posted Dec 29th, 2008 - The last NSL News update from France came with the story on 6 November 2008. NSL-TV had posted the last three rounds of the French 8-way team at the World Meet 2008 in Maubeuge. The story finished with the mention that the selection of the new 8-way lineup may take longer than expected.

National coach Jerome David had originally planned to have the selection completed in November. However, he mentioned already by then that he may take more time since the 8-way situation was more complicated, and the decision about the new 8-way lineup would be an important one.

The NSL News had provided a more comprehensive introduction of the French 8-way team that won the gold medals in 2006 and 2008 with the story on 2 October 2008.

The NSL News received the next hint of the final selection soon to be announced when French 8-way world champion of 2006, Damien Sorlin, visited DeLand in November to join the Kaleidoscope Dives of SkyQuest 2008, as the NSL News reported on 21 November 2008. Damien Sorlin told the NSL News by then that he would personally be more engaged with the 8-way team once again. He had left the team after winning the gold medal in Germany 2006, and player coach Erwan Pouliquen took his slot.

French national coach Jerome David now provided the NSL News with the official update from France, and both names are on the list of the 8-way lineup for 2009: Erwan Pouliquen continues as the player coach, and Damien Sorlin is back in action.

The new French 8-way lineup is a very interesting and promising mix of experience and talent, just as Jerome David had hoped for. Additional experience besides Erwan Pouliquen and Damien Sorlin comes with returning 8-way world champions Clement Martin St. Leon and Mathieu Bernier. Both are actually 2-time consecutive 8-way world champions of 2006 and 2008.

Jerome David also brings in to the new 8-way mix another French 4-way and 8-way veteran, Martial "Jaguar" Ferré, former 4-way world champion of 1999. Martial Ferré continued with the French 8-way team of 2001 and 2003, which won the bronze medals both times behind Russia and USA. He was recently involved as one of the B-Team player coaches in 4-way.

Jerome David said that his experienced 8-way players will control the center of the new 8-way lineup (Erwan Pouliquen, Clement Martin St. Leon, Damien Sorlin, Martial Ferré), while Mathieu Bernier will continue in his point slot. The older of the two Bernier brothers, who competed together in 4-way and 8-way in the last three years, is also the only French competitor in 2009 and 2010 who will be a member of the 4-way and 8-way lineup at the same time.

The three other 4-way members of 2008 (Guillaume Bernier, Julien Degen, Jeremie Rollet) focus only on 4-way, as the NSL News reported already earlier. They will make room in the French 8-way lineup for the three new players who were recruited from the former B-Teams. Arno Mille, Julien Olek and Thomas Perrin Gachadoat are the young lucky winners of the three open slots.

They have been carefully prepared for their upcoming challenges. All three new 8-way members already competed in 4-way with Erwan Pouliquen at the World Cup 2005 in Eloy, and then again at the World Cup 2007 in Russia. Arno Mille and Julien Olek competed this year with Aerokart Mamba Pamiers, a team that caught the attention of the NSL News several times. 8-way world champions Manu Sarrazin and Clement Martin St. Leon were their 4-way team mates. Thomas Perrin Gachadoat has trained and competed with another French B-Team in 4-way, Nice Maubeuge.

The three new members will continue to compete in 4-way while getting ready to defend the 8-way gold medals. Aerokart Mamba Pamiers has exactly the same lineup for 2009 and 2010. Thomas Perrin Gachadoat will compete with three other B-Team members of 2008 in the lineup: Patrick Boulongne, Guillaume Bajolet and Florian Denonfoux.

Jerome David confirmed that there are no changes in the national 4-way lineups. Deep Blue continues in the female category with Sophie Deremaux, Bérangère Duplouy, Françoise Simons-Hamouchi and Amélie Tirman, the same lineup that won the bronze medals this year in Maubeuge. Guillaume and Mathieu Bernier, Julien Degen and Jeremie Rollet will challenge Airspeed Odyssey in the Open Class for the next two years.

All lineups will have new team videographers. Jerome David said that Alex Pereira has decided to retire after a great international career that began in 2000. Fabrice Rieu will take his slot for the Open Class team. He was filming Deep Blue at the world meet this year. 8-way videographer Stephane Mistrot Dit Pachet will also step back and become the alternate on camera. B-Team member Sylvain Girault is now filming the 8-way team.

Jerome David will continue to oversee and manage the Formation Skydiving teams as the national coach and work together with his technical coaches. Former 4-way world champion Marin Ferre now has a 4-month old daughter and will still be in charge of coaching both national 4-way lineups throughout the world meet in 2010. Erwan Pouliquen will continue with his successful player coach position in 8-way.

Philippe Schorno has the same position as a national coach for the Artistic Events and Vertical Formation Skydiving. Christian Lubbe is responsible for Style and Accuracy in France, Jean Michel Poulet for Canopy Formation. National Director Jean Marc Seurin has already accepted the complete French lineup for the next two years, and the teams can begin with their preparations.

Jerome David said that the 8-way team will have a very light training program in 2009 and then pick up the pace in 2010. All French 4-way teams, including the B-Teams, will compete at the World Cup 2009 in the Czech Republic. The upcoming winter training will be held in DeLand this time. Deep Blue and France Maubeuge will both compete at the FSL Shamrock Showdown 2009 in March and then again at the World Challenge 2009 in April.

The summer training camps of 2009 will be held in Ampuriabrava, Pamiers, Gap and Maubeuge between April and August. Airtec and Parasport will continue as the official partners of the French teams. Other partnerships for containers and parachutes are still in the works.

Jerome David makes it no secret that he plans to win all three sets of gold medals at the World Championship of Formation Skydivbing 2010.