posted Apr 15th, 2008 - The season opener of the Southern California Skydiving League at Skydive Elsinore attracted eight teams to post their first scores of the 2008 season - except one. Bodyflight Storm had already scores on the NSL leaderboard at the World Challenge 2008. The meet in Elsinore was the first outdoor competition for the UK national team in IPC's female category.

Bodyflight Storm had opened the 2008 competition season with a 22.6 average after the ten windtunnel rounds in Bedford. Storm's Rounds 7 and 8 of the World Challenge 2008 can now be viewed on NSL-TV.

The situation was very different in Elsinore. Bodyflight Bedford is like hometurf for the British team, and Storm trains under Dan BC's guidance at Perris Valley Skydiving at certain tinmes of the year. This time, Storm made the trip across the Southern California mountains to Elsinore, together with the team's coach.

The competition draw was also very different compared to the World Challenge 2008 and included 13 of the 22 blocks in the 6-round competition. Only seven of the 16 Random Formations were drawn for last weekend's meet. However, Bodyflight Storm managed the very slow draw well enough to get to a 17.7 average.

Former Elsinore GT competitor Steve Miller, who has successfully completed his regional rating for a judging license, was counting the points together with FAI Judge Judy Celaya in Elsinore. He said that the British team had a rough meet opener and then looked really sharp, very clean and easy to judge.

Bodyflight Storm has to train from the Pilatus Porter to get ready for the competition at the World Championship of Formation Skydiving this year in France where the UK team has to defend the country's gold medals in the female category. In Elsinore, the team was jumping with all other teams from the left-hand door of the Twinotter.

Steve Miller added that he was impressed how Bodyflight Storm followed its right-hand pattern of the Pilatus Porter and shifted the exits across, as the French teams have done this in the past.

Bodyflight Storm did not win the AAA Class competition in Elsinore since coach Dan BC and Elsinore manager John Hamilton rejoined as two of last year's Founding Fathers. They wanted two give the world-class female team a competition and recruited Airspeed Odyssey's Andy Delk and Perris Fury's Josh Hall for the meet.

Last year, the Founding Fathers (with Dan BC, John Hamilton, Christopher Irwin, Pat McGowan) competed with Bodyflight Storm at the SCSL July meet and won by five point (19.8 - 19.0) in Elsinore. The competition draw was significantly faster by then, and Perris Fury posted a 24.7 average at the same meet.

The Founding Fathers managed to beat Bodyflight Storm last weekend by four points and finished with an 18.3 average. The NSL News will follow up soon with more information of the whole meet in Elsinore and hopefully upload meet videos, as well.