posted Apr 5th, 2007 - The videos of Round 10 have been uploaded, and the NSL-TV coverage of the FSL Shamrock Showdown 2007 is complete.

The competition in DeLand was a promising preview of what can be expected this year - a most exciting race for the AAA/Open Class qualification as the US national 4-way team at the World Meet 2008 in France.

Airspeed Odyssey won the team's second competition in 2007, and the victims already include six world-class teams: France Maubeuge, Norway Arcteryx, Team Fastrax, Golden Knights, DeLand Groove and Perris Fury.

The first competition at the Valentine's Meet 2007 in February did not challenge Odyssey too much. The French national team was still in the building process and showed only randomly what will wait for the best US team next year in France. Perris Fury also showed the potential to become a serious contender but was not ready to threaten Odyssey in February.

The situation for the Arizona team was already much more challenging at the Shamrock Showdown. The home team, DeLand Groove, was not prepared well enough to be really dangerous for the well trained teams. However, Team Fastrax and the Golden Knights both forced Airspeed Odyssey to show everything the west coast team had to offer. And even that was barely enough.

The Golden Knights were one point ahead of Airspeed Odyssey after the first four rounds. Team Fastrax beat Odyssey by four points in the last five rounds. However, at the end, the Arizona team was on top of the field, and that's the only thing that counts in a 10-round competition. Airspeed Odyssey had won the second battle.

Eliana Rodriguez, Craig Girard, Andy Delk, Mark Kirkby and Will Pesek on camera still know that it will be a very tough road to the World Meet in France 2008. The situation at the qualification event, the USPA Nationals 2007, will surely not be any easier than it was at the Shamrock Showdown. Airspeed Odyssey will have to work hard to defend the top position on the leaderboard.

Team Fastrax is as close as can be and will probably only get even closer. Round 10 provided additional evidence. Fastrax had won Rounds 6 and 7 by two points each. Rounds 8 and 9 were tied with Odyssey. However, Fastrax was already a little bit ahead each time, and this continued in Round 10.

Airspeed Odyssey completed the 23rd scoring point, the T of Block 22, well within working time (34.06 seconds). Fastrax was still faster once again, with 33.64 seconds for the same T right before the finish line. John Hart, Thomas Hughes, Niklas Hemlin, Doug Park and Steve Redinbo on camera gained confidence with each round and will probably carry over the momentum and motivation into the upcoming training camps and competitions.

The Golden Knights lost their momentum after the first four rounds and never recovered. However, Brian Krause, Kurt Isenbarger, Eric Heinsheimer, Matt Davidson and Larry Miller on camera know exactly what to work on. As in Round 10, where the missed completion of Block 18 (Zircon - Zircon) cost the 23rd scoring point, the Army team was behind the technical skills of Airspeed Odyssey and Team Fastrax. The Golden Knights know how to fix that.

There is a big questionmark behind the future of DeLand Groove. Chances are little that the defending USPA champion of 2006 will participate in the race this year. It will require some training for the reigning and former world champions to be able to keep up with the other three or four US top teams.

DeLand Groove obviously does not need much training, as the 2006 season showed. The winning line-up at the USPA Nationals 2006, with Shannon Pilcher, Ian Bobo, Gary Smith and Solly Williams, showed up after maybe 30 training jumps. However, the US competition in 2006 was not as strong as it will be this year. DeLand Groove would probably have to make a few more jumps to be competitive in September.

Airspeed Odyssey has set the pace so far this year, Team Fastrax and the Golden Knights are hunting. Both challengers will work on their specific areas for improvement and get better. It will be crucial for Odyssey to keep moving forward, and the 4-way veterans know that.

Odyseey has planned for a very busy 4-way season, loaded with training and competition. The team is already on its way to the next event, Bodyflight Bedford's World Challenge 2007. Team Fastrax, Golden Knights, DeLand Groove, Perris Fury and any other potential contenders can be certain that the Airspeed team will do everything that it takes to be ready at the right time this year. Yet the 10 rounds at that time will tell the only truth.

Team Fastrax collected additional $400 cash for the highest score after handicap in the Skins Game for Round 10. The cash amount was sponsored by Skydive DeLand. The host of the FSL Shamrock Showdown 2007 also added two more free team jumps for the winning team of this round.

The Fastrax purse came to a total amount of $1,850 for the whole competition. The team in 2nd place of the AAA Class competition after ten rounds also received additional $500 cash, sponsored by Ryan Insurance & Financial Services ($400) and DeLand's Mainstreet Community Bank ($100).

Team Fastrax donated the whole amount of the Skins Game ($1,350) and the overall prize ($500) for charity purposes. $200 went to a local fund-raising project for tornado victim Rusty Trapp, a local skydiver, $100 to the Border Colley Rescue Fund, an organisation that local skydiver Bob Holler was supporting. The rest of the Fastrax money went to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, which supports the families of fallen US soldiers.

The Golden Knights donated their $350 cash to the same foundation. The 3rd place in the AAA Class competition without handicap was sponsored by the US Army ($200) and the Roseborough Travel Agency in DeLand ($150). The Golden Knights did not win any rounds in the Skins Game.

Airspeed Odyssey was able to offset some of the team's expenses with the total win of $1,150 cash. Odyssey had won Round 5 of the Skins Game ($150) and received the Grand Prize of $1,000 cash for the 1st place in the AAA Class.

Monster Energy ($700) and Dr. Joel Shugar's Nature Coast EyeCare Institute ($300) had teamed up to sponsor the winner of this most exciting 4-way competition.

The winners of the AA Class and the A Class competitions after ten rounds were also sponsored very generously by Team Fastrax' new summer home, StartSkydiving.com. CSC Rhythm and ZT Mal4mations both have the opportunity to enjoy 10 free team jumps, along with free coaching by Team Fastrax members, at the new Fastrax skydiving center in Ohio. StartSkydiving.com also sponsors additional free accommodation for these teams. CSC Rhythm and ZT Mal4mations both have already discussed the dates for the training with the Fastrax management. The prize for the overall winners in the AA Class and the A Class also included $150 cash for each team, sponsored by Aerodyne.

CSC Rhythm will still have to recover from an unfortunate finish of the 10-round competition. The exit of the last round did not go too well, and the resulting 6-pointer did not let the MWSL team stay above the 11.0 average level. However, player coach Robert Chromy was already more than satisfied with the team performance before Round 10.

CSC Rhythm's exit problems allowed FSC Wind Damaged to win the highscore for a round, as well. However, it was not only CSC Rhythm's bad round that made the Lake Wales team look better. Round 10 was the best jump for the new line-up, with the highest score of the meet for a challenging AA Class sequence (18-F-A). FSC Wind Damaged could finish the meet with a highlight and will now compete on home turf in April.