posted Feb 16th, 2012 - There are great news for the teams who had the Shamrock Showdown 2012 on their event schedule. The event name has changed, as the NSL News audience may have noticed. The Paraclete XP Outdoor Championship 2012 is now welcoming the same teams to the same event and offers more prize money than ever before.

With the help and support by Paraclete XP the signature event of the National Skydiving League has become even more exciting for the participating teams, as the total for the jackpot has gone up to $7,000 for the 2012 event. $5,000 are on stake for the top teams who share this amount for the first three places. Additional $2,000 are available for the popular annual Shamrock Showdown Skins Game which offers prize money after handicap for all teams.

The AAA Class teams have to complete all ten rounds to be eligible for the Skins Game. The handicap will be assigned after the completion of the first five rounds and is based on the scoring average at that point of the competition. Rounds 1 - 5 are scheduled for Friday, March 16th. The first $400 skin for Round 6 will be won by a team on Saturday morning. All it takes is a great round of any team at this meet.

Dr Joel Shugar, founder of the Optic Nerve 4way team years ago, developed the handicap system for the National Skydiving League, and Joe O'Connor fine tuned it later on. It has been working very well at the Shamrock Showdown events of the past ten years and sweetened the competition for many teams who could not win the overall meet before handicap. Paraclete XP agreed to keep the Shamrock Showdown Skins Game going and assigned an attractive amount of prize money to it. The total of $2,000 offers $400 for each round after half time.

The other $5,000 will most likely just be an affair between the currently three best 4way teams in the world. Chances are little that any other teams will be able to join the battle on the very top of the leaderboard between Aerodyne Aerokart, NMP-PCH Hayabusa and Arizona Airspeed. On the other hand, the three top teams have little chances to win many skins after handicap since their scoring level is high and usually very consistent. It takes an extraordinary and outstanding performance for a team in any given round to win after handicap.

Special Sale of Discounted Tunnel Time

Paraclete XP's engagement with the NSL signature event brings additional benefits to the teams. XP4 and XP8 member John D'Annunzio told the NSL News that he is planning to offer a special sale of windtunnel time for the participating teams and visitors who are at the competition site in DeLand on the meet weekend.

The partnership with the outdoor event might even go a step farther next year. Paraclete XP has been hosting the Paraclete XP Indoor Championships that the NSL News has brought to the NSL News audience with live coverage in the past years. It includes the only indoor 8way competition in the world.

John D'Annunzio thinks about making it easier for the teams from Europe to enjoy both high-profile competitions in the near future. It would require different scheduling of both events, which will be discussed next.

It would be difficult and costly for the European teams to make the trip across the Atlantic Ocean two times to attend both meets. However, many teams have been combining the Shamrock Showdown with a winter training camp in Florida in the past, which made more sense.

The near future may bring an even more attractive combination to visiting teams. The Paraclete XP Indoor Championship and the new Outdoor Championship with the Shamrock Showdown Skins Game could be scheduled on two consecutive weekends and make it much easier and more efficient for teams to attend both events. A 10-day or 2-week trip to the US east coast in the winter could include windtunnel and outdoor training both, plus two high-profile meets at the beginning of each competition season.

The plans for such a meet combination are in the works, and the NSL News will follow up with new information as soon as possible. The Paraclete XP Outdoor Championship 2012 in DeLand begins with the reception at the Clarion Hotel on Thursday, March 15th.