posted Sep 28th, 2002 - The NSL News recently covered the time period between 2001 and 2003 with several interviews of world-class competitors that had not been published before. Golden Knights team captain John Hoover provided his feedback the first time on 14 June 2002, which was recently published.

The previous interview with him took place in the middle of the 2002 season, a few months before the Golden Knights Gold team would win the 4-way Open Class competition at the USPA Nationals and qualify as the national team for the FAI World Meet 2003 in Gap-Tallard, France.

The NSL News followed up with a new interview after the USPA Nationals 2002, and the conversation was more targeted at international Formation Skydiving competition, as the Golden Knights were set to compete for the U.S. delegation at the world meet in France. It would be a challenging year for the Golden Knights, who had to jump from a Pilatus Porter with a right-hand door in France. The recent NSL Live Talk with Martial Ferre connected with the same world meet, where he competed in 8-way for France. His brother Marin Ferre outscored the Golden Knights in 4-way and won gold.

"John Hoover is the team captain of the Golden Knights who just won the gold medal at the U.S. Nationals in an upset over Airspeed Vertical and DeLand Majik. The Golden Knights are also the defending NSL Champion and will now represent the U.S.A. at the next World Championship of Formation Skydiving in 2003 in France. Next weekend, the Golden Knights will also compete at the World Cup of Formation Skydiving in Spain. The NSL News tried to find out how the Golden Knights will prepare for the upcoming challenges."

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USPA Nationals 2002		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open	B,12,2	K,6,4	20,5,13	D,Q,11,18	N,3,9	A,21,16	22,H,L,J	G,C,7,15	E,19,17	10,P,M,8	Total	Avg
1	Golden Knights	19	21	19	21	29	22	23	23	22	19	218	21.8
2	Arizona Airspeed	19	22	18	21	26	22	22	21	23	21	215	21.5
3	DeLand Majik	19	19	20	20	24	22	23	24	22	19	212	21.2
4	Golden Knights Black	15	17	16	17	20	17	20	20	19	16	177	17.7
5	Airspeed Zulu	17	18	14	17	22	15	18	17	17	16	171	17.1
6	Cross Keys Fluid	16	16	13	15	18	16	15	13	15	15	152	15.2
7	DeLand Frost	15	16	12	13	17	15	17	17	14	13	149	14.9
8	Ranch Tribe	14	14	13	13	17	11	16	10	15	13	136	13.6
9	Elsinore Adrenaline	13	13	12	13	16	11	15	13	15	13	134	13.4
10	Synchronicity	12	12	10	12	17	13	13	15	12	12	128	12.8
11	Untrained Eye	12	12	11	13	14	10	11	9	12	11	115	11.5
12	Team Kruegeraand	8	8	6	5	6	7	6	7	8	5	66	6.6

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NSL News interview with John Hoover on 28 September 2002

NSL News: John, first of all: congratulations from the NSL headquarters for the gold medal in 4-way at the U.S. Nationals 2002. We are glad to see the reigning NSL 4-way champions representing the United States at the World Championship next year. Will you bring Excalibur to North Carolina?

John Hoover: Thank you for the Congratulations. One thing this year's Nationals have shown us is: nothing is for sure. There is no way I am saying that we are going to win for sure. I will say that we will train as hard as we can and do our best to prepare and compete at the World Meet.

NSL News: Looking back, I remember that it was a big surprise for everybody when the Golden Knights switched the focus from 8-way to 4-way. Was it because you wanted to be a world champion in 4-way after winning the 8-way earlier?

John Hoover: No, as I explained in a Skydiving Magazine article, there were some problems with continuing to do 8-way. The switch was more practical than emotional.

NSL News: The switch worked very well for you. What were the main ingredients for the 4-way success at Skydive Chicago?

John Hoover: I think focusing on one major event per year is the key, along with a steady diet of training. But even with all of these things there is no way to be sure.

NSL News: Next weekend, you will go up against the same rivals again. Airspeed Vertical and DeLand Majik will compete at the World Cup in Spain, as well, and they will be hungry to beat you. Will the Golden Knights be able to repeat the success from Ottawa, or will it be more difficult?

John Hoover: Most certainly it will be more difficult. They are on a rest cycle, and we are just coming off a very emotional meet. They will have the edge this go around.

NSL News: At least for one whole year, you will now have to think more on an international level. Have you already studied the international competition?

John Hoover: No, not yet. That is the biggest thing we plan to do at the World Cup next week.

NSL News: Do you think that especially France will already reveal their complete current performance status in 4-way and 8-way?

