posted Sep 9th, 2013 - The German Nationals 2013 also included an 8way competition. Three of the teams had attended the World Cup 2011 on home turf in Saarlouis, Germany, and have continued their 8way projects ever since.

The German national 8way team EADS finished in 4th place with a 14.8 average in 2011 and followed up with a 14.8 average in 4th place at the Mondial Dubai 2012.

Exactly the same EADS lineup now won again the 8way gold medals at the national championships and will compete for Germany in Prostejov 2014.

New Paratec-Saar member Petra Van Overveld made three of the ten competition jumps in 8way and won her second German gold medal.

Former French 4way and 8way world champion Martial Ferre was coaching the 8way team in 2nd place, Suedwest, which finished with a new team record average, and he also had his Veloce.fr camera running to capture scenes from the competition site in Saulgau.

German Nationals 2013		Rd. 1	Rd. 2	Rd. 3	Rd. 4	Rd. 5	Rd. 6	Rd. 7	Rd. 8	Rd. 9	Rd. 10	Total	Avg
Rank	8way Open	B,7,11	P,C,4,6	J,D,O,21	6,18,15	1,L,2	M,9,K,13	19,N,Q,12	G,22,14	E,H,A,8	F,20,3	Total	Avg
1	EADS 8 (DE)	13	16	15	13	12	16	15	7	16	12	135	13.5
2	Suedwest 8 (DE)	10	12	13	10	11	13	14	9	9	10	111	11.1
3	PinkAtomiXRay (DE)	8	11	13	9	8	10	11	7	10	9	96	9.6
4	Saar 8 (DE)	6	10	6	7	6	10	9	4	8	5	71	7.1
5	No Angels (DE)	6	7	7	5	6	6	6	3	5	6	57	5.7

Germany applies three of the four NSL competition categories in 4way. The Sun Path Products NSL News covered the AAA/Open Class competition with all its recent drama comprehensively, while the A Class scores were only recently added to the event's leaderboard.

One German team had caught the Sun Path Products NSL News attention earlier this year.

The story on 14 July 2013 featured Team Karma with Center Inside Claudia Breidbach who was born without a left hand and takes the 4way grips with a special prosthesis.

Team Karma made good on the plans and competed in the A Class at the German Nationals 2013.

Team speaker Michael “Speedy” Sigl reported after the meet that his team had a personnel change in the Tail slot and could make only 30 jumps with the new lineup.

German Nationals 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	B,7	M,4	O,21	E,6	F,2	M,9	B,19	O,Q,P	E,H,A	F,J,N	Total	Avg
1	In Touch Kassel (DE)	14	11	12	11	13	14	11	15	17	15	133	13.3
2	Evo Saulgau (DE)	12	13	10	9	5	13	10	19	15	14	120	12.0
3	Das KOs Saar (DE)	11	7	9	9	6	11	9	5	10	9	86	8.6
4	VertiGo (DE)	8	7	8	7	10	9	6	9	7	7	78	7.8
5	Team Karma (DE)	8	7	7	7	8	7	2	4	11	7	68	6.8
6	Impact Kassel (DE)	6	6	5	5	9	6	5	8	7	6	63	6.3

Team Karma's goal was to compete for the medals, and the leaderboard is showing that the bronze medals were in reach. The two top teams were too strong, and even the desired 10-average level would not have been enough to challenge the gold and silver medal teams. However, Team Karma tied and outscored the bronze medalist Das KOs Saar two times and still ended up too far behind at the end.

As planned, Karma was showing that it would be possible for Claudia Breidbach and her team mates to compete in 4way with the proximity and smoothness that it would take to be even competitive.

Michael Sigl said that the team was still a little bit disappointed: "The team was very ambitious. In particular Rounds 7 and 8 were a nightmare for us, but Round 9 with 11 points gave us an idea of the team capabilities despite the fact that we perform just with seven hands."

It was still a successfull start into the team's 4way competition career, as Michael Sigl explained the near future of the team: "Overall we can be very pleased with our first German Nationals, and I think we did a good job. We will follow up with more training, make our way and come back even stronger in 2014."

Team Karma is probably the first 4way team ever competing at a national championship under the explained cirumstances. There are and have been other 4way teams with handicapped team members (Sebastian 4L in the USA, Trans4mers in the United Kingdom), however, taking grips and flying pieces with only one natural hand is a special challenge that Team Karma has proudly taken on.

Claudia Breidbach and her team were also recognized by fellow competitors at the German Nationals once they realized the situation: "This was inspiring, and we will remember those outstanding moments," said Michael Sigl. "The skydiving community can be more than proud that we are one of the first sports that make it possible for handicapped skydivers to compete at an official championchip under the official rules. It's is a big win for the sport."