posted Jul 23rd, 2011 - A quick update from Brazil shows that the Golden Knights used the semifinal round to get closer to Germany. NSL News correspondent in Brazil, CTR Optimum member André Ferraz, added that Golden Knights and Germany have a jump-off round, which means that both teams must have been tied after the final Round 8. The scores for Round 8 are not officially posted yet and will be added later.

The X-Dogs had to accept that Switzerland eventually took the 4th place. Switzerland has a strong lineup that won the bronze medals in 2010. It was a surprise that the Brazilian team was ahead of Switzerland for so many rounds this year. The X-Dogs now have to fend off the Spanish challenge. There is only one single point between Brazil and Spain. Fast Air moved up another rank and is now tied with Turkey in 11th place.

CISM 2011		Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Round 6	Round 7	Round 8	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Men	M,F,H,19	M,B,G,22	M,P,E,13	M,K,O,4	M,Cat,C,11	M,L,J,10	M,Q,N,21	M,A,D,7	Total	Avg
1	Belgium NMP-PCH Hayabusa	43	29	35	35	34	34	34	-	244	34.9
2	Germany	40	30	32	32	29	29	29	-	221	31.6
3	USA Golden Knights	34	28	35	28	28	32	33	-	218	31.1
4	Switzerland	17	25	30	27	23	25	29	-	176	25.1
5	Brazil X-Dogs	28	22	29	23	24	23	24	-	173	24.7
10	Qatar Falcons	22	22	20	21	17	19	20	-	141	20.1
11	Ireland Fast Air	24	16	18	22	17	18	21	-	136	19.4

In the meantime, the NSL News goes back to last weekend's competition of the Southern California Skydiving League in Elsinore. Four teams attended the meet in the AA Class, and a local newspaper provided the meet report from the perspective of the general public this time.

Skydivers follow their passion in Elsinore

By RICHARD BARAJAS, The Press-Enterprise

Have you ever stood near the edge of a high balcony and after looking over the edge you feel your legs begin to weaken? Imagine free-falling from 10,500 feet and traveling at more than 125 mph. Would you open your eyes or force them shut?

To the members of the Southern California Skydiving League, the image below them is picturesque. Competitors such as Crystal Sanchez from Los Angeles, Aaron McKeon from Laguna Hills and John "Hammo" Hamilton from Murrieta jumped in Saturday's four-way skydiving tournament for the SCSL.

Hamilton, 44, is no stranger to skydiving. He's been jumping for 24 years and has competed in nationals for 21 straight years, earning many medals. "I'm following my passion," said Hamilton, who has been coaching the Elsinore Legacy of the SCSL for the past year and is the owner and an instructor at Skydive Elsinore. "If everyone followed their passion ... well ... we'd be better off."

Hamilton's presence was felt early on Saturday. When cloudy conditions halted the competition, teams used fish-shaped boards with wheels to practice their formations. They lay on their stomachs and glide across the concrete while mimicking the actions they'd be performing in the sky -- an act known as "creeping." Wearing his bright, high-lighter orange jumpsuit, Hamilton watched other teams practice. When he saw something wrong, he stepped in and corrected the mistakes.

"He's a person with a great wealth of knowledge in skydiving," Elsinore Legacy's McKeon said. "Rather than reading your actions, he knows what's going on in your head during a jump."

California is one of many states involved in the National Skydiving League. Other states include Arizona, Florida, Texas and Georgia. The NSL also holds events internationally in places such as Australia, Brazil, Italy and Germany. Teams have already competed in three events for the SCSL. The season opened at Skydive Elsinore and has also appeared at Perris Valley -- the same location for the Sept. 24 finale.

During each meet, teams of four get six jumps to accumulate as many points as possible as they repeatedly go through the assigned formations for the jumps. Each point is gained for each completed formation.

As conditions improved, members of Elsinore Legacy, Block Party, Rag Tag Legacy Hunters and Elsinore Rigby prepped their gear one last time before entering the plane. Aside from the plane's engines, the ride up was quiet. Very quiet. "There's not much said on the ride up," said Crystal Sanchez, of Elsinore Rigby. "Most of the skydivers are going over their formations in their head."

Not many people are willing to leap from an airplane at 10,500 feet. But for the teams competing, it's just a walk in the park. Sanchez has completed 300 career jumps, while McKeon, 28, has surpassed 900 jumps -- neither close to Hamilton's 17,000.

With a videographer following, the teams leap from the plane and immediately perform the same formations they practiced earlier. From the ground, the jumpers go unnoticed -- tiny specks in the air. Even Hamilton's creamsicle-colored suit is not enough to penetrate the blue sky from 10,500 feet. It's not until their parachutes deploy that they become visible. But after the video is loaded onto the television for the judge's eyes, it's a completely different sight.

The skydivers orchestrate the formations with great precision. They spin around simultaneously in between grabs, positioning themselves in synchronized fashion. They repeat the formations as many times as possible to earn as many points as possible in the allowed 35 seconds.

During their fall, the skydivers reach terminal velocity -- their maximum speed during descent. Sanchez describes it as "a sensation when you no longer feel like you're falling, but floating."

After the teams land, they go back to the boards and "creep." They do so before every jump. The participants use their time spent in the Southern California Skydiving League as preparation for the National Skydiving Championships that take place in Eloy, Ariz., from Oct. 26 to Nov. 5. Sanchez, McKeon and Hamilton all plan to compete in nationals. "I'll keep doing this till one day I decide I'm done," Hamilton said. "Right now there's no end in sight."