NSL Championship
2003 - AAA Class
 NSL
Shugar Cup
The 4-way competition in the AAA
Class of the NSL Championship 2003 was surely just a formality as far as
for the NSL Shugar Cup. DeLand Majik was the only AAA Class top team eligible
for NSL medals after the NSL Playoffs 2003. The Golden Knights, Sebastian
XL and even the Swiss national team Endeavour maintained eligibility throughout
the regular NSL 2003 season by attending at least three meets. All three
teams had the security of a wild card for the NSL Championship 2003 since
they had to travel to Europe for the World Championship of Formation Skydiving
at playoffs time in September. However, none of these top contenders made
it to Fantasy of Flight last weekend to give the new US national team from
DeLand a serious competition. |
 Sinapsi
PD at Fantasy of Flight
This still did not mean that the
4-way competition of SkyQuest 2003 would be a walk in the park for DeLand
Majik. Sinapsi PD, the national team from Italy, that posted world class
scores throughout the whole 2003 season and took the fifth place in France
this year, honored the NSL Championship 2003 with their participation as
a guest team. It was a difficult task for Sinapsi since the team had to
deal with several obstacles. All team members had spent many hours at the
SkyVenture windtunnel in Orlando prior to the competition as coaches of
a tunnel camp. They were quite exhausted from the hard work. |
 Optic
Curvacious with Lise Aune, Dr. Joel Shugar, Eliana Rodriguez and Arianna
deBenedetti
Point Livio Piccolo was also impaired
by a cold he had caught the week before the event. This was not enough.
Sinapsi PD's center outside, Arianna deBenedetti, had an additional job
to do at Fantasy of Flight. She was competing with Optic Curvacious at
the same time. Optic founder and sponsor Dr. Joel Shugar, had put together
a unique line-up for this last event of the 2003 season. DeLand Norgies
member Lise Aune and Airspeed 8-way champion Eliana Rodriguez completed
the Optic Curvacious for the probably most colorful 4-way combination in
history. However, deBenedetti was tired by the end of the day. |
 Sinapsi
PD launching the Hook of round ten
Sinapsi PD was still able to post
world class scores once in a while. They tied Majik's score of 19 points
in round six and were only one point behind in the fastest round of the
competition, the pure random sequence in round ten. The 35 points was the
highest score for the Italian team in a competition. Sinapsi PD had to
settle with a 19.7 meet average and 21 points behind Majik. However, the
meet at Fantasy of Flight was just a fun competition for the Italian team,
and the world class level was surely shining through quite a few times. |
 DeLand
Majik's original line-up creeping in the South Hangar of Fantasy of Flight
DeLand Majik completed the ten-round
competition with a 21.8 meet average. It was a slow competition draw throughout
the first nine rounds, and only the scores of round ten brought each team
back to a reasonable scoring average. Majik had to make some adjustments,
as well. Gary Smith had returned from a trip to SouthAfrica the day before
the meet, while Joey Jones even missed the jumps on Friday. He came back
into town early enough to complete the Majik line-up on Saturday and Sunday.
Majik's alternate Shannon Pilcher filled the center outside position for
Jones on Friday for the first two jumps. |
 Shannon
Pilcher at the Fantasy Swoop awards ceremony
Pilcher was also competing in the
Fantasy Swoop as a member of the PD Factory team. He came in third out
of 28 participants in the individual category and fourth together with
Ian Bobo in the 2-way team event. Pilcher and Bobo were also joined by
Jay Moledzki and Heath Richardson for some breath-taking 4-way demonstration
jumps of the PD Factory team. Majik's allround talent Shannon Pilcher and
Sinapsi's deBenedetti both had a very busy schedule on Friday. |
| Considering the circumstances
of the Majik situation at SkyQuest 2003, the team's goal was mostly to
enjoy the event at Fantasy of Flight and take the NSL Shugar Cup back to
DeLand for another year. Both missions were surely accomplished. On their
way, Majik even set a new team record in round ten. The 36 points in time
are the highest Majik score in a single round in team history. This round
can now be viewed on NSL-TV by clicking
here. It was not even a superfast random sequence at all. Majik had
a hickup at the exit and a glitch during the sequence later on. The score
could have been higher. |
DeLand Majik's round ten at
the NSL Championship 2003
| Chikara and Mr. Pink had
given each other already a tough race throughout the whole competition
of the NSL Playoffs 2003. Mr. Pink won the competition in Lake Wales in
September by one single point with a 13.3 meet average. Both teams had
different line-ups last weekend when they fought it out once again, this
time for the silver and bronze medals of the NSL Championship 2003 at Fantasy
of Flight, and also for free tunnel time in the SkyVenture Competition. |
 NSL
2003 bronze medal winner Mr. Pink
Mr. Pink had the same line-up as
at the USPA Nationals 2003 in October. Former Frost member Ron Hill had
filled the Pink tail slot at the playoffs. Pink's new tail, Robert "Bobby"
May, former Formula 4 member and USPA Intermediate Class winner in 2001,
made his first Pink appearance at a competition in October. The NSL Championship
2003 was the second Pink competition with May. The team from Georgia had
scored a 12.4 meet average at the USPA Nationals and posted 12.2 last weekend
with a competition draw that was also not very fast. |
 NSL
2003 silver medalist Chikara
Chikara had to replace two team members
at Fantasy of Flight. Ansa duToit and Kelley Frederickson had competed
together with Kristina Byrne and Kirsten Johnson at the NSL Playoffs and
the USPA Nationals 2003. Chikara had posted a 13.2 meet average at each
of these two events. Last weekend, former DeLand TBD member Michael Biederman
replaced Byrne in the point position, and Elsinore GT 2003 member Scott
Latinis replaced Johnson in the tail position. The Chikara line-up at Fantasy
of Flight finished the meet with a 12.6 meet average and four points ahead
of Mr. Pink. |
 Mr.
Pink setting up in the door, photo: George Wheeler
The race for the NSL medals between
Mr. Pink and Chikara was closer than the four-point difference at the end
indicates. Chikara was only one point up going into the very last round
of the competition where everything was possible. Chikara had taken a four-point
lead after the first two rounds on Friday. The teams made five jumps on
Saturday, and Mr. Pink did not loose any more ground. The distance was
still the same after seven jumps Saturday night. The GSL team had a strong
start on Sunday and won three points back in rounds eight and nine. One
single point was now between the two teams before the fast random sequence
of round ten. |
 Chikara
member Ansa duToit showing muscle during the meet, photo: George Wheeler
Chikara kept the upper hand in the
last round with clean 21 points in time. This was Chikara's highest score
for a single round in team history and secured the NSL 2003 silver medals,
plus 30 minutes of free SkyVenture tunnel time. Mr. Pink was once again
not far behind with 20 points in working time. However, the judges detected
an infringement, and the red cross flashed across the Omniskore screen.
Mr. Pink received 18 points for the records and the bronze medals at SkyQuest
2003. |
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