posted Nov 23rd, 2012 - The start of the Mondial 2012 in Dubai is less than a week away, and it is about time to zoom in even more on the most exciting competition that Formation Skydiving competition may have experienced in the history of the sport.

It is a fact that the event will have record participation. However, there is more to it than only the number of teams who travel to Dubai. The NSL News looks mostly at the athletic part of Formation Skydiving competition, which seems to offer more than ever before.

Each of the four FS events (4way Open - 4way Women - VFS 4way - 8way) promises most exciting competition, and none of the events seems to have a clear favorite for the gold medals. 4way Open Class and VFS 4way, possibly also 8way, have even three teams who could win, after years or decades of duels between USA and France in 4way Open, USA and France or USA and Russia in 8way. The Mondial 2012 could also generate completely new winners, as Belgium (NMP-PCH Hayabusa) and United Arabian Emirates (Dubai Nexus) have never had teams in 1st places at a World Championship of Formation Skydiving.

4-way Open

The NSL News has reported more than enough about the teams in the race for gold medals in the 4way Open Class. The audience now has to make a call and decide who has the best chances.

In a nutshell, there are two 4way expert teams (Arizona Airspeed, NMP-PCH Hayabusa) who do nothing else but train and compete in 4way. Then there is the French national 4way team Aerodyne Aerokart, with three reigning 4way world champions of 2010 and France's 8way godfather Emmanuel "Manu" Sarrazin, 8way world champion of 2006, 2008 and 2010, who loves nothing more than 4way...

All four members try to win gold in 8way too, which seemed to have become a "mission impossible" considering the 4way experts from Eloy and Belgium. However, the Airspeed results at the USPA Nationals 2012 have somehow encouraged France that there is a realistic chance for success of the mission. On the other hand, the winner of the Shamrock Showdown, now the Paraclete XP Outdoor Championship 2012, traditionally wins the world meet in the same year. That would be Arizona Airspeed...

8-way Open

8way competition does not present an easier picture. It seems to become a horse race between Aerodyne Maubeuge for France and Golden Knights for the USA, with underdog chances for Russia's Sky Panthers Barkli.

The French 8way team could not train much this year since four members also had to get ready to defend the 4way gold medals. The Golden Knights have scored higher averages meet by meet after placing 2nd at the World Meet 2010 in Menzelinsk. Finally, the US Army team won over France by one point at the World Cup 2011. The French 8way team had not lost a meet since 2006 before the showdown in Germany last year.

The Golden Knights continued with a 21.9 average in March, which was another step up. However, the French hopes became stronger when the Golden Knights "only" repeated the 21.9 average at the USPA Nationals 2012. Aerodyne Maubeuge had the opportunity to copy the sequences at a training camp in DeLand shortly after the 8way meet in Eloy and seemed to be confident. Sky Panthers Barkli have the necessary skills, pace and experience and just need ten good and clean rounds to be in the mix for gold medals.

4-way Women

The same exciting situation on the very top of the leaderboard can be expected in the female 4way category. The French Aerodyne Deep Blue Defenders digested the personnel change at the end of the 2011 season very well, while the female 4way lineup of the Golden Knights have consistently improved their performance level since 2010. Both teams ended up pretty much on exactly the same scoring level (20.1 - 19.9) at the World Cup 2012.

France ran into trouble when Point Laurence Herve got injured a few months ago and had to cancel the trip to Dubai. The Golden Knights experienced another confidence booster at the same time when they won the bronze medals in the 4way Open Class competition at the USPA Nationals 2012 with a 20.8 average.

This could have given the US Army team the edge for Dubai - if there wasn't Sophie Deremaux. She is probably the most experienced female French 4way competitor and has seen it all. She is also very well trained in the front piece as a former Center Outside and Point. She stepped in without hesitation, and the Dubai lineup could even make several training jumps at two training camps. Martial Ferre featured the new Aerodyne Deep Blue Defenders in another piece after the August training camp in Gap. The Golden Knights might have a slight advantage in this event, but they have to be very careful and cannot allow themselves any slack. France is competing with the back to the wall...

VFS 4way

Last not least, the VFS 4way competition will be just as exciting as the other three events. In fact, and as in 4way Open, this event also has three top contenders who could win the gold medals.

Dubai Nexus, competing for the United Arabian Emirates, has already shown that the team has the potential to outscore the best US team, SDC Standard XP, as it happened at the USPA Nationals 2012. Team4speed, the French reigning world champions, have posted higher meet averages in the past than their two strongest opponents and seemed to be in a league of their own on the top of the leaderboards.

However, Nexus and Standard have been catching up by pushing each other and may have come closer to France. Team4speed is probably the top contender, while Nexus and Standard have the potential to challenge the French team seriously. The French sweep of all four Formation Skydiving gold medals in 2010 will at least be much more difficult to achieve this year. The first results of the Dubai 2012 polls are far from a French sweep so far...