NSL Championship
2003 - A Class
 Victims
of the Wind at Fantasy of Flight
The situation was very similar to
the AA Class competition. Two teams had signed up to go for the NSL Championship
in the A Class. The Victims of the Wind from Seattle represented the Northwest
Skydiving League, while Pandemonium had competed in the Florida Skydiving
League and calls Skydive Miami in Homestead their home. As in the AA Class,
the championship reminded on the setup of other sports and the earlier
NSL championship format, where two teams went head-to-head over a certain
number of rounds. |
 Pandemonium
at Fantasy of Flight
The race between the Victims of the
Wind and Pandemonium was even more exciting than the one in the AA Class
since both teams were the best ones in the country and held the top rankings
in the NSL. The build-up to the final showdown at Fantasy of Flight had
begun much earlier this year. Both teams participated fully in their home
leagues. Pandemonium attended seven of the eight FSL meets of the regular
season (8.7 - 11.2 - 8.0 - 9.6 - 8.0 - 8.4 - 9.5). The Victims of the Wind
competed at all four season meets of the Northwest Skydiving League (13.0
- 8.8 - 9.0 - 9.7). The first meet was only a one-round competition. |
 Victims
of the Wind exit at one of the NWSL 2003 meets
Counting only the best three meets
of the regular season, Pandemonium held the first place in the NSL
Rankings with a 10.1 average. The Victims were in second place with
a 9.2 average. Things looked a little bit different with the average of
all meets, which would have given Pandemonium a 9.1 season average. It
also appeared as if the NWSL team showed the more consistent progression
throughout the regular season, while Pandemonium peaked already at the
six-round February meet of the Florida Skydiving League. This tendency
was confirmed at the NSL Playoffs 2003 where both teams competed and applied
the same competition draw. |
 Pandemonium
at one of the FSL 2003 meets
The Victims of the Wind had travelled
to Perris in California for the playoffs and had also already booked their
tickets for the November trip to Florida. Pandemonium had to make the trip
from Miami to Lake Wales for the second time in 2003 to attend the playoffs.
The meet in California was concluded after six rounds, while Pandemonium
completed nine rounds in Florida at the end of September 2003. Counting
only the first six rounds, the Victims finished with a 10.2 meet average,
a new team record average, while Pandemonium posted a 9.3 meet average.
It was still a close race at the playoffs. Both teams were tied in three
of the six rounds, Pandemonium won one round, the Victims won two rounds.
However, the NWSL team had the momentum and the top position for the showdown
at SkyQuest 2003. |
 Pandemonium
at the NSL Playoffs 2003
Both teams showed up at Fantasy of
Flight with their original line-up. The Victims of the Wind consisted of
Jeff Smith, Debbi Correira, Dave Correira and Alan Kayser. Former Superfly
videographer, Chris Williams, filmed the Victims at the NSL Championship.
Pandemonium showed up with Christian Jacobus, Naftah Mizrahi, Dan Rheoume
and Pete Reynolds. Kevin Schreiber was on video at Fantasy of Flight. Then
it was time for the real thing. After a long pre-season, both teams were
now live on site and ready for an exciting competition. |
 Victims
of the Wind members watching their round seven
The whole pre-game had not promised
too much. The Victims and Pandemonium battled hard throughout the first
seven rounds. Both teams were tied at the end of the second day. The remaining
three rounds of the Sunday would become the final showdown. The Victims
had worked out a four-point advantage in rounds three and four after both
teams had exchanged equal blows in the first two rounds. However, Pandemonium
gained new strength just when it seemed as if the NWSL team would slowly
pull away from their FSL rival. The FSL champion tied the NWSL scores in
rounds five and six and took full advantage of a bad round seven for the
Victims. The whole game was now tied. |
 Fantasy
of Flight hangar Saturday at sunset
Round eight brought the final decision
in the head-to-head race. The sequence consisted of only Random Formations,
which offered the Victims an opportunity to use the stongest part of the
team repertoire. Round one had already shown how well the NWSL team handled
random sequences. It showed once again in round eight when the Victims
wrapped it up with a beautiful performance and a three-point advantage
for this round. Pandemonium could not recover in round nine and just gave
up after a bad start into this round. While the Victims rounded up the
meet for a 10.0 meet average, round ten turned into a fun jump for Pandemonium.
The NSL-TV will show the story of this round later. |
 Both
teams watching the dubbing of round eight
It was a phantastic competition these
two A Class teams offered themselves and the SkyQuest 2003 audience. The
better team won the meet, NSL gold medals and the A Class trophy, along
with 60 more minutes of free tunnel time after winning the SkyVenture Competition,
as well. Pandemonium walked away with 30 minutes of SkyVenture tunnel time.
The Victims of the Wind were glad that they had made the trip to Florida,
Debbi Correira e-mailed later from Seattle: "Thank you for a wonderful
experience at the NSL Championship. I can't even begin to imagine all of
the time and planning that you put into this event. What a great venue!
We had a great time, and felt very welcome and supported during our stay."
Thanks to both teams for the exciting competition and to the Victims of
the Wind for setting a NSL new record in travel distance. We surely hope
to see everybody back in 4-way business this year. |
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| Area Hotels |
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Click
Here for more detailed information about the area hotels that offer
special NSL rates. |
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| SkyQuest 2003
Sponsorship |
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Click
Here to request information on how you can sponsor SkyQuest 2003 and/or
provide awards for the events. |
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