posted Mar 13th, 2009 - The NSL News has a special appetizer for this weekend before the FSL Shamrock Showdown 2009 comes up next weekend. The Spaceland lineup that the NSL News introduced already earlier had a windtunnel training camp in February, as the story on 10 March 2009 mentioned.

It was the first time that the new world-class lineup flew together, and team member Thomas Hughes put together a video clip for the NSL-TV audience, which can be viewed by clicking here.

The opening graphic could be confusing, as it shows a Ninja introducing the team's indoor performance. The NSL News recently learned that the team's official name is Spaceland Force. Spaceland Ninjas was one of the suggested team names, which eventually did not make it to the official team page.

The video clip is an edited summary of the camp, and Thomas Hughes has probably chosen the most presentable sequences. However, the available footage surely shows what the other top contenders at the FSL Shamrock Showdown 2009 and at later events this year will have to expect.

The performance at the windtunnel training camp shows that the Spaceland Force members (Shannon Pilcher, Ian Bobo, Thomas Hughes, Gary Beyer) did not need much time to get familiar with each other. The featured sequences already match the speed and quality level of the highest indoor averages at any previous indoor competitions.

The most serious challenge for Spaceland Force will probably be the exit from the Twinotter and the subterminal moves. Each team member is most familiar with the jump plane and the exit slots. However, a new lineup usually needs some training to synchronize the exits, even on the highest performance level.

Marin Ferré, technical coach of the French national 4-way lineups, France Maubeuge and Aerokart Deep Blue, recently told the NSL News that he focuses on exits and subterminal moves. The windtunnel training allows all teams to work on skills and techniques. It does not help with exits and subterminal moves at all.

The video does not offer the best quality, as the lighting in the windtunnel does not support sharp videos. It still shows enough to take a good look at the Spaceland Force performance in February.