posted Aug 27th, 2008 - The NSL News has covered the annual showdown between the DeLand Norgies, former national 4-way team and bronze medalist for Norway at the world meets in 1999, 2001 and 2003, and the new national team Arcteryx quite a few times already. The DeLand Norgies were once again eager enough this year to arrange their annual reunion at the national championship shortly after the World Meet 2008.

It was the 4th time that the Norgies challenged Arcteryx with the same lineup (Lise Aune, Carl-Erik Tuv, Torstein Valen, Pal Kolbenstvedt) after they had retired at the end of the 2003 season.

The Arcteryx lineup changed a few times ever since the new national team was recruited for the 2004 season. Only Ole Petter Hjelle and Ditta Valsdottir are original members. Derek Broughton joined the team in 2007, Mathias Nord this year.

Arcteryx just came back to Norway from the team's trip to the World Meet and a 22.5 average performance in Maubeuge, France. It was not enough for a medal position, however, Arcteryx can look back at a steep progression at the three world meets (15.8 in 2004, 21.0 in 2006, 22.5 in 2008) in the past five years.

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The results of the annual showdown with the DeLand Norgies confirm how the new national team has moved forward. The Norgies managed to defeat Arcteryx the first two times (21.5 - 16.3 in 2004, 18.8 - 18.2 in 2006). Arcteryx finally turned the table in 2007 (20.5 - 19.6) even though the Norgies came close to their peak performance level after some windtunnel training and a few skydives.

This year, the veterans still maintained their performance level of the past years but had no chance. As in 2006 and 2007, where Arcteryx had just returned from big international events, the team was naturally not on the highest energy level. Norgies member Lise Nansen (formerly Aune) was in the same situation after competing with Norway's female lineup Fortitudo in Maubeuge. However, even an average Arcteryx performance (21.4 - 19.1) was more than enough this time to win the annual showdown at the national championship.

Arcteryx with its current lineup has already left behind the Norgies' bronze medal scoring level (20.6 in 2003) by far (22.5 in 2008). The new national team still has not achieved what the Norgies did three times - winning medals at the world meets.

The changes of the Arcteryx lineups, which were covered by the NSL News regularly since 2004, made it difficult to get to the very top level of the world in time. The Norgies had maintained exactly the same lineup for the stretch of the five years where Norway won three sets of bronze medals. Arcteryx had a different lineup at each of the three world meets that the team attended.

The Arcteryx progression with the new Center Inside Mathias Nord was impressive within one year. However, the four teams ahead of Norway in Maubeuge this month (USA, France, Belgium, Russia) all had at least two years together with the same lineup.

The talent of the current Arcteryx lineup and the training in one year was enough to easily leave the Norgies in the dust this year. However, it seems to require a longer time commitment for a team that wants to get to the very top of the 4-way world, as the medal winning teams have shown.

The Norgies celebrated their 10-year anniversary with the same lineup after their first international appearance at the World Cup 1998 in Portugal. The current Arcteryx lineup would move into the team's second year if the project will be continued. Two more years would almost guarantee a new medal position for Norway...