posted Mar 29th, 2010 - The NSL News reported on 9 February 2010 that Carolina Turbo XP, formerly knows as USPA Intermediate Class champion of 2009 VTSD, had changed the team name and made plans for the 2010 season.

The story on 27 February 2010 followed up with the announcement that Turbo would attend the team's first competition in the AAA Class at the FSL Shamrock Showdown 2010.

The Virginia Tech team from Carolina made true on the spring plan and showed up in DeLand for the first competition of the 2010 seaason. Doug Barron, Joey Coffineau, Andrew Happick, Ben Worrall and James Sides (Camera) were already the most active competitors of the 2009 season after attending eight meets last year. The 2010 season will be quite similar for the same Carolina Turbo XP lineup.

Round 7 of the Top 10 teams at the Shamrock Showdown 2010

It was a great and exciting start into the 2010 season for the youngest AAA Class team in the country, maybe in the world. The NSL News found all team members at their home dropzone, Skydive Carolina in Chester, the weekend after the Shamrock Showdown. They had already trained again on Saturday and waited for good weather on Sunday.

They said that it was very exciting to compete side by side with the best teams in the world. It was especially the Belgian team NMP-PCH Hayabusa that fascinated the new AAA Class competitors. The Hayabusa members are not much older than the Turbo youngsters who could somehow see themselves in a few years when they watched the Belgian world class team compete in DeLand.

The Turbo members leave no doubt that they have only one ultimate goal. They want to become 4-way world champions themselves one day.

The Turbo start into the 2010 season was already very impressive. The Carolina team outscored the UK team Kaizen and the Russian team Friday 13 after ten rounds. Even more importantly, the 13.0 average at the Shamrock Showdown in the AAA Class is almost exactly at the same level (13.1) where VTSD won the USPA Nationals 2009 in the AA Class.

There was something that meant even more to the young Turbo members. It was the result of Round 7. Yes, the 15-pointer won Turbo $400 cash in the Shamrock Skins Game. However, it was the fact that Turbo tied Genesis' 15-pointer on the scoreboard in the same round that got the team all excited, as they mentioned to the NSL News.

The career of Genesis members Shannon Pilcher and Ian Bobo, from Georgia Tech skydiving students to 4-way world champions and full time skydiving pros, is a model for the Turbo members from Virginia Tech.

Carolina Turbo XP at the Shamrock Showdown 2010

The $400, sponsored by United Parachute Technologies (UPT), was still very helpful for the empty pockets of the passionate young 4-way competitors. They were probably the only team at the Shamrock Showdown who spent the time in DeLand in tents at the dropzone.

The same 15-pointer that won UPT's $400 and tied the Genesis score in Round 7 reached far up into the higher rankings, including the Top 10 positions. Only eight of the 20 AAA Class teams scored higher than Turbo in this round. It was no surprise that this $400 skin went to Carolina.

The Turbo average could also have been almost a point higher over ten rounds. A total of nine points got lost in the judging room. The 15-pointer in Round 7 was one of the four clean rounds.

The damage of Round 7: Voluntas (-3), Genesis (-3), SDC Rhythm XP (-2), Speedy Kids (-2), Teiwaz (-2), Friday 13 (-2), Perris Fury (-1), Black Cat (-1), Paraclete XP4 (-1), Mass Defiance (-1), DeLand Dunamis (-1).