posted Jun 27th, 2006 - Most of last weekend's European scores were already provided by the league and meet directors on Sunday, while ESL manager Willy Boeykens had even posted results throughout the meet action on Saturday and Sunday. This time, the first meet videos are also coming from Europe.

The Austrian teams Monkey Circus and Eclipse present the sequences of last weekend's first round of the competition. Monkey Circus represented Austria in the AAA/Open FAI Class and opened the competition with a 16-pointer for Q-L-20-18. The second meet in Austria was the third competition for Thomas Haber (Center Inside), Christian Royer (Tail), Ewald Salcher (Center Outside), Horst Scheiber (Point) and Roland Habel (Video) this year.

Monkey Circus opened the team's 2006 season at the FSL Shamrock Showdown 2006 with a 16.1 meet average after ten rounds with a relatively fast competition draw. The Austrian team followed up with a 14.2 average at the May meet, and last weekend's 15.8 average was probably the team's best performance of the 2006 season to date.

The 6-round competition was on the slow side of the dive pool, and Monkey Circus posted scores consistently between 15 and 17 points per round. The great performance was rewarded with the 3rd place of last weekend's AAA Class leaderboard. Only the Belgium top teams Spa Hayabusa and NMPV posted higher meet averages.

The first place at the second Austrian competition of the 2006 season also secured the first place in the Austrian overall league championship this year for Monkey Circus. It was the first time in the history of the Austrian league that a team was able to secure the overall championship earlier than at the last meet of the season.

Monkey Circus was formed at the end of the 1999 season, and the founding members are still identical with the current line-up. The team began the 4-way career with a 5.3 average at the Austrian Nationals in 2000. The team was highly motivated after the first competition and began a successful coaching relationship with DeLand Fire member Shannon Pilcher during the winter camp in DeLand 2001.

The meet average went up to 7.1 at the Austrian Nationals 2001, and Monkey Circus finished in 5th place that year. The team moved on and into the 2002 season, which brought the 2nd place in Austria with a 9.2 meet average in 2002. Shannon Pilcher was still working with the team.

Monkey Circus had to use alternates several times when original team members had to step down due to injuries and illness. However, the original team members always made it back into the team. This consistency was rewarded with an ongoing progression. Monkey Circus completed the 2003 season with a 12.8 average and another 2nd place in Austria.

The NSL News reported with previous stories on the 3-way race in Austria between Team FILA, Matrix and Monkey Circus. These two rival teams have not allowed Monkey Circus yet to win the Austrian Nationals, even though the race was as close as can be at several events. Monkey Circus moved up to a 13.6 average in 2004, and it was still only good enough for the 3rd place at the Austrian Nationals 2004.

The consistent progression from beginner skydivers in 1999 to one of the current top teams in Austria was still rewarded when Team FILA invited Monkey Circus to form the FILA Circus 8-way team, which then qualified for the World Meet 2004 in Croatia. The Monkey Circus members had their first official international appearance.

The 3-team race of the 2004 season turned into a 2-team affair in 2005 when Matrix could not keep up any longer. Only Monkey Circus and Team FILA battled for the first place. Monkey Circus improved the team's average once again to 15.4 at the Austrian Nationals 2005, and it was still not good enough for the gold medals. Team FILA defended the title and will compete at the World Meet 2006 in Germany.

However, Monkey Circus moved on in 4-way, as usual, and FILA Circus will offer the team once again the 8-way experience in Germany. At the same time, the 2006 season seems to continue with the Monkey Circus progression. The original line-up in its 7th year, still with coach Shannon Pilcher, has been performing strongly so far.

The Austrian league has the last meet of the 2006 season scheduled for August 19, and Monkey Circus will once again take on the international 4-way competition. The Austrian Nationals 2006 are scheduled for August 30 - September 3 and will probably feature the same race for the top spot as in the past years.

Team Eclipse presents last weekend's A Class squence (Q-L-4). Günter Reisinger (Tail), Bernhard Reif (Outside Center), Herbert Salhofer (Inside Center), Christoph Langer (Point) and Jürgen Fischer (Video) had a strong start into the competition. Eclipse finished in 7th place of 11 teams in the A Class, but the team's featured 7-pointer was the highest score of round one in the international field.