posted Oct 24th, 2012 - The NSL News reported yesterday that UK team Eclipse is planning for the 4th season with the same lineup. That's a long time period in 4way competition. There is another team who recently renewed the commitment for the 2013 season, and this team is even going into the 5th year with the same lineup.

It was a difficult and slow start for Thunder in 2009. Paul Hofstee was still competing with Dynamic Fource for the Netherlands, while Sven Ibens, Wesley Claessens and Jacco van Eerden did not have any team commitments any longer. They all had something in common though: They wanted to jump more and have a lot of fun with it. The Thunder project was born.

Thunder competed for the first time under 4XTT at the ESL Championship 2009 and finished with a 19.4 average after ten rounds behind Satori who won with a 21.4 average.

Thunder hired coach Thomas Hughes in February 2010 and then competed at the Valentine's Meet. It was still a slow year, as Dynamic Fource would compete for the Netherlands with Paul Hofstee at the World Meet 2010 in Menzelinsk. However, Thunder added the ISR Grand Prix 2010 to the team agenda, which was scheduled after the World Meet.

The 2011 season was the first year when Thunder could make a schedule without any interferences except the work and family schedules of the four members. The pace of training and competition picked up, and Thunder attended two indoor and two outdoor meets. The Tomscat Trophy 2011 became the first meet where Thunder broke through the 20-average level.

This year brought the next level of intensity and efforts. Thunder attended a total of six meets and never scored below 21-average in 2012.

It has become increasingly difficult for the international lineup to find meets where the team has top competition. Thunder has arrived at the top level of 4way and is not eligible to appear on the FAI leaderboards, or even compete at World Meets or World Cups. The host of the FAI meets may allow an international lineup to enter the meet or not.

However, meets like the Paraclete XP Outdoor Championship 2012 and the indoor meets have no restrictions and offer world class competition to all teams. Thunder has taken advantage of those opportunities, and the ISR Grand Prix 2012 will be the next and last event this year where Thunder plans to post new record scores.

In the meantime, Thunder has been working on the schedule for 2013, and the intensity level will be at least the same as in 2012.

Thunder plans to complete once again approx. 250 training jumps and add 15 hours of indoor training. The Thunder competition season in 2013 will probably begin with the Aerokart Indoor Championship in February, followed by the Paraclete XP Outdoor Championship 2013, which is scheduled for March 15 - 17 and promises the same world class competition as in the past.

The World Challenge 2013 will follow on the Thunder Spring Tour next year, and the team will also be allowed to defend the title at the Tomscat Trophy 2013, as well as at the ESL Championship 2013. The ISR Grand Prix 2013 in Roosendaal will once again conclude Thunder's 2013 season.

Thunder is still hungry for more competition and is scouting for opportunities to meet the best teams in the world. The 21-average will be history next year, and the unofficial status of the best amateur team in the world is no objective. Thunder is looking for more and higher. Thomas Hughes will continue to work with Thunder, and his pwn team will probably be a target for Thunder at the same time. There are not many other targets around for Thunder any longer...