posted Jan 22nd, 2011 - The NSL News wraps up the Paraclete XP4 coverage with the video of a new NSL Talk, which was recorded at the end of the XP4 day in Raeford. The complete lineup was sitting in the lobby of the windtunnel, and Paraclete owner Tim D'Annunzio introduced the team to open the show.

This job as a host for the NSL Talk came unexpected and unannounced for him, and he took the surprising part like a pro. The fact that he was able to take the anchor slot without hesitation shows that he had experiences in this area.

Tim D'Annunzio was running for Congress at last year's US elections. The hosting job for the NSL Talk was a walk in the park for him, compared to other meetings and public appearances that he had to attend during his political campaign.

The campaign that took a lot of his time is over, and Tim D'Annunzio has returned to his Paraclete windtunnel operation. He is once again very actively involved. Yesterday's NSL Reality TV clip shows him in tunnel 4-way action with three XP4 members.

He also explained in the NSL Talk that he has a strong lineup for the upcoming Paraclete XP Indoor Skydiving Championships 2011. Former Airspeed members Andy Delk, Brian Johnson and Dennis Rook will be competing together with him on the February 5/6 weekend.

The NSL News turned to other topics once Tim D'Annunzios's introduction of the team members and his own lineup was over. It was tempting to go straight to the Dubai Championship 2011 and get first-hand feedback from John Eagle. However, the NSL News saved the best for last, and there were several other interesting topics to cover before.

An earlier story had mentioned that Kirk Verner's never ending energy and motivation has been impressive and contagious to many skydivers. The NSL News now had the opportunity to ask him directly which force is driving him to continue year after year.

He loves the group dynamics of 4-way and 8-way teams. He had his own funny explanation why he still mostly sticks to 4-way training and competition: "Once you do a team it ruins you for other type of jumping..."

He makes other jumps, as well, but Formation Skydiving competition has no finish line: "You can always have improvement, and it's always about getting there." He says that the winning part at the competitions has been a by-product for him. The training brings out the best person he can be.

The conversation turned again to the age of Formation Skydiving competitors when it was John D'Annunzio's turn in this NSL Talk. He is only 27 years of age, which is significantly below the average age of the US top competitors in Formation Skydiving.

He had followed the progression of the Belgian national 4-way team, NMP-PCH Hayabusa, very carefully and had paid special attention to the 21-year old member Dennis Praet. He also picked up feedback of SDC Rhythm XP's Rob Radez who had commented the younger average age of the Belgian and French national lineups.

John D'Annunzio said that younger competitors seem to join the Formation Skydiving community in the USA, as well. However, he also mentioned that the nature of the sport allows skydivers to be active for a long time, which can make for a great mixture of all ages.

Last not least, the NSL News turned to John Eagle, Hayabusa's hero, before Kirk Verner finished up the conversation with a short preview of the 2011 season in the USA. It will be a very exciting year.