The Results Are In!

This year’s NIFA Region VIII SAFECON ended with an upset as do most competitions in with changing teams. The collegiate teams in Region VIII have proven to be more competitive than most other teams in the nation because they all share the same amount of skill and a talent in their flying. However, there is always one team that just comes a few points shy of making it to the national competition later that year. Last year, Purdue University, Lewis University, and University of Illinois earned enough points to advance to the national competition while Southern Illinois University was only one point away from being one of the regional champions.

After their emotional defeat SIU (Southern Illinois University) was out for blood this year and practiced diligently before the competition in order to ensure they made it to nationals this year. They came out with nothing short of a victory and blew every team out of the water with almost a 100 point lead from second place. University of Illinois came in second place and Lewis University came in third. Purdue University was shocked they came so close to making it to the national competition after five straight years of earning the regional title. After the awards banquet it was learned that two message drop teams from Purdue were disqualified for the simple reason that the streamers on the drop containers were three inches too short. If the team had not been disqualified, Purdue would have taken first place in the event and would have made it to nationals in May.

This upset hit Purdue’s Flight Team hard and the feelings of loss and disappointment will not be taken lightly with each member of the team. Just as SIU did after their startling loss, Purdue will keep their feelings of how much they wanted to win that week and how close they were to being a part of the National Intercollegiate Flying Competition and use it in their practice next season. Region VIII has so much tough competition that the teams that do make it to Nationals usually place in the Top 5 out of all the other colleges. Next year Purdue will be ready for their comeback and will show the region how an almost completely new team can improve drastically with their determination to come out on top.