posted Dec 12th, 2025 - The NSL News update following the NSL Live Talk conversation with Gary Smith concluded with the AAA Class leaderboard of the Shamrock Showdown 2002. The update recalled the 2-2 player-coaching lineup that Dutch 4-way competitors Paul Hofstee and Bert Hajee had already put together several years earlier with their team Punky Fish. The NSL News archives begin years before 2002, when the current version of SKYLEAGUE.COM and its database was created by Craig Buxton.

However, the AAA Class leaderboard of the Shamrock Showdown 2002 was interesting not only because Punky Fish participated—featuring Out Of The Blue 2025 member Paul Hofstee—but also because it was one of the rare events where a Punky Fish lineup directly overlapped with the other major player-coaching project of the time: Optic Nerve.

Paul Hofstee and Bert Hajee’s lineup included original Norgies members Lise Aune (Nansen) and Pal Kolbenstvedt, with Dutch videographer Alexander Egberink on camera at Skydive DeLand. Optic Nerve’s Dr. Joel Shugar and Scott Keeler did not have Solly Williams and Gary Smith available, as both were competing at the same event with DeLand Majik. Double duties were generally avoided at outdoor events at that time, and Majik’s members were fully occupied defending their home turf against the visitors from Skydive Arizona, Airspeed Vertical.

Shamrock Showdown 2002			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	AAA Class		12,H,2	J,L,G,D,P	6,Q,C,B	K,N,7,16	F,A,14,M	5,13,15	18,3,10	9,19,18	17,4,22	11,O,21	Total	Avg
1	DeLand Majik	US	19	34	31	23	22	20	17	21	18	21	226	22.6
2	Airspeed Vertical	US	19	34	28	24	23	19	17	19	19	21	223	22.3
3	Sebastian XL	UK	17	27	22	20	23	16	14	17	17	18	191	19.1
4	Sinapsi PD	IT	14	27	18	21	21	14	14	17	15	17	178	17.8
5	Punky Fish	NL	14	24	21	16	17	13	11	14	13	13	156	15.6
6	Phenix	SE	14	19	19	17	17	11	13	6	14	14	144	14.4
7	Blue Eye Majik	US	11	23	14	19	14	10	11	14	12	14	142	14.2
8	Space Center Teiwaz	US	12	18	18	12	10	13	11	14	9	15	132	13.2
9	Jetstream	US	11	15	15	13	13	10	11	12	11	11	122	12.2
10	Superfly	US	11	15	12	11	10	9	10	11	7	11	107	10.7
11	TBD	US	5	14	9	9	12	8	4	10	9	8	88	8.8

---

DeLand Majik vs. Airspeed Vertical – Shamrock Showdown 2002

---

Shugar and Keeler needed two substitute teammates for the event, and found them in Robbie Spencer and Fred Whitsitt, former teammates of Solly Williams and Gary Smith. Robbie Spencer and Fred Whitsitt had trained and competed with DeLand Equanimity, who won 4-way bronze at the FAI World Championship 1997 in Turkey. The two had moved to Florida with their team and were available to step in for Majik’s new members—who, at this same event, outscored Airspeed Vertical by three points.

Punky Fish ultimately won the duel between the two player-coaching lineups, and the leaderboard revealed several other interesting stories. The Swedish team Phenix, featuring future Arcteryx and Echochamber member Mathias Nord, launched their 2002 season at Skydive DeLand before representing Sweden at the FAI World Championship 2003.

Sebastian XL also began the last two outdoor years of their bronze-medal rivalry with the Norgies at the Shamrock Showdown 2002. The Punky Fish player-coaches Lise Aune/Nansen and Pal Kolbenstvedt watched XL’s performance closely. Sebastian XL, with Pete Allum in the lineup, placed well ahead of Punky Fish and Blue Eye Majik, and even outscored Italy’s Sinapsi PD. After XL stopped competing outdoors, Allum moved to Italy to join Sinapsi, where he finally earned his own bronze medal after three 4th-place finishes with the British team.

The next Shamrock Showdown will return to Skydive DeLand in April 2026 as the 1st Bob Hallet Memorial Meet.

Shamrock Showdown 2002			1	2	3	4	5	6	Total	Avg
Rank	A Class		C,K,15	P,G,N	Q,D,H	A,4	L,E,O	M,J,21	Total	Avg
1	Quest	UK	6	8	12	9	13	11	59	9.8
2	Apogee	US	3	9	5	7	10	7	41	6.8
3	Pahokee 4play	US	6	8	8	4	5	7	38	6.3
4	Zero Tolerance Miami	US	5	5	5	7	7	6	35	5.8
5	Slow Motion	US	2	5	4	4	4	5	24	4.0
Rank	Rookie		E,P,K	E,A,H	E,D,N	E,M,Q	E,C,B	E,G,J	Total	Avg
1	Sebastian 8L	US	10	15	10	9	12	12	68	11.3
2	Obsessive Compulsion	US	4	10	6	8	5	8	41	6.8