete for medals, prize money and the international top positions of 2005. The Malevsky Cup will be the first international appearance for Fastrax and a very serious test for the high pressure at this year's qualification event to become the new US national team, the USPA Championship 2005 in early September.

Fastrax will meet three of this year's US top contenders in Russia: DeLand Fire, Airspeed Odyssey and Airspeed Velocity. Malevsky Cup defender DeLand Majik will not make the 2005 trip to Russia, and the Golden Knights will miss the meet, as well. However, the competition will be strong enough, and it will offer Fastrax the opportunity to increase the pressure on the US opponents. Last weekend's 22.8 average will probably give Fastrax the confidence booster the team needed to get ready for the upcoming event in Russia.

The NSL News will cover the Malevsky Cup 2005 live on site and observe the competition between the four US teams carefully. NSL-TV will follow up with footage of last weekend's competitions very soon, including the Fastrax jumps in Greensburg.

None of the other US top contenders in the AAA Class competed last weekend. However, there are still impressive scores on the leaderboard. Most of the AAA Class teams took advantage of the fast competition draw and posted record results. The Teiwa-Z-Hills Pink line-up in second place included DeLand Fire members Natasha Montgomery and Thomas Hughes, plus DeLand Majik member Robert Healy. The current Fire and Majik line-ups were both not complete, however, the three world class competitors still got a live experience of last weekend's fast 6-round meet.

Punky Fish posted the highest results at the Tomscat Trophy event in the Netherlands (17.7 average). The new Team Z-Hills ended up only one single point behind Punky Fish with a 17.5 average, and Dallas Thunder posted a 16.0 team record average. South Parc represented the AAA Class competition in the United Kingdom with a 12.3 average. The NSL News will follow up later with an evaluation of the situation in the other competition classes.