posted Nov 17th, 2021 - The Intermediate Class competition of the USPA Nationals 2021 was by far the most exciting one. The battle for the gold medals between Kaos Theory XP and Dallas Dynasty was decided by one single point. At the same time, SDC Rhebellion XP and Air Force Atlas had to perform an extra round to break their tie after Round 10.

The gold medal position and the 4th place were separated by 11 points. Only the Top 4 in the 4-way Beginner Class were closer to each other after their six rounds.

There have been close finishing positions on the 4-way Intermediate Class leaderboards in the past. In fact, extra rounds for USPA medals in this category are nothing unusual. However, the combination of a 1-point finish and a jump-off is unique in the event's history.

The Intermediate Class competition has become the most exciting part of the USPA Nationals. One reason is the number of participating teams, which is significantly higher compared to the other three 4-way categories (Open - Advanced - Beginner). The total number of Intermediate Class teams always challenges even the combination of 4-way Open/Advanced participation. This year, the 26 Intermediate Class U.S. teams matched the 26 AAA Class teams once again, disregarding the guest teams from Guatemala and Qatar.

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USPA Nationals 2021		1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Intermediate	L,2,M		K,13,8		14,E,H		4,9		P,15,C		20,1		22,11		21,Q,D		A,J,18		B,6,F		Total	Avg
1	Kaos Theory XP	15		14		11		15		14		10	-2	10	-1	15		15		19	-1	138	13.8
2	Dallas Dynasty	13	-1	13	-1	13		15		13	-1	11		10	-1	15	-1	13	-1	21		137	13.7

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Kaos Theory XP - Dallas Dynasty at the USPA Nationals 2021 - Video Footage Courtesy of USPA/OmniSkore!HD

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It was no news for the NSL News audience that Kaos Theory XP would be one of the top contenders for USPA Intermediate Class gold medals this year. The 1st place at the Paraclete XP Indoor Championship 2021 was one of the serious indications that the 2020/2021 lineup with new member Jason McClure would compete for medals at the outdoor championships, as well.

Dallas Dynasty, with Indoor Cloud League organizer Kyle Hermberg's still in the lineup at the same event, had placed 2nd at Paraclete XP in February. Former Dallas 350 member Lucas King then guided Michael Erickson, Caden Maydew and Aaron Perkins, with Alan Levy on camera, carefully to the same showdown at the USPA Nationals eight months later at Skydive Arizona.

Lucas King used two of the Texas Skydiving League meets to prepare his team for outdoor competition, and the September scores made it clear that Dallas Dynasty would be ready for the challenge in October.

The duel for Intermediate Class gold at the USPA Nationals turned out to be the expected thriller, and Kaos Theory XP won with the slightly cleaner 10-round finish. Dallas Dynasty was one point ahead before penalties (143 - 142), and the total of six point deductions changed the final outcome.

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USPA Nationals 2021		1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		11		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Intermediate	L,2,M		K,13,8		14,E,H		4,9		P,15,C		20,1		22,11		21,Q,D		A,J,18		B,6,F		G,7,O		Total	Avg
3	Air Force Atlas	13	-4	12	-2	11	-2	14	-2	12	-1	10	-1	6	-3	16		15		18		14	-1	127	12.7
4	SDC Rhebellion XP	15		11	-1	13		12		13	-1	10		8	-1	13		12	-1	20		13	-3	127	12.7

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Air Force Atlas - SDC Rhebellion XP at the USPA Nationals 2021 - Video Footage Courtesy of USPA/OmniSkore!HD

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The duel for the USPA bronze medals could not have been any more exciting and added a jump-off situation to the 1-point battle for the gold medals. On top of that, the opponents could not have been any more different.

Air Force Atlas and SDC Rhebellion XP had only one thing in common: both teams were freshly formed in 2021. This is a very normal situation at the Air Force Academy in Colorado, where the young cadets usually train together for one year. Then they compete for medals at USPA Nationals and USPA Collegiates and hardly ever leave empty-handed. Next year, new lineups will follow the same pattern. The expenses of the teams, including expert coaching, are covered by the Air Force.

SDC Rhebellion XP came from a totally different situation, as team members explained during a NSL Live Talk conversation during the Paraclete XP Indoor Championship 2021. They invested heavily into their own team project and attended five meets, including all three outdoor meets of the Midwest Skydiving League, before finishing with a new team record average at the USPA Nationals.

The two very different approaches included the 4-way style, where the Air Force team ended up with a total of 15 point deductions in the regular ten rounds, compared to the four penalties for Rhebellion. However, both approaches created the tie after Round 10, and the extra round reversed the penalty situation. Rhebellion lost the duel for bronze only due to three point deductions in the very last round.

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USPA Nationals 2021		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Intermediate	L,2,M	K,13,8	14,E,H	4,9	P,15,C	20,1	22,11	21,Q,D	A,J,18	B,6,F	G,7,O	Total	Avg
1	Kaos Theory	15	14	11	15	14	10	10	15	15	19	-	138	13.8
2	Dallas Dynasty	13	13	13	15	13	11	10	15	13	21	-	137	13.7
3	Air Force Atlas	13	12	11	14	12	10	6	16	15	18	14	127	12.7
4	SDC Rhebellion XP	15	11	13	12	13	10	8	13	12	20	13	127	12.7
5	Air Force Stallions	14	12	13	9	12	9	8	12	9	17	-	115	11.5
6	Perris Fall Risk	11	6	11	10	9	7	8	11	7	14	-	94	9.4
7	Combat Turkeys	10	8	7	10	8	7	7	10	10	14	-	91	9.1
7	CK PetriCKor	8	10	9	9	8	8	7	8	10	14	-	91	9.1
9	Hammer-Hammer	9	9	8	6	9	7	7	10	8	13	-	86	8.6
9	Cinnamon Roll Fight Club	10	6	9	9	8	6	7	9	10	12	-	86	8.6
11	Organized Kaos	9	9	8	6	8	7	7	11	8	11	-	84	8.4
12	Jump Florida Furtherance	9	6	8	9	7	6	5	8	10	11	-	79	7.9
13	Proximity	9	9	6	9	8	7	6	9	5	7	-	75	7.5
14	Limbo XP	10	5	7	8	8	5	6	5	11	7	-	72	7.2
15	Spaceland Toxic Thunder	10	3	6	9	6	6	7	7	8	9	-	71	7.1
15	Funnel Vision	9	6	4	8	7	6	5	7	9	10	-	71	7.1
17	Basket of Cocks	5	7	5	9	7	7	5	7	7	10	-	69	6.9
18	Whatever Works	8	7	7	7	6	4	5	7	6	10	-	67	6.7
19	Wasted Potential	8	6	6	7	2	7	5	9	7	9	-	66	6.6
19	Carolina Bootie Babes XP	10	4	3	8	6	7	6	8	7	7	-	66	6.6
21	CSC Dynamika	9	7	5	6	6	3	3	8	6	9	-	62	6.2
22	Colorado Grip Switch	6	5	5	6	6	6	5	7	7	8	-	61	6.1
22	La Playa	8	3	3	6	7	4	5	6	10	9	-	61	6.1
24	Deland's Hit Show	5	6	3	7	4	5	5	2	7	11	-	55	5.5
24	Carolina Relative Humility XP	6	4	5	6	5	5	5	5	7	7	-	55	5.5
26	Stepmom x TreShaun	6	3	5	8	5	5	2	6	6	5	-	51	5.1
27	7 Foot 4-way	4	4	4	4	4	5	5	5	5	8	-	48	4.8

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