posted Oct 19th, 2006 - Round four of the NSL Playoffs 2006 brought the same sequence (6-K-18) for all teams competing in the AAA Class and also in the AA Class. One of the interesting aspects of this round is the fact that none of the first five teams on the AA Class leaderboard was able to complete the second page and get to the highscore of 10 points.

Only the CSC Sirens (6th), CSC Rubicon (8th) and Air Force 7XY (12th) completed Block 18 (Zircon - Zircon) on the second page and were rewarded with the highscore of round four. Eleven teams came to the first Zircon and ran out of working time for the completion of Block 18. The video of one of the 10-pointers (Air Force 7XY) is available on NSL-TV.

Perris Fury and Elsinore Gravity continued with their most incredible battle in the history of the Southwest Skydiving League. Both teams were tied going into round three and posted 18-pointers. Two 18-pointers followed in round four, and two more 18-pointers will be shown on NSL-TV in round five, as well.

Round four had its own special events though. Elsinore Gravity's video shows only one little flaw at the completion of Block 18 on the third page. Getting to the 19th scoring point (35.88 seconds) might have been possible for Gravity without missing that one grip.

Perris Fury's video is probably more challenging for the attentive observer. Fury arrived earlier at the 18th scoring point (33.67 seconds), compared to Gravity (34.53 seconds). Fury's 19th point could be within or ouside of the 35-second working time.

The first Zircon on the fourth page as the 19th point was probably within working time since one obvious infringement must have caused a 1-point deduction. Perris Fury had its own problem with Block 18 on the third page. In fact, it was more troubling than Gravity's missed grip. One of the Fury pieces lost a grip at the end of the inter, and the second Zircon of Block 18 would not count as a scoring formation.

The Perris team moved on without hesitation and did not show any other weakness in a very clean jump. However, there is a second critical situation, which was mostly caused by an unfortunate camera angle. Block 6 (Stardian - Stardian) on the second page plays dangerously with the centerpoint issue.

The centerpoint issue was covered by the NSL News in length earlier this year, and the discussion had its origin at a meet of the Southwest Skydiving League, as well. The story on June 14 provided the basic information of the "Airkix case", and the story on June 28 added more feedback.

NSL-TV will still upload three more rounds of the SSL battle between Perris Fury and Elsinore Gravity. However, both teams will continue with their internal race before all seven rounds will have been shown on NSL-TV. The USPA Nationals 2006 will feature this competition as well as many other ones within the three USPA competition classes.

Perris Fury and Elsinore Gravity will compete in the Open Class at the upcoming competition in Eloy. Both teams made big steps this year, and the NSL News followed the SSL teams throughout the 2006 season with several updates. Perris Fury's plans were covered with the story on February 2, and the Elsinore Gravity update followed already on March 11.

The line-ups of both teams consist of full-time skydivers who are making their living within the skydiving community. The team members are highly motivated to make it to the very top of the AAA Class leaderboard in the USA and also compared to the international level.

The USPA Nationals 2006 will be the most serious test for the new generation of top competitors in the country. Perris Fury and Elsinore Gravity will most likely fill the gap in the Open Class between the full-time veteran pros (Fastrax, Airspeed Odyssey and Velocity, "DeLand Friends", Golden Knights) and the best weekend teams with "amateur line-ups" (Mass Defiance, Dallas Thunder, Thunder, Elsinore Select).

It is unlikely that either team will be able to seriously threaten the Big Five this year. However, the skills and the pace of the two SSL teams are not very far away from the top teams at all. There is a realistic chance that either Perris Fury or Elsinore Gravity might keep up with one or more of the top teams in a single round here and there.

It is probably the goal for both teams to stay as close as possible to the Big Five this year and steal a round once in a while. However, there is still the very final 10-round showdown between Fury and Gravity. The September meet went over seven rounds, including the jump-off. The USPA Nationals 2006 is a 10-round competition, and the NSL News will surely cover the final internal SSL showdown.