posted Oct 12th, 2004 - In a presentation at Perris Valley Skydiving during the USPA Championship 2004, Southwest Skydiving League Director Pamela Stevens presented the "Perris SkyVenture Cup" to the league's AAA Class winning team, Arizona Blade. The Blade team members, Natasha Montgomery, Thomas Hughes, Mark Kirkby and Robert Healy Jr., accepted their trophy and will bring it back to their home drop zone, Skydive Arizona. The trophy, a large silver cup on a solid wood base engraved with the name of its sponsor Perris SkyVenture and a space for each yearly recipient, will remain on display at Skydive Arizona until it is captured by a team from another SSL drop zone in a subsequent SSL season.

In addition to the Perris SkyVenture Cup, the Southwest Skydiving League announced the award of its "Grand Prize". The Grand Prize goes to the qualifying team in each division, which wins the first place for the season, and it includes sponsorship by the Southwest Skydiving League to compete at the NSL Championship at SkyQuest 2004 in Florida. Arizona Blade, the winner in the AAA Class, and Elsinore Equinox, the AA Class SSL winner, will enjoy free travel, accommodation and registration fees to participate at the NSL Championship 2004. SkyQuest is the major NSL event at Fantasy of Flight in Florida. It includes the annual NSL Championship, the Kaleidoscope big-ways, the Fantasy Swooping competition and the Accuracy Challenge.

In her presentation, Stevens thanked former SSL league directors Graham Harding, who originally founded the SSL, and Eric Assendorf, who ran the league prior to Stevens. Both league directors were on hand to symbolically pass the Perris SkyVenture cup along from Harding to Assendorf, on to Stevens and then to the Blade team members. Recognition was also offered to "the vision of Kurt Gaebel", who runs the National Skydiving League. The NSL was appreciated as "a place for the competitors to compete regionally, yet rank internationally with no guest designations or substitution limitations."

Stevens also acknowledged the "marching orders" she received from fellow SSL competitors in a Blue-Sky planning session, held during a Team Networking event supported by Dan Brodsky-Chenfield and John Hamilton. These marching orders served as a framework for the scheduling and organization of the league, including the Grand Prize awards. The SSL put on six meets in 2004 at Skydive Arizona, Perris Valley Skydiving and Skydive Elsinore. The biggest meet of the season hosted 16 teams, including the USA Women's 4-way team Synchronicity. Stevens plans to continue to run the league for the 2005 season, and looks forward to even greater participation. She commented the SSL progression after the event: "It takes a year to figure things out. I have no doubt that 2005 will be another great season for the SSL competitors."

The NSL Championship and SkyQuest 2004 is scheduled for November 18 - 21. The 4-way competition will begin on Friday at noon, November 19, 2004. The international field includes the Danez and Punky Fish. Updates will follow.