posted Aug 21st, 2008 - Last not least, the NSL News interviewed the complete lineup of the French 8-way team shortly after the judges had finished their job. The 8-way competition was the last event to be judged at the World Meet 2008. It took a little while until the old and new 8-way world champions were able to get through the crowds of excited French fans.

French national coach Jerome David helped the NSL News to gather the team members at the French headquarters in the tent village. The NSL News had already interviewed a few team members in the past. However, it was the first time that the complete 8-way team took the time to spend a few minutes with the NSL News.

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The end of the 2008 season with the World Meet on home turf and the gold medals created an emotional situation for the team. The competition in Maubeuge was the last meet in the national team for some of the team members. The leaving competitors, as Emmanuel "Manus" Sarrazin and Clement Martin St. Leon, expressed in the interview how much the team meant to them.

Guillaume Bernier, Mathieu Bernier, Julien Degen and Jeremie Rollet said farewell to 8-way competition, as well. They will now focus on 4-way only and plan to win the 4-way gold medals in 2010.

They came already closer to the first place in Maubeuge than they may have expected. One single point eventually separated France Maubeuge from Airspeed Odyssey after the last round. The French 4-way and 8-way competitors had to switch back and forth between both events in increasingly shorter time periods during the last two days of the competition. The weather situation had forced teams of all three events to be ready at any time.

France Maubeuge reduced the distance to Airspeed Odyssey consistently ever since both teams began to prepare for the World Meet 2008.

Both teams began to train 4-way with the current lineups after the World Meet 2006 in Germany where Guillaume Bernier, Mathieu Bernier, Julien Degen and Jeremie Rollet won their first set of 8-way gold medals. Another French lineup competed in 4-way (Paul "Polo" Grisoni, Julien Losantos, Davide Moy, Erwan Pouliquen) and won the silver medals in Germany.

The new France Maubeuge lineup of 2007 and 2008 and Airspeed Odyssey with Mark Kirkby met for the first time at the Valentine's Meet 2007. Airspeed won by ten points (22.2 - 21.2) after ten rounds in February 2007. It was the only competition between the two teams in 2007.

France Maubeuge later won the 4-way silver medals at the World Cup 2007 with a 22.8 average, after a jump-off with Hayabusa Defence, and captured the 8-way gold medals without much competition, as well. Airspeed Odyssey had not made the trip to Russia.

France Maubeuge continued to share the training and competition agenda between 4-way and 8-way in 2008.

The first 2008 showdown between Airspeed Odyssey and the French team took place on the east coast this time, at the FSL Shamrock Showdown 2008 in DeLand.

The double duties did not seem to bother the French progression in 4-way too much, as the distance to the US team in March 2008 was down to five points (25.2 - 24.7) after ten rounds.

Guillaume Bernier, Mathieu Bernier, Julien Degen and Jeremie Rollet once again delivered very consistently at the World Meet 2008 and came dangerously close to Airspeed Odyssey, eventually. The US team had lost quite a few points in the judging room this time. However, the lead before the last round was enough to carry a 1-point advantage over the finish line. France Maubeuge had finally eliminated the 4-way distance almost completely - and it was still not enough.

This outcome in 4-way leaves a challenge for the French competitors who will now try to win the 4-way sword in 2010. They have two 8-way gold medals under their belts, and the distance to the top position in 4-way was down to one single point at the end of the competition in Maubeuge. The chances are not too bad for the French national 4-way team, as it seems at the moment.

The new French 8-way team will have a completely different lineup. A few of the current world champions may come back with the new 8-way team or not. However, priority is to build a new and even younger lineup, which will focus only on the 8-way event. Training will begin already this year. The NSL News will introduce the new French 8-way team as soon as possible.

The new French 8-way team will still have the same goal as the 2-time world champions. They have to defend the 8-way sword, of course, but they also have the still standing world record of 31 points and the 22.4 meet average of 1997 as a challenge. The French 8-way competitors explain in the interview why they were not disappointed at all after missing the old record marks in Maubeuge.

The competition between France Maubeuge and Airspeed Odyssey will most likely continue next year, as the US team has already made plans for the 2009 season. The first question is where and when the next showdown of the new season will take place. The interview with the French 8-way team can be viewed by clicking here.