posted Jul 7th, 2013 - The latest contribution of the Sun Path Products NSL News for Blue Skies Mag was published last week in the summer edition and written shortly after the World Challenge 2013 where 77 teams set a new record for participation at the annual indoor competition.

The first outdoor events were successfully completed when the article was written, and the outdoor participation was just as promising as the indoor numbers were indicating. It does not look any different at the moment and after the first months of the 2013 outdoor season.

The stories of the World Challenge 2013 included incredible performances and also a sensitive topic. How much better is a team allowed to be, and when will it be called "sandbagging"? The Sun Path Products NSL News gave this topic special attention for the Blue Skies Mag.

Turning Points: 4way Unstoppable - Sandbagging?

77 teams must be the end, I thought - at least at one single event. That was last year after the World Challenge 2012 at Bodyflight Bedford. So I went to England again this year, hoping that host Paul Mayer would not be able to once again increase the work load for his poor staff and for myself.

Wrong. There were 78 teams in the traditional 4-way event alone, not counting the dynamic 4-way and artistic events. You cannot stop Paul Mayer from attracting new teams to his event, as much as you cannot stop teams from entering the 4-way world, as they do it over and over again.

There were several top teams missing this year in Bedford, and the biggest skydiving countries on the planet, the U.S. and France, had the smallest delegations this year compared to the previous meets. The new teams compensated easily for the missing teams. Next year, they will all show up at the same time, and Paul Mayer will break 100. Nightmare...

Florida has more teams this year than ever in the past decade, and 11 teams launched the 2013 season of the Southern California Skydiving League last weekend in Perris.

Anyhow, back to the indoor competition in Bedford and an interesting and controversial topic. The World Challenge is usually a fantastic combination of the best 4-way performance on the planet and a big 4-way party at the same time. This year's event was the first one where I heard some unhappy voices. They were caused by the incredible performance of a team from Finland.

Finland? Are you kidding? Do they have 4-way teams there? Isn't it always winter there? No no, there are a few weeks around June 21 with only summer, 24 hours of it. The Finnish skydivers can jump their butts off in those few weeks, and they do. Because the rest of the year is darkness and rain.

Yes, Finland has a few 4-way teams, and two of them stirred up the waves in the FlowHouse this year, one more than the other. The Pro Team Extended won the Rookie Class competition with a 39.1 average after ten rounds, 190 points ahead of the team in second place. The Heroes of the Arctic Circle (no kidding) won the A Class competition, 54 points ahead of the Blue Rebels from Greece in second place. Both teams from Finland were unstoppable too—too unstoppable? Was it sandbagging?

The Pro Team is a family affair that I have not covered yet in Turning Points, so it is about time. Father Kimmo and mother Outi Pohjola are flying with their 12-year-old son Kalle. Eija Suvala, Pro Team member at the World Meet 2010, completes the lineup. The Pohjola family lives in Rovaniemi, right at the Arctic Circle, where they have also generated their second team, the A Class Heroes.

World Challenge 2013		Rd. 1	Rd. 2	Rd. 3	Rd. 4	Rd. 5	Rd. 6	Rd. 7	Rd. 8	Rd. 9	Rd. 10	Total	Avg
Rank	Rookie	O,B,M	Q,H,K	G,C,D	P,E,J	A,L,N	F,M,N	D,J,H	E,A,Q	K,O,C	F,P,B	Total	Avg
1	Pro Team Extended (FI)	46	38	30	39	30	48	42	35	33	50	391	39.1
2	Panik (IT)	34	21	15	23	18	27	13	15	13	22	201	20.1
3	Team Tetley (UK)	26	18	11	16	16	28	19	17	12	21	184	18.4

Pro Team Extended	Heroes of the Arctic Circle

World Challenge 2013		Rd. 1	Rd. 2	Rd. 3	Rd. 4	Rd. 5	Rd. 6	Rd. 7	Rd. 8	Rd. 9	Rd. 10	Total	Avg
Rank	A Class	19,G	8,21	C,D,K	L,M,O	H,9	N,E,F	P,6	Q,J,2	B,7	A,4	Total	Avg
1	Heroes of the Arctic Circle (FI)	16	14	26	38	30	31	20	16	23	18	232	23.2
2	Blue Rebels (GR)	14	11	19	30	16	26	16	14	16	16	178	17.8
3	Fathers 4 Justice (UK)	13	12	22	27	22	17	16	14	17	13	173	17.3

Skydiving is very limited if you live around the Arctic Circle. Well, it's tough to do with a 12-year-old son anyway... You can fly in a wind tunnel, but there is none anywhere near or in driving distance. Flying the whole family to Bedford or any other indoor facility is the only option for the three Pohjolas to get flying practice, of course only during school vacations. The rest of the training for 12-year-young Kalle is mentally, plus family dirt diving at home.

The World Challenge 2013 was the first 4-way competition for Kalle. The 4-way competition career begins with the Rookie Class for the beginners in the sport, and why would Kalle not have the same starting point as everybody else? Sure, his parents knew of his talent and capabilities, and they probably knew that they would win the Rookie Class competition. However, they were not bored without the blocks and by the big gap between first and second place; they enjoyed the first competition with their son. That's as simple as it is.

Kalle was surely excited - and very well prepared at the same time. His flying performance and focus were showing what kids can do if they enter our 4-way world. It was a peek into the future of 4-way competition...

Other than that, and as for sandbagging, how much distance are you actually allowed to create between you and the other teams to make it right? There is always a great distance between the winners and the teams who are in last place in the same category. 186 points separated winner NMP-PCH Hayabusa from Nuevo in 37th place of the AAA Class competition. Should they both compete in the same category? Of course. Why not? Nobody has a problem with that.

No team was as far ahead as the Pro Team Extended, maybe in the history of the event or the sport. But it was a family affair with a 12-year-old boy entering the 4-way competition world. The parents had him well prepared, and they are all excited. So am I, and I hope that there will be many more 12-year-olds winning the Rookie Class at their first competition.

Let's call it sandbagging if Pro Team Extended comes back next year in the Rookie Class... I betcha they would rather win the A Class competition at the World Challenge 2014, with Kalle flying his first set of blocks. I would not be surprised if he will be just as well prepared for the blocks as he was for the randoms. I would guess for a 25-point average in the A Class next year—to beat the Heroes of the Arctic Circle and their 23.2 average. Congratulations to Finland.