John Hoover: In 4-way it will be hard to judge the exits since they have primarily trained out of a Porter. I will be looking at their overall performance and try to identify our strengths and weaknesses compared to them. I will be surprised if they bring their World Meet 8-way team to the Cup, but that is not too big of a concern of mine. I will pay attention to their 8-way techniques, looking for anything new.

NSL News: France will continue to pursue the double-gold in 4-way and 8-way with the same lineup, while the U.S.A. will now have separate teams for both events. Does this increase your chances in 4-way and give you an advantage over France?

John Hoover: I think there is a slight advantage by focusing on one event. Everyone who has tried to win both events has said they wouldn't do it again. But how much this plays into our favor? I have no idea. The last time I did two events at one meet, the FAI World Cup 1998, I enjoyed it and didn't think one hurt the other.

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FAI World Cup 2002			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open		6,13,14	G,C,7,5	21,P,20	D,3,4	K,A,E,H,8	11,9,12	19,O,1	22,L,B,18	16,Q,2	N,J,10,F	Total	Avg
1	DeLand Majik	US	19	24	21	23	29	19	21	21	22	25	224	22.4
2	Airspeed Vertical	US	19	27	19	21	28	17	21	20	22	28	222	22.2
3	Perris Maubeuge	FR	17	26	23	20	26	19	21	21	23	25	221	22.1
4	DeLand Norgies	NO	19	26	20	19	29	19	19	20	20	25	216	21.6
5	Golden Knights Gold	US	18	26	20	20	27	17	19	19	21	-	187	20.8

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NSL News: Where do you see the Norgies in the race for the 4-way gold medal next year in France?

John Hoover: Unlike Norwegian friends, I never count anyone out. Meets can bring out the best and worse in a team. This opens the door for anything to happen, especially with the meet being out of a Porter. I think that right now everyone is on a level playing field. The World Cup should indicate a front-runner.

NSL News: Are you including only U.S.A., France and Norway in this statement, or do you also expect other competition from Russia, Sebastian XL or Italy for the gold medal?

John Hoover: I include everyone because there has been no international event this year. Some teams have a more realistic chance of winning than others, but some people said we had no chance of winning the US Nationals. And again, the World Cup should identify the front-runners.

NSL News: Let's get to the most challenging part of your whole situation for next year. The world meet at the "1st FAI Parachuting Mondial" will be in France; jump plane will be the Pilatus Porter with a right-hand door. France is very familiar with this exit. How well do the Golden Knights know this jump plane?

John Hoover: The last time the Golden Knights trained out of a Porter was in 1995. So the answer is: We don't know the plane at all. But on the bright side, we have a whole year to discover the ins and outs of the right-hand door.

NSL News: Will you have a Pilatus Porter available all the time for your training? John Hoover: Yes. The Army and our chain of command are very supportive. We will be jumping exclusively out of Porters next year.

NSL News: The door on the other side mirrors the whole sequence and challenges the current muscle memory. What's your plan for the necessary adjustments? John Hoover: The French slide their exits across when jumping from a Twinotter resulting in the same exit, but with the inside out and the outside in. We will do the same for the Porter, resulting in non-mirror-image pages.

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FAI World Meet 2003			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open Top 10		1,11,12	M,J,E,10	K,16,6	13,14,5	D,22,4	9,C,Q,N	F,19,21	2,20,L	18,B,3	8,P,7	Total	Avg
1	Maubeuge	FR	16	26	23	19	21	37	24	21	19	23	229	22.9
2	Golden Knights	US	17	24	22	19	18	35	22	18	19	20	214	21.4
3	DeLand Norgies	NO	13	24	21	19	18	36	19	16	19	21	206	20.6
4	Sebastian XL	UK	14	22	21	19	17	34	21	18	19	20	205	20.5
5	Sinapsi PD	IT	13	24	22	17	17	32	22	18	18	-	183	20.3
6	Endeavour	CH	13	21	19	15	17	29	21	17	16	-	168	18.7
7	NMPV	BE	15	19	19	16	15	29	19	16	16	-	164	18.2
8	EADS	DE	14	19	17	15	15	26	17	16	16	-	155	17.2
9	Wild Wind	RU	15	22	18	15	18	22	17	8	-	-	135	16.9
10	Phenix	SE	13	18	15	15	16	23	18	16	-	-	134	16.8

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NSL News: Will you keep the piece partner system with the same pieces? John Hoover: Yes. Nothing changes but who is floating and who is on the inside of the plane. This actually works to our advantage on some of the blocks.

