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Here you will find the latest news from the "National Skydiving League". Special thanks to Kurt Gaebel, founder of the league and webmaster of its web site. |
NSL supported the "Relay for Life"Teamwork of a different kind was in the air last weekend as Linda Florea joined up with a 4-way from local businesses for the "Relay for Life". The "Relay for Life" is a team event designed to raise money for the fight against cancer. Before the event, the teams collect donations to help sponsor their participation. The theme, "Celebrate Your Inspiration!" served as a festivity for those who have won the battle against cancer and a memorial to commemorate those who have not.
There were 40 teams from the Volusia area that set up booths and tents at the Deltona High School stadium and walked a relay for the next 18 hours. Holiday Inn sales manager, Carol Gauthier, had called Florea to join the Holiday Inn DeLand Friendship Team for the charity event. Included in the team were Holiday Inn general manager Steve McIntire, Jennifer, one of the restaurant employees, local sign and banner company owner, Sherri Whittaker and interior plant landscape company owner, Robin Zeller. A broken toe kept Zeller on the sidelines for the evening.
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The NSL tent was used for the event, but instead of the usual canvas top, a parachute canopy was put over the top. Florea said her father was a paratrooper and felt a close skydiving bond with him even though he passed away from cancer several years before she started jumping. To promote the skydiving theme, photos were set up in front of the booth with military jumpers using rounds in WWII and current snapshots with Florea and friends.
The jumpers at Skydive DeLand had been incredibly generous with donations to the American Cancer Society, but the team chose to raise more donations with a balloon project. Whittaker’s young daughter, Riley, enjoyed letting helium balloons fly away outside so the "children in heaven have balloons too." Using that idea, the team allowed participants to write messages to loved ones on the balloons and letting the balloons go at sunrise. Being ecologically minded, the balloons were biodegradable and were released without strings. Florea said the Holiday Inn group proved to be good hosts even on a football field.
The management made sure the team was comfortable by providing iced drinks, food, tables and even a roll away bed for the team. The team enjoyed taking comfy naps throughout the night when not on the track. Being requested to sponsor an activity, the team played a 2 a.m. volleyball tournament to the delight of the spectators. The team members continued the relay walk during the night and into the morning. For the final lap, they carried a banner around the track that included the NSL logo. Everyone had a great time even if the late hours were a little hard to deal with. The balloons released at dawn were a wonderful crowd pleaser. The teams that dedicated their time and efforts to the event raised over $57,000 for the American Cancer Society. During the night, the team members had a chance to talk and make plans for next years Relay for Life. If your team or another NSL team is involved in a charity function, please inform the headquarters of the NSL at NSL@Skyleague.com so we can give them recognition. We’d love to hear from you. |
Ireland is proud of their national team IPC VisionThe Irish 4-way team "IPC Vision" winning the fourth season meet of the Florida Skydiving League in Lake Wales after handicap sparked a lot of excitement and interest in 4-way on the Green Island west of Great Britain. IPC Vision had planned their April training camp in DeLand around the FSL competition to gain competition practice prior to the World Championship in June. IPC Vision knew that they will not be able to win a medal in Spain this year. And they knew that they would not be able to beat the top teams in Florida. However, they knew that they could improve their team performance and scoring level between their Nationals in 2000 and the meet in Lake Wales. Improving the team performance and the specific team scoring level are the keys to success with the NSL handicap system, created by Dr. Joel Shugar. That's what IPC Vision did in Lake Wales more than all other teams on site that day. They increased their team average from 7.6 in 2000 to 10.2 points at FSL 4. And the guest team walked away with the first place and a SkyVenture gift certificate. Their visit in Florida was as successful as can be.
After completing the training camp they went back to Ireland with a lot of confidence and great experiences. The Irish Parachuting Club has been proud of their team ever since. The May issue of the club's newsletter included coverage of the trip to Florida and the FSL 5 meet report. But there is even more to come. The Irish Parachuting Association is now planning to apply a system similar to the NSL handicap and classification system at their Nationals in August 2001. Eamonn Moloney, who is organizing the Nationals for the association, told the NSL headquarters that IPC Vision's success in Florida "has created a huge buzz over here". People in Ireland are very proud that their team did so well. "Its the best thing to happen for skydiving over here in a long while and it will definately encourge others to take up Formation Skydiving." And that is exactly what the National Skydiving League has been pursuing from the beginning. The NSL headquarters will stay in touch with Moloney and help as much as possible.
Before IPC Vision competes again at the Irish Nationals, there is still the other little event on the way: the World Championship. And there will not be a handicap sytem..... The world meet does not need big incentives to increase participation anyway. At this point, 33 nations have signed up their 4-way teams for the top event, ten additional teams for the new female event. And 4-way is by far the biggest event of all the parachuting disciplines at the World Air Games. Only Style & Accuracy is coming close to 4-way Formation Skydiving. |
It's time to plan for the NSL Americas Cup events 2001Six exciting playoff events are on the NSL competition schedule this year. In 2000, the National Skydiving League introduced the first NSL playoffs. The Atlanta Skydiving Center in Georgia hosted a very successful competition. This year, six playoffs events will complete the NSL Americas Cup. The increased number of events and hosts will reduce the travel distances for the teams. There will be a playoff event for every team within driving distance. The NSL Americas Cup playoff events will not only include the Open/Advanced Class qualification for the NSL Championship 2001. This year, it will also be the regional championship event for Open/Advanced and Intermediate Class. The first NSL playoffs in 2000 were only for the Open/Advanced Class competition. This year, the Intermediate Class teams will also have their event and compete for the regional championship in each of the six playoff events of the NSL Americas Cup. The Open/Advanced class teams will compete for the regional championship and for slots at the NSL Championship 2001 at the same time.
Six locations everywhere in the country have been chosen to host the NSL Americas Cup 2001 playoffs events: Perris Valley Skydiving, Skydive Dallas, Chicagoland Skydiving, AerOhio, Skydive Cross Keys and Atlanta Skydiving Center. The dates of the events and more detailed information are posted at the NSL Americas Cup page.
All teams that participated in the NSL leagues attending at least three meets of the regular 2001 season will be eligible for medals at the playoff events. For the Open/Advanced Class teams, the NSL Americas Cup playoff events will be the qualification events to the NSL Championship 2001 at the same time. The qualification rules are also posted at the NSL Americas Cup page. The NSL Championship 2001 is scheduled for November 16-18, 2001. Very soon, the NSL News will come up with some exciting news regarding the top NSL event of the 2001 season. Now, take your calendar and mark the dates for the NSL Americas Cup event in your region and - hopefully - for the NSL Championship 2001, as well. | More on NSL's web site...
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