posted Oct 6th, 2023 - It is nothing unusual that the AA/Intermediate Class competition at USPA Nationals features the tightest leaderboard of all categories in horizontal Formation Skydiving. It was once again the same situation in the 4-way Intermediate Class of this year's national championship at Skydive Paraclete XP.

There was hardly a position on the leaderboard that was not in contention throughout the ten rounds, and the teams usually enjoy the excitement of a competitive event, no matter whether it is in or near the medal positions or anywhere else. Especially USPA's Intermediate Class competition almost guarantees a battle for each team.

This year's leaderboard ended up with an unusual situation though, as the two teams on the top of the leaderboard and the two teams on the bottom were the only areas where not too much changed between Round 1 and Round 10. All other teams in between had more than enough of exciting competition, as the same final leaderboard is showing.

Air Raid XP and Spaceland Toxic were both expected to compete for USPA medals, and Air Raid XP's new lineup ran away from the Texas team after giving up only Round 1 and then allowing Toxic another sole highscore in Round 10. Toxic created a secure distance to Mile-Hi SpeedRun and the other contenders for the 3rd place and improved their finishing position from 3rd place in 2022 to the silver medals at Paraclete XP.

USPA Nationals 2023		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Intermediate	7,G,15	4,F,19	M,14,D	22,J,8	N,C,L,1	11,20	13,6	H,E,Q,9	A,21,2	P,O,B,18	Total	Avg
1	Air Raid XP	11	14	14	10	14	9	11	18	12	12	125	12.5
2	Spaceland Toxic	12	11	12	8	12	9	11	16	10	13	114	11.4
3	Mile-Hi SpeedRun	8	8	7	7	11	7	9	15	12	11	95	9.5
4	CSC Constellation	10	11	6	8	10	8	10	10	11	8	92	9.2
4	SDD Brane Damage	9	10	9	9	10	5	8	15	9	8	92	9.2
6	Air Force Halo	7	9	9	9	10	7	9	11	7	13	91	9.1
7	SDMW Uprising	6	9	10	9	8	7	8	10	9	13	89	8.9
8	Spaceland Disturbance Delicious	9	9	10	7	12	7	9	9	7	8	87	8.7
8	Air Force Freak Show	6	9	8	7	9	7	9	14	8	10	87	8.7
10	Joanne and the Creepers	8	10	7	8	11	6	8	7	8	11	84	8.4
11	Air Force PoisEN	9	9	7	8	4	7	9	14	8	8	83	8.3
12	Quadrivium	8	9	8	8	11	7	6	9	9	7	82	8.2
13	Carolina Legacy	8	9	6	7	7	6	7	10	10	11	81	8.1
13	Carolina Fourtune	8	9	8	7	9	6	6	9	8	11	81	8.1
15	Perris Rising	6	9	10	7	9	7	8	8	7	9	80	8.0
16	Mustangs!	5	9	8	7	5	6	7	15	9	8	79	7.9
17	4Action	7	9	7	5	8	8	5	12	8	7	76	7.6
18	Moving XPieces	7	8	9	7	7	7	6	9	6	7	73	7.3
18	DeLand's Hit Show	6	8	6	7	9	5	5	10	9	8	73	7.3
20	Cross Keys Flying Pups	7	5	7	6	7	6	7	10	7	10	72	7.2
21	Wingin' It	5	8	9	6	5	5	5	11	8	8	70	7.0
21	Gabby's Here	6	8	8	6	6	4	9	9	6	8	70	7.0
23	Air Force Gambit	7	4	9	5	9	6	7	6	6	8	67	6.7
24	DeLand's Dis-A-Point!	3	4	5	4	4	4	7	4	6	6	47	4.7

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Air Raid XP - Spaceland Toxic at the USPA Nationals 2023, videos courtesy of USPA

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The situation behind the two top teams in this category was totally different and featured a serious showdown for USPA's Intermediate Class bronze medals. Mile-Hi SpeedRun, CSC Constellation and SDD Brane Damage ended up tied in 3rd place after Round 9, and Round 10 turned out to be like a jump-off situation. Mile-Hi SpeedRun had the advantage of the momentum after winning the two previous rounds (8 - 9) and carried it successfully into the unofficial jump-off in Round 10.

The Colorado team was expected to be a medal contender at the USPA Nationals after a promising performance at the Summer Classic 2023. The NSL News reported on July 17th that Mile-Hi SpeedRun made a long journey from Colorado to North Carolina to get the competition practice in the run-up to the USPA Nationals.

They actually outscored Spaceland Toxic by one point after the seven completed rounds at Paraclete XP in July. However, the slow start at the same location two months later and a strong Toxic performance did not allow SpeedRun to challenge the two top teams seriously. In fact, the Colorado team had to catch up in the battle for the bronze medals after still trailing by six points behind CSC Constellation after Round 7.

Mile-Hi SpeedRun eventually found their way back to the performance level that they had shown at the Summer Classic in July and took the USPA bronze medals by winning the last three rounds over their direct opponents.

USPA Nationals 2023		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Intermediate	7,G,15	4,F,19	M,14,D	22,J,8	N,C,L,1	11,20	13,6	H,E,Q,9	A,21,2	P,O,B,18	Total	Avg
1	Air Raid XP	11	14	14	10	14	9	11	18	12	12	125	12.5
2	Spaceland Toxic	12	11	12	8	12	9	11	16	10	13	114	11.4
3	Mile-Hi SpeedRun	8	8	7	7	11	7	9	15	12	11	95	9.5
4	CSC Constellation	10	11	6	8	10	8	10	10	11	8	92	9.2
4	SDD Brane Damage	9	10	9	9	10	5	8	15	9	8	92	9.2
6	Air Force Halo	7	9	9	9	10	7	9	11	7	13	91	9.1
7	SDMW Uprising	6	9	10	9	8	7	8	10	9	13	89	8.9

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Mile-Hi SpeedRun - CSC Constellation - SDD Brane Damage at the USPA Nationals 2023, videos courtesy of USPA

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The SpeedRun visit at Paraclete XP's Summer Classic in July at the hosting site for the USPA Nationals worked out well for the bronze medal winners. CSC Constellation and SDD Brane Damage both completed previous meets, as well, the Cloud Games in June. However, it was an online competition that the participating teams could do on their respective home turfs, while SpeedRun experienced their test event away from home.

Several more teams were actually within striking distance of the bronze medal winners and their strongest opponents, which made the Intermediate Class competition the most exciting event behind the two top teams. The all-female Air Force lineup of Halo and SDMW Uprising both even tied the highscore of the silver medalist Spaceland Toxic in Round 10. Mile-Hi SpeedRun had done the same in Round 9.Halo and Uprising then finished only a few points behind Constellation and Brane Damage.

Air Raid XP and Spaceland Toxic claimed all other highscores in this category, Air Raid all of them except for Round 1 and Round 10. Toxic won two rounds and tied two more.

Air Raid have to move up to AAA/Advanced Class competition after two years in the AA/Intermediate Class and the 1st place. The 12.5 winning average almost matches the 12.8 that Rhebellion XP posted in 2022. Rhebellion did not continue, and team member Kelsey Strock was trying out for a slot with XPG4. Spaceland Toxic would still be eligible for the next attempt to win the Intermediate Class gold medals, after the 3rd place in 2022 and the 2nd place this year.