NSL News: Switching inside and outside will eliminate the mirror. But it will still change the exits significantly since the tail will then connect with the center outside and the point with the center inside. Will you swallow all the exit changes?

John Hoover: Let me be clear, we have not worked out all the details yet. But if the front floater backs off the plane and the rear floater dives, then all of the conflicts are resolved. All except for a totally new exit picture that is. Basically it turns into either having totally different exit pictures or having totally new terminal pictures. We take the former.

NSL News: France will surely have a head start with the exits as it seems. Can you make it up within one year?

John Hoover: We hope to do over 1200 jumps in the next year, all out of a Porter. We will dedicate the majority of our efforts on making the exits solid, especially in the beginning months.

NSL News: There are even more challenges waiting in 2003. Since the IPC changes the world championships from odd years to even years beginning in 2004, most likely the U.S. Nationals next year will again be the qualification event for the world meet in 2004. Mondial in September in France, U.S. Nationals in October in Florida - what's the best way how to deal with this schedule?

John Hoover: There is no perfect solution. I have just learned of the change and have only recently begun to think of the ramifications. The only thing we can do is concentrate on the world meet and hope for the best at the Nationals. I think we will be in a good position considering all of the training we hope to do in he next year.

NSL News: Do the Golden Knights 2002 have plans reaching further than until the Mondial 2003? In other words: are you planning to continue with this team in 2004? John Hoover: We have made no plans beyond 2003. The general agreement is we will cross that bridge when we get there.

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USPA Nationals 2003		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open	8,A,Q,F	15,3,G	4,N,22	J,7,B,H	O,13,17	16,K,1	21,D,L,14	6,5,2	12,P,11	10,19,18	Total	Avg
1	DeLand Majik	26	19	17	32	23	20	21	19	19	17	213	21.3
2	Golden Knights Gold	26	18	19	32	23	21	19	17	19	17	211	21.1
3	Airspeed Vertical	27	18	17	34	18	19	21	19	18	19	210	21.0
4	Airspeed Dragon	19	15	17	30	20	14	18	17	15	14	179	17.9
5	Golden Knights Black	20	15	16	27	15	17	17	16	16	14	173	17.3
6	Perris School Boys	21	15	14	25	18	13	16	14	12	12	160	16.0
7	DeLand Synchronicity	18	15	14	23	15	14	15	15	14	12	155	15.5
8	The Ranch Team	17	14	13	22	15	16	12	14	13	12	148	14.8
9	Teiwaz	17	13	13	17	15	14	15	13	11	11	139	13.9
10	DeLand Chikara	16	12	11	19	14	12	13	13	13	9	132	13.2
11	Optik Kurves	16	11	11	22	12	12	14	10	11	9	128	12.8
12	Elsinore Illusion	16	6	12	22	14	9	14	13	12	9	127	12.7
13	4 Something	14	9	9	16	7	9	11	8	9	9	101	10.1
14	Wingspan	11	10	7	14	9	10	9	7	7	8	92	9.2
15	Guy Chuck JP Billy Mike	7	7	8	9	8	4	0	7	3	6	59	5.9

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NSL News: Let's assume that you will continue. Your U.S. rivals, Airspeed Vertical and DeLand Majik, will not have to switch their exits and other plans next year. Will they have the same advantage over you at the U.S. Nationals 2003 as France has them now for the Mondial 2003?

John Hoover: I wouldn't say the same advantage. For France we are starting totally new. At the 2003 Nationals we will be returning home, so to speak.

NSL News: Looking at the bigger picture, there are more international "First Category" events coming in the future. There will be World Games and World Air Games and Mondials and World Championships, major international events every year. Will it become more difficult to prepare for these events?

John Hoover: First, let me say I am very excited to see more international events. Preparing for big meets is always difficult, especially when they are close together. If the different events should be out of different airplanes and within weeks of one another, then yes, it will become very difficult to prepare for them. However, if they are spaced months apart and are consistent in aircraft, it should be like any other training year. The difference then would be that teams would have more opportunities to win a big one.

NSL News: Do you like the general direction the IPC is taking? John Hoover: Yes. I think this new direction is positive with more big meets. I never was a fan of cutting the number of rounds in a meet, or neutralizing the exit. I will go a step further in saying that I trust BJ Worth to make the right decisions where parachuting is concerned.

NSL News: John, thanks for taking the time for this interview and good luck at the world cup. John Hoover: Thank you for keeping us all informed.