posted Apr 3rd, 2012 - The NSL News story on 14 March 2012 was a preview of the Paraclete XP Outdoor Championship 2012 and included a live NSL Talk with the Aerodyne Deep Blue Defenders. The French team was preparing for the competition in DeLand.

It was not a very challenging task for reigning world champion Amélie Tirman and her three new team mates (Laurence Herve, Perrine Sanchez, Stéphanie Texier) plus videographer Rémy Grandcler, to win the meet in the female 4way category, as the competition from Norway (Polaris), USA (Golden Knights) and Canada (Crimson Fox) was not strong enough to get close to the French team.

It is not new that the NSL News uses the Open Class leaderboard to find out how the female lineups compare to the other 4way teams, and once again it provided some additional insights.

Paraclete XP Outdoor 2012		Rd. 1	Rd. 2	Rd. 3	Rd. 4	Rd. 5	Rd. 6	Rd. 7	Rd. 8	Rd. 9	Rd. 10	Total	Avg
Rank	4way AAA Class	Q,8,H,22	16,19,13	10,14,2	E,C,20,K	5,M,9	A,6,F,17	D,21,N,B	P,O,G,J,1	18,4,7	12,15,3	Total	Avg
1	Arizona Airspeed	25	20	18	35	36	25	33	31	23	20	266	26.6
2	NMP-PCH Hayabusa	23	21	20	33	34	29	30	30	20	21	261	26.1
3	Aerodyne Aerokart	23	21	19	33	29	28	28	29	23	21	254	25.4
4	SDC Rhythm XP	21	17	15	28	29	23	27	27	19	18	224	22.4
5	Thunder	20	17	16	27	27	22	27	26	17	17	216	21.6
6	Deland Norgies	18	16	15	22	26	20	26	26	18	14	201	20.1
6	Aerodyne D. Blue Defenders	19	16	15	23	27	23	24	24	16	14	201	20.1
8	Explosion	18	17	15	20	24	18	24	23	19	13	191	19.1
9	Skydive Spain Satori	15	14	12	23	26	23	22	23	16	16	190	19.0

The Aerodyne Deep Blue Defenders have a big job to do since the Deep Blue lineup of 2010 did not only win the gold medals for France but also performed on a very high scoring level that was competitive with the teams in the Open Class. It seemed difficult for coach Marin Ferré to put together and bring up a new lineup.

First he had two 2010 members (Sophie Deremaux, Amélie Tirman) who continued with two new members (Laurence Hervé, Perrine Sanchez) in 2011. The new Deep Blue lineup posted a 19.0 average at the Shamrock Showdown 2011 and won the gold medals for France at the World Cup 2011 with an 18.9 average.

It seemed to become even more difficult to get back to the Deep Blue level of 2010 when Sophie Deremaux stepped back after the World Cup 2011 in Germany. Marin Ferré called alternate Stéphanie Texier into the lineup for the Center Outside slot, and Deep Blue had to accept the 2nd place behind a pickup team of strong and experienced competitors from the United Kingdom at the 3rd Dubai Championship in November 2011.

Shamrock Showdown 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 AAA Class	12,2,B	E,K,M,H,11	L,3,22	C,4,18	13,D,J,1	20,16,17	Q,14,8	O,F,6,10	21,G,9	P,19,5	Total	Avg
1	Aerodyne Aerokart	21	32	21	19	26	21	22	26	29	27	244	24.4
2	NMP-PCH Hayabusa	20	33	17	22	23	19	19	22	26	22	223	22.3
3	Perris Fury	19	30	16	19	21	18	21	18	27	19	208	20.8
4	Aerokart Deep Blue	17	29	16	17	19	18	18	21	24	22	201	20.1
5	Paraclete XP4	18	29	16	17	20	16	17	22	20	22	197	19.7

Something happened between November 2011 and March 2012 since the current Deep Blue lineup needed less than four months to move from the 17.6 average in Dubai to the 20.1 average in DeLand. All of a sudden, the new Aerodyne Deep Blue Defenders have not only created a significant distance to Polaris and the Golden Knights but have also caught up with the original Deep Blue lineup of 2010.

The 20.1 average at the Paraclete XP Outdoor Championship 2012 matches exactly the scores at the Shamrock Showdown 2010, which was the start into the gold medal season that year. The Deep Blue Defenders of 2012 have stepped out of the big shadow that the previous lineup had left for them.

However, the real test is still to come at the World Challenge 2012. Germany's ISB Air Remscheid and a very strong UK lineup (Just4Fun) will challenge the new Deep Blue lineup more seriously compared to the pressure that Polaris and Golden Knights put on the French team in DeLand. No matter what happens in Bedford this week, the French Defenders are living up to the new team name and needed the Open Class leaderboard for the first time to put their scores in perspective, just as the original Deep Blue lineup cross connected the different leaderboards at their time. The NSL News is moving the headquarters to Bedford tomorrow.