posted Jun 13th, 2012 - The annual Tomscat Trophy 2012 in the Netherlands is coming up this weekend and will bring together once again more than 20 teams in Hoogeveen.

Dutch 4way competitions have often fallen together on the meet weekends with important football/soccer matches, a very popular sport in the Netherlands, as in most parts of Europe.

Dutch 4way competitions have even been halted here and there if the Dutch national soccer team was in contention of winning a tournament.

That was the case in 2010 when the Netherlands made it into the final game at the football/soccer World Cup in Brazil. The game happened to be on a meet weekend in the Netherlands, however, the timing did not interfere, and there was no need for a stand-by in the July 4way meet.

This was different in 2006 when the Tomscat Trophy conflicted with the football/soccer World Cup in Germany. There was a live telecast from Germany, and teams and competitors followed the match that ended successfully for the Netherlands with a 2:1 victory over the team from Ivory Coast. Other meets in Germany and the United Kingdom were in the same situation in 2006.

This week features once again an interesting combination between 4way competition and football/soccer. The EURO 2012 takes place in Poland/Ukraine, while the Dutch teams compete at the Tomscat Trophy.

Today's high-profile match between Netherlands and Germany will be out of the (4)way in time, however, the Dutch football/soccer team has another important match scheduled for Sunday. Portugal will be the opponent, and the Dutch team might be under great pressure after losing the first group game against Denmark.

The Atmosfera GT members will surely watch the game in Portugal and cheer for their own team at home. Portugal lost the first game in the same group against Germany.

The situation is different for the Blue Rebels from Greece who cannot watch their football/soccer team at home.

The Blue Rebels compete at the Tomscat Trophy, while Greece has to beat Russia at the EURO 2012 on Saturday. It will be difficult for the Blue Rebels to watch the game that is scheduled for 2:45 PM.

However, there is no doubt that the host in Hoogeveen will have enough TV screens set up for the European skydiving football/soccer fans.

There is little doubt that Thunder is going to defend the Tomscat Trophy successfully, and the team's Center Outside, Paul Hofstee, will win the event for the 18th consecutive time. He recently filled a slot for the German national team in the female 4way category, ISB Air Remscheid, as Sarah Hajooze still needs a few more weeks before going back into freefall.

Now his own team Thunder goes back into action this week and will most likely post more impressive scores for an "amateur team". ISB Air Remscheid's Center Outside Petra van Overveld returns Paul Hofstee's substitue favor and is the official Thunder alternate for the meet...