posted Jun 3rd, 2006 - The second attempt of the Northern Plains Skydiving League to kick off the 2006 season was successful. Once again it was not easy since the weather situation was as critical as it was at the original date in May. However, NPSL Director Sandy Grillet was determined to get it done, and he succeeded with an emergency plan:

"After looking at the weather and wind forecast late on Saturday I made the decision to move the start time from 8:30 am to 7:00 am. Surprisingly all the competitors supported my decision and agreed to start early. We got four rounds in before 12:30 pm when the winds kicked up to over 40 mph."

Sandy Grillet was still not satisfied with the four rounds, and his NPSL teams and competitors waited until 7:00 pm. Then the winds became bearable again, and he finished the whole meet except for one missing jump in the A Class (I Don't Know) and two missing jumps in the AA/Intermediate Class (Cockeyed).

Most of the NPSL teams and competitors came back from last year's season and were joined by several new line-ups. There were also some changes in the competition classes. The 2006 season seems to become the first year that there will be internal NPSL competition in the AAA/Open Class.

Gang Green has been the defender of the AAA/Open Class top spot in the Northern Plains. This year, there will be a challenger. Fast Forward has stepped up from last year's AA/Intermediate Class competition to the AAA Class in 2006, and the team with leader Bill Rehm is ready to keep up with the Gang Green veterans.

In fact, both teams won three rounds of the meet each, and only a Fast Forward meltdown in round five gave Gang Green a 4-point advantage at the end. Gang Green's 8.0 meet average was already higher than last year's season average, and it seems as if this will become an exciting AAA Class season for both NPSL teams.

The Wissota Shockers are also done with last year's A Class competition and moved up into the AA/Intermediate Class competition. It is a courageous move for the team since the AA Class offers the toughest competition in the Northern Plains Skydiving League.

Microburst with father and son, Sandy and Nick Grillet, and Cockeyed have already competed in this class in the past years. Fast Forward is gone now, and the Wissota Shockers seem to fill the open slot very well. The new AA Class team was already able to tie the Microburst scores in two of the six rounds and did not even give up one round to Cockeyed.

Microburst finished in 1st place with a 7.8 meet average, which is also higher than the team's last year's 7.6 season average, and the Wissota Shockers placed second. Three Bellies & a Drogue is a new team, which seems to keep up with all other AA Class contenders in the league.

Only the A Class competition of the NPSL needs more life. I Don't Know was the only team in this class at the NPSL season opener and had to compare the scores with teams from Denmark. The NPSL teams in the AAA/Open Class ended up in the middle of the international field on the May 27 weekend.