posted Sep 22nd, 2008 - Judy Celaya, veteran FAI and USPA Formation Skydiving Judge, kindly provided the AAA Class competition draw for last weekend's NSL Playoffs 2008 weekend at several different locations across the USA.

She had a nice surprise for the teams that competed in the AAA Class at the end of the regular season. It was a fast draw that allowed the teams to post record scores.

The AAA Class draw usually trickles down into the three other classes. It is always an interesting situation when the sequences are identical between two or sometimes even three competition classes. The teams then have the opportunity to compare their scores not only with the teams in the same category but also with others looking upward or downward.

However, the difficulty and scoring potential of the sequences make the biggest difference in the AAA Class, which has all 22 blocks and 16 random formations in the dive pool. There it makes a more significant difference if the slower and more challenging blocks are not being drawn in a 6-round meet.

The playoffs weekend offered the teams the opportunity to go through the whole dive pool and complete ten rounds. The teams at the Florida Skydiving League's competition at Skydive City in Zephyrhills still decided to finish after the usual six rounds of the FSL meets, including the teams that plan to attend the upcoming USPA Nationals 2008 in October and the NSL Championship 2008 in November.

Sebastian Tempest and Teiwaz both took full advantage of the fast competition draw in the AAA Class. Tempest improved the team's previous record average of 17.3 in August to 19.7 in Z-Hills. The 31-pointer in Round 5 stands for the team's new record score for a single round.

Chris Ash (Tail), Kris Peterson (Center Inside), Thiago Murradas (Point) and Ari Perelman (Center Outside) worked for the first time with coach Thomas Hughes in a meet environment. The former Fastrax member, who competed for the US 8-way team at the World Meet 2008 in France last month, will guide Tempest through the remainder of the 2008 season.

The team from Skydive Sebastian will compete at the USPA National 2008 in the Open Class and aims at the qualification for the FAI World Cup 2009 in the Czech Republic. Last weekend's scores will be a confidence booster for the team four weeks ahead of the USPA competition at Skydive Arizona in Eloy.

Teiwaz, with Rodney Cruce (Center Inside), Robert Chromy (Tail), Bob Byrne (Center Outside) and Kurt Gaebel (Point) in the lineup this time, had to watch how the well trained lineup of former Teiwaz members pulled away round by round.

However, even without training the Teiwaz lineup of last weekend's meet tied the highest Teiwaz score for a single round with the 27-pointer in Round 5. Steve Johnston, James "Bu" Klinge, Robert Chromy and Kurt Gaebel had already posted a 27-pointer in March, which was a sequence of only random formations by then. This time, the fast sequence of Round 5 included Block 9.

The 18.3 average was still one point short of the highest Teiwaz 6-round average. Natasha Montgomery, Thomas Hughes, Robob Healy and Kurt Gaebel had posted an 18.5 average at the June meet of the Florida Skydiving League in 2005 at the same location.

Thomas Hughes was now coaching Sebastian Tempest, while Kurt Gaebel competed with a different Teiwaz team. Last weekend's lineup improved the highest 2008 meet average from 17.8 after eight rounds at the FSL Shamrock Showdown 2008 to 18.3 in Z-Hills.

Last weekend's competition was the 9th meet for Teiwaz this year, and the outdoor meet averages range between 10.5 and 18.3 in September. There are rumors that Teiwaz with a complete lineup or some members of this year's different lineups might also be competing at the USPA Nationals in October.

FSC Wind Damaged in the AA Class did not benefit as much as the AAA Class teams from the faster competition draw. In fact, almost each round of the AAA Class draw had a faster sequence compared to the AA Class. The shorter AA Class sequences (four or five formations) cut off the additional random formations for the AAA Class teams in four of the six rounds. FSC Wind Damaged and all other AA Class teams last weekend saw the drawn blocks more often per page.

The Lake Wales team still improved the highest 6-round meet average of the 2008 season from 11.2 in April to 12.0 last weekend, and it included the 8-pointer for one of the slowest AA Class sequences of the year in Round 6 (20-11). On the other hand, FSC Wind Damaged posted a new team record score for a single round with the 16-pointer in Round 5. The FSL team will travel to Eloy in October and compete at the USPA Nationals, as well.

The faster competition draw in the AAA Class had hardly any impact at all after trickling down into the A Class. This category has only eight blocks in the dive pool, which are usually drawn out through all rounds. Once in a while and very rarely, two blocks happen to be in the same sequence. In fact, this has happened only four times this year so far at the meets of the Florida Skydiving League.

In other words, the 12.8 average by Zero Tolerance Miami is a new record average for the team that has little to do with the nature of the competition draw. Trevor Cedar (Point), Alexandra Kolb (Tail), Pam Manos (Center Outside) and Guido Marti (Center Inside) are simply getting better meet by meet, and last weekend's results are probably not the last word yet.

ZeroT improved the previously best meet average of 10.3 in August significantly and posted a new team record for a single round with the 19-pointer in Round 2, as well. The best score for a singe round had been a 16-pointer before, scored at the FSL May meet. The Miami team will try to defend the A Class title at the NSL Championship that their Miami friends of ZT Mal4mations won last year. Mile High Mayhem has moved up into the A Class this year after winning the NSL Rookie Class championship in 2007. Now the Colorado team aims at the A Class title in November in DeLand.

Last not least, the faster competition draw in the AAA Class had no impact at all on the Rookie Class sequences, which always consists of three random formaions. Two of the three FSL Rookie Class teams still improved their meet averages of 2008 significantly in Z-Hills, and a third team from Sebastian made the Rookie Class competition the best attended category and a very exciting competition. The NSL News will follow up with more information and the rest of the meet story very soon.