posted Jan 10th, 2012 - Studying the history of Bodyflight Bedford's World Challenge brought the NSL News to other very interesting facts. Yesterday's update mentioned that two of the three current top contenders, Aerodyne Aerokart, Arizona Airspeed and NMP-PCH Hayabusa, disregarding the mysterious international XL lineup and the Russian Sky Panthers Barkli, have attended each event since 2006.

There is even more meaning to the indoor rivalry between Hayabusa and Airspeed. Both teams have competed with each other each year in this time period, but only in the same windtunnel chamber. They did not meet each other at an outdoor competition in 2006 or 2007 and did this for the first time at the World Meet 2008 in Maubeuge, France. Airspeed won gold and Hayabusa bronze medals.

From then on, Airspeed and Hayabusa added at least one outdoor meet to the annual indoor confrontation in Bedford. Airspeed won all outdoor meets over Hayabusa except the 2nd Dubai Championship where Airspeed competed with John Eagle filling in for Mark Kirkby.

World Meet 2008		Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Round 6	Round 7	Round 8	Total	Avg
Rank	4way Open	B,17,7	H,N,13,A	10,J,C,6	18,12,2	E,3,9	19,O,4	D,M,5,16	14,20,21	Total	Avg
1	USA Airspeed Odyssey	30	32	24	16	29	21	28	15	195	24.4
2	France Maubeuge	28	30	23	17	27	23	28	18	194	24.3
3	Belgium HayaBusa Defence	27	33	23	17	27	22	25	17	191	23.9

Airspeed has dominated the outdoor competition so far, including the last meet at the Shamrock Showdown 2011. However, the indoor history shows a different picture.

Airspeed's indoor domination was over in 2010 when Hayabusa outscored Airspeed for the first time in both teams' indoor and outdoor history. The Belgian team did not win the meet in 2010, that happened a year later at the World Challenge 2011. Aerodyne Aerokart won in Bedford in 2010 and fell to 3rd place last year when all three teams competed with new lineups.

Hayabusa has the advantage of a solid 3way foundation. Roy Janssen, David and Andy Grauwels have been at all indoor and outdoor meets since 2006. They are also the only indoor competitors of all World Challenges since 2006 who have now scored higher than a 30-point meet average.

Former Hayabusa Point Waedong So did it at the World Challenge 2010 (30.1) and Dennis Praet joined this elite indoor group in 2011 (30.5) while the four Aerodyne Aerokart members of 2010 (Mathieu and Guillaume Bernier, Julien Degen, Jeremie Rollet), also with two brothers, matched the 30.5 average in 2010. XL with Pete Allum, Steve Hamilton, Thomas Hughes and Brian Johnson, posted a 30.4 average at the same event.

Thomas Hughes is the only current Airspeed member who has gone above the 30-point benchmark in Bedford. There is no doubt that his current team mates are eager to do the same and get ahead of Hayabusa again. The Belgian team, on the other hand, surely wants to copy the indoor progression and finish in front of Airspeed at the outdoor meets, as well.

Shamrock Showdown and World Challenge will offer exactly those opportunities for the different goals at the beginning of the world meet season. Besides that, it is almost guaranteed that the winner of both events will also win the World Championship of Formation Skydiving competition, the Mondial 2012 in Dubai. It happened in 2008 and in 2010...

World Meet 2010		Rd.1	Rd.2	Rd.3	Rd.4	Rd.5	Rd.6	Rd.7	Rd.8	Rd.9	Rd.10	Total	Avg
Rank	4way Open	10,7,12	3,11,5	J,M,Q,P,L	19,1,13	N,18,20	K,17,8	2,15,H	4,D,6	O,E,9,G	22,B,16	Total	Avg
1	France Aerodyne Aerokart	21	22	56	20	22	24	22	24	40	26	277	27.7
2	USA Arizona Airspeed	22	21	53	23	20	24	23	25	40	23	274	27.4
3	Russia Sky Panthers	19	21	56	21	19	21	23	22	41	21	264	26.4

Save £50 by registering before January 31st

There is an additional Hayabusa aspect at the World Challenge 2011. The team's Center Inside of 2006, Sven Ibens, is also competing at the same two events with his Thunder team. He left Hayabusa when Roy Janssen, David and Andy Grauwels decided to join the Belgian army and go full time. Now he is back with the arguably best current amateur team in the world.

Hayabusa posted a 20.6 average with Sven Ibens at the World Challenge 2006. Thunder finished with a 22.4 average at the World Challenge 2011 and followed up with a 25.6 average at the ISR Grand Prix 2011. Hayabusa will compete for the official world championship pro title and Excalibur this year - Thunder is going after the status of the unofficial amateur world champion at all the other meets.

And then there is XL with the other international lineup and without any status. It's a mystery lineup each year, a team with no training and commitment - amateur, pro? It doesn't matter for whoever will be in the lineup this year. And who is it going to be? Not Thomas Hughes (Airspeed), not John McIver (Satori). Sounds like Pete Allum, Steve Hamilton, Brian Johnson and Andy Delk again...?