posted Dec 19th, 2008 - Team recruiting efforts continue, as the NSL News already reported a few of these off-season activities, which ended up successfully and within a relatively short time period.

The NSL News mentioned during the coverage of the NSL Championship 2008 that FSC Wind Damaged, a AA/Intermediate Class team from Lake Wales in Florida, made the team's last appearance with this lineup at SkyQuest 2008 in November. Tail Mario Luppa had to move back home to Italy after completing his services for the Italian military in Tampa, Florida.

Mario Luppa was not happy to leave after two great years with FSC Wind Damaged in Florida. The Lake Wales team has come a long way since this lineup was formed at the beginning of the 2007 season. Gilles Dutrisac (Center Outside) Joel Kmetz (Center Inside), Mario Luppa (Tail) and Martin McKerrell (Point) began with a 7.0 average at the FSL Shamrock Showdown 2007 and finished with a 12.1 average after ten rounds at the end of this lineup's 2-year commitment.

Joel Kmetz and Martin McKerrell have trained and competed together already since 2004 when they attended their first meets of the Florida Skydiving League with Team JAMMM.

FSC Wind Damaged was founded in 2005. Mike Green and Canadian national competitior Bruce Robertson completed the lineup that year. All team members were locals at the Florida Skydiving Center in Lake Wales.

The team name originated in the disaster that Hurricane Charley caused for the skydiving center in Lake Wales in 2004. "Wind Damaged" ever since has been a consistent reminder on the devastating havoc Charley created. The team's training efforts were surely affected by Charly's winds, and JAMMM turned into Wind Damaged for a good reason.

Bruce Robertson left the team at the end of the 2005 season, and Mario Luppa took the tail slot. He was excited to become a part of the Florida Skydiving League activities since he was looking for a more challenging engagement in skydiving.

Mike Green switched to the camera slot in 2007, and Gilles Dutrisac finally completed the lineup that would stick together for the next two years.

The lineups of 2005 and 2006 had great dynamics and still struggled to get to the magic 10.0 average benchmark. The new lineup of 2007 and 2008 started significantly below the 10.0 average, as well. However, the progression was steep, and the 10.0 average fell in August 2007.

FSC Wind Damaged attended seven meets in 2007 and decided to increase the efforts for the 2008 season after a great first year. More training and more coaching was added to the plan for 2008, and the trip to the west coast and the USPA Nationals 2008 was supposed to be the highlight of the year.

The progression in 2008 was almost identical with 2007, and FSC Wind Damaged eventually posted scores in Florida that made the team a serious contender for medals at the USPA Nationals. However, the competition in Eloy did not turn out to be the best one of the 2008 season, and the Lake Wales team finished below expectations.

The great team moral was still not affected too much, and Wind Damaged was now looking forward to an opportunity for redemption, which came with the NSL Championship in November. The rest of the story is already history, as the NSL News reported the exciting showdown with Perris Jimani on 3 December 2008.

It was the last meet for this lineup, the 9th of the 2008 season, as Mario Luppa would not be able to continue from here on, and FSC Wind Damaged ended up in second place behind Jimani. However, the team members were not disappointed at all since they successfully showed their full potential in another 10-round competition. It was a happy end for the Wind Damaged lineup of 2007 and 2008.

It did not take too long until the remaining three team members began to think and talk about the near future. They came quite quickly to the conclusion to look for a new team member and move on. The slot is open, and the recruiting process is in full swing.

One additional question is still open for the 2009 season. Gilles Dutrisac, Joel Kmetz and Martin McKerrell are not quite sure yet whether they want to spend another year in the AA/Intermediate Class and pursue medals in this category one more time or move up into the AAA Class. Learning the complete dive pool is also a tempting challenge for the team members.

The well known team name is in jeopardy at the same time. Not much of the Charley damage is visible any longer in Florida, and the team name was somehow closely attached to the lineup of 2007 and 2008. The 2009 lineup is also looking for a new and committed team videographer. Interested skydivers, either for the tail or video slot, can contact FSC Wind Damaged directly by e-mail. The NSL News will follow up on FSC Wind Damaged's recruiting and selection process.