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Did You Know...

... that DeLand Shmeland XP won this year's unofficial US amateur title?

Unofficial US amateur champion of 2010: DeLand Shmeland XP
posted Sep 30th, 2010 - The NSL News has covered the unofficial category of the "amateur teams" for a long time, as a part of the World Championships of Formation Skydiving as well as the USPA Nationals.

There is no definition for this category, and it is impossible to draw a clear line between weekend amateur and real professional competitors. However, there is still a difference between the top teams and full time skydivers and the other passionate competitors who spend a lot of time and money to become as good as they can be according to their limited efforts.

The NSL News has tried to honor those "amateur" teams and competitors who never end up on the top of the leaderboards, as they have decided to have 4-way training and competition as a hobby and not a profession. However, the best "amateur" teams are posting impressive scores and deserve attention. This year's winner at the USPA Nationals 2010 was DeLand Shmeland XP.

USPA Nationals 2010Round1Round2Round3Round4Round5Round6Round7Round8Round9Round10TotalAvg
Rank4-way Open16,21,113,L,K,106,22,112,20,4Q,M,2,NH,D,9,G19,5,13F,E,17,OC,8,7A,18,14TotalAvg
6DeLand Shmeland XP15 17 13 13 21 28 15 30 17 12 18118.1
7Speedy Kids XP14 16 14 14 23 23 15 24 17 13 17317.3
8Founding Fathers13 15 14 13 21 20 17 27 16 13 16916.9
9Amphibious Attack Tigers12 16 14 12 18 25 16 27 14 14 16816.8
Unofficial US amateur champion of 2009: SDC Rhythm XP
Shmeland's 18.1 average secured the 6th place in the Open Class competition. SDC Rhythm XP was the next team up and out of reach with a 20.5 average. Rhythm was still a part of this unofficial category in 2009 and won the amateur title with exactly the same meet average last year. Rhythm then decided to go full time and is now trying to win the Open Class one day.

Speedy Kids, Founding Fathers and Amphibious Attack Tigers battled with Shmeland for the amateur title this year. The AAT lineup included three Mass Defiance members who are still holding the record amateur average at USPA Nationals.

Ben Liston, John Silva and Brian Stephens had posted a 19.3 average at the USPA Nationals 2007, together with John Rees who is now a USPA National Judge and evaluated the competition jumps of his former team mates at this year's event. They all kept their eyes on the scoreboard wondering if somebody would get close to the record average this time.

USPA Nationals 2007Round1Round2Round3Round4Round5Round6Round7Round8Round9Round10TotalAvg
Rank4-way Open11,6,K12,E,C,A18,17,F4,8,PM,20,D,919,16,5B,3,O,G13,H,27,22,15N,21,L,JTotalAvg
7Mass Defiance18 20 18 18 25 16 22 19 15 22 19319.3
8FooZa18 18 20 16 23 16 24 17 16 22 19019.0
Record average of 19.3 in 2007: Mass Defiance
image by: Omniskore
Mass Defiance was pushed to the record average by FooZa in 2007. Two FooZa members, Sally Hathaway and James "Bu" Klinge, were back with Shmeland this year to win another unofficial amateur title.

Jim Klinge had won hist first amateur honors with Phugoid and a 15.7 average at the USPA Nationals 2005. His team beat Perris Fury by one point that year. XL's John McIver was filling in for Chris Farina at Fury's first USPA Nationals.

Sally Hathaway was competing with the US national team Synchronicity at the same meet, 4-way world champion in the female category at the World Meet 2004 in Croatia. She had outscored all other "amateur" teams with Synchronicity in 2003 and 2004. Mass Defiance was the USPA Advanced Class champion in 2005.

USPA Nationals 2005Round1Round2Round3Round4Round5Round6Round7Round8Round9Round10TotalAvg
Rank4-way Open2A 19F20 D 9C21 N 1115M 846 P51 H227 123K 16E17 141318 JTotalAvg
7Phugoid18 20 12 15 16 16 12 16 17 15 15715.7
8Perris Fury17 19 17 15 13 14 14 15 17 15 15615.6
9Perris Synchronicity16 19 17 15 15 15 12 15 17 13 15415.4
9Mass Defiance19 19 16 15 15 15 12 14 15 14 15415.4
11Dallas Thunder15 19 15 16 15 15 13 15 16 13 15215.2
Unofficial US amateur champion of 2006: Rodney Cruce with FiaZco
The third Shmeland member, Center Inside Rodney Cruce, came into the same amateur championship picture at the USPA Nationals a year later. He and Jim Klinge were now FiaZco team mates, and Rodney Cruce won his first amateur title.

