posted Apr 20th, 2012 - The NSL News has been quiet about the whereabouts of the Fun Flag for a long time, and there was a good reason for that. The last update with a funny story came from the World Cup 2011 on 4 August 2011.

From then on and after a sad incident in Saarlouis the Fun Flag was not a topic for the NSL News any longer. A little girl was injured when the battle for the possession of the Fun Flag got out of control at the competition site, and the Fun Flag had lost its purpose.

However, the NSL News used the time between the end of the 2011 season and the beginning of the new competition season to find out the details of the incident and communicate the issue with the parents. Goal was to heal the mental wounds and prepare the comeback of the Fun Flag with a spirit that matches the original one.

The first video clip features the last update from the World Cup 2011, which was a part of the live NSL News coverage. The second clip has never been published so far and shows what happened right before the accident. The Fun Flag battle was in full swing and eventually ended up in the large dining hangar of the competition site in Saarlouis.

The last seconds of the video clip show how former Sinapsi member Livio Piccolo gets run over when he does not clear the battle area quickly enough. He did not get hurt, but his accident was not the end of the story. Zoe Bodtländer, daughter of Anja and Roman Bodtländer, both members of German 8way teams who competed at the World Cup 2011, was playing with other kids outside of the hangar and was also run over a few seconds later.

She was not as lucky as Livio Piccolo and got seriously injured. She had to go to school on Monday after the World Cup with a cast on her leg and crotches that she had to keep for almost two weeks. She could not enjoy the first school day after summer vacation too much. Her mother Anja Bodtländer, who competed with 8way team Saar8, told the NSL News that she had to visit Zoe at school every day for the first week to assist her daughter on the short distance travels. She had to carry her at times when the trips were too long for the little girl, which did not help her own back problems very much.

The cast was eventually removed, and Zoe continued with physical therapy for a while to get the stiff ankle back in shape. Zoe Bodtländer was back to normal operation after a month.

In the meantime, the Fun Flag had ended up in Spain where Pete Allum lives most of the year in Ampuriabrava. He had brought the Fun Flag from the Italian Nationals where it was flying next after the World Cup 2011. It was a historical event for the Italian competitors who had never seen the Fun Flag at their national championships before. Pete Allum said that all Italian teams were eager to get a photo with the Fun Flag. He also educated them of the original purpose: "I made sure that everyone understood the history and the true spirit of the flag."

NSL News and Pete Allum agreed to offer the Bodtländer family the Fun Flag to keep throughout the winter season hoping that Zoe would be able to turn the painful memories into positive ones. She could also help to bring the original purpose of the Fun Flag back to the skydiving community with her story. Anja and Roman Bodtländer agreed, and the Fun Flag got on its way from Spain to Germany.

The two other new video clips show the Fun Flag flying at the World Challenge 2012. The peaceful time at the Italian Nationals 2011, the winter in Germany and the generous support and understanding by the Bodtländer family had brought back spirit and purpose to the flag. It was now also time to bring back the same and original spirit to the skydiving community. Anja Bodtländer sent the Fun Flag to the NSL News for safe keeping before it made the trip from Florida to the United Kingdom and Bodyflight Bedford for the World Challenge.

Host Paul Mayer proudly accepted the surprising gift and discussed the Fun Flag purpose with the NSL News before coming up with his own great ideas how to present the comeback of the flag. He turned the battle for the possession of it into a mystery treasure hunt that challenged more the mental than the physical skills.

The rest of the current Fun Flag journey can be reviewed on the video clips where the Just4Fun members first presented the Fun Flag on stage during the award ceremony and then shared it with other female 4way competitors for photo ops and a late night presentation in the FlowHouse. Zoe Bodtländer had proudly put her name on the Fun Flag, which will hopefully always remind everybody on the original purpose: FUN.