Mass Defiance had now moved up into the Open Class competition, as the USPA Advanced Class champion is required to do. The same MD lineup finished right behind FiaZco with a 16.7 average.

Sally Hathaway was once again competing with Synchronicity in 2006 and finished with a 15.9 average behind her two future Shmeland team mates.

USPA Nationals 2006Round1Round2Round3Round4Round5Round6Round7Round8Round9Round10TotalAvg
Rank4-way Open1319 17N21 147M 89K 10B22 H 3420 16G6 112F 2JL Q P 18EO 5 DTotalAvg
8FiaZco15 14 19 18 17 14 17 16 23 23 17617.6
9Mass Defiance15 14 19 16 14 15 14 15 22 23 16716.7
Ari Perelman with Teiwaz Tempest in 2007
Shmeland's fourth team member's story begins in 2007. Ari Perelman trained and competed with Teiwaz Tempest in 2007 and then with the same lineup for Sebastian Tempest in 2008. Tempest did not compete at the USPA Nationals 2007, where Mass Defiance scored the record average, and then posted scores on the Open Class leaderboard in 2008.

Tempest's 17.1 average would have won the Advanced Class gold medals that year, which went to CSC Rhythm XP (16.9) instead. However, Ari Perelman still ended up behind Jim Klinge and Rodney Cruce who competed with Inept (17.4) in 2008.

Arizona Divewerkz posted the highest amateur average at the USPA Nationals 2008 (19.0) and came closer than any other team to Mass Defiance's 19.3 record average. Mass Defiance witnessed AZDW's challenge with Dennis Rook for Jim Rees in the lineup.

USPA Nationals 2008Round1Round2Round3Round4Round5Round6Round7Round8Round9Round10TotalAvg
Rank4-way Open2,10,15F,C,3,HJ,O,4,N20,M,E,1113,12,L9,A,1918,22,D21,17,P6,14,QB,1,G,7TotalAvg
8Arizona Divewerkz15 25 23 19 17 19 16 19 16 21 19019.0
11Spaceland Directe XP13 22 22 17 16 22 14 19 17 18 18018.0
12Inept14 19 22 19 12 22 14 16 16 20 17417.4
13Sebastian Tempest13 22 21 17 16 17 12 16 17 20 17117.1
14Mass Defiance15 23 22 20 13 23 15 17 18 16716.7
Amphibious Attack Tigers in 2008
Only Sally Hathaway and Ari Perelman then competed in 4-way at the USPA Nationals 2009. Sally Hathaway helped out for Spaceland Blue who needed an alternate for Becky Brocato.

Ari Perelman teamed up with three of his Dallas Rogue 8-way team mates and posted a 17.1 average with the Amphibious Attack Tigers, exactly the same average as with Sebastian Tempest in 2008. Two of the Attack Tigers, former Mass Defiance members Ben Liston and Brian Stephens, watched SDC Rhythm XP's last attack on their amateur record average in 2009. Rhythm won the unoffical amateur title but missed the 19.3 mark.

Rodney Cruce competed only in 8-way with Dallas Rogue and was in the same lineup with his Shmeland team mate Ari Perelman for the first time. Jim Klinge competed neither in 4-way nor in 8-way and was eager to come back in 2010.

USPA Nationals 2009Round1Round2Round3Round4Round5Round6Round7Round8Round9Round10TotalAvg
Rank4-way Open13,20,18D,10,316,15,KG,Q,L,8B,17,21A,N,H,P,O1,14,M19,12,J5,11,C22,9,ETotalAvg
6SDC Rhythm XP13 17 16 20 18 35 15 13 17 17 18118.1
8Amphibious Attack Tigers14 12 14 18 19 30 17 15 16 16 17117.1
9Spaceland Blue14 14 14 19 17 26 16 14 16 16 16616.6
9Sebastian Tempest13 17 16 17 18 28 15 14 16 12 16616.6
DeLand Shmeland with coach Solly Williams
DeLand Shmeland XP started the 2010 season with Michael Biederman in the lineup. Jim Klinge, Rodney Cruce and Ari Perelman knew that he would only be available for a limited time and made plans with Sally Hathaway for the second half of the season.

Solly Williams was coaching the team from the very beginning this year, and Shmeland with Michael Biederman posted a 14.4 average after the first part of the training at the FSL Shamrock Showdown 2010. By the way: the same Shamrock Showdown also featured Rhythm's first meet with the new lineup and a real Mass Defiance reunion with the original lineup.

Several weekends and additional wind tunnel training followed with Sally Hathaway and Solly Williams, and the progression between the first scores on the Shamrock leaderboard and the results at the USPA Nationals was impressive. Shmeland's 18.1 average did not beat MD's 19.3 record average, but it was another great result for a lineup with weekend amateur competitors.

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