posted Sep 25th, 2013 - An important part of the coverage of the USPA Nationals 2013 was still missing, and the aftermath of the event begins with the 8way videos of the Golden Knights.

The 8way lineup of the US Army finished with a 22.3 average after ten rounds, which is the highest 8way meet average that was ever posted at USPA Nationals. The French 8way team had posted the previous highscore average of 22.2 at the USPA Nationals 2008.

There was no serious competition for the Golden Knights for the gold medals this year, and the real battle took place behind the old and new US national 8way team. The extended leaderboard is showing how Paraclete XP8 and Arizona Airspeed had two very different halves of the meet.
Click on the score for a round with a link to see the teams' videos

USPA 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	22,2,21	19,A,5	N,E,H,B,Q	O,G,1,J	9,F,3	20,K,15	M,D,P,11	17,16,14	6,10,7	C,4,13	Total	Avg
1	Golden Knights	17(-2)	18	27	25	26	26	22(-1)	20(-1)	19	23	223	22.3
2	Arizona Airspeed	12(-1)	14(-1)	20	19	21	19	18	17	17	19	176	17.6
3	Paraclete XP8	14	14	20	21	19(-1)	19	18	15	15	14(-2)	169	16.9

It's nothing new that Arizona Airspeed needs a few rounds to warm up in 8way, as Round 1 is usually the first jump of the annual reunion. However, it was more challenging than usual this year since Paraclete XP8 had a very strong lineup and was four points ahead after Round 4.

Airspeed was eventually up to the highest performance level of any 8way "pickup team" in the world and even won Round 5. However, XP8 was not willing to step back and offer Airspeed the silver medal position, as it has always happened in the past. XP8 recovered, tied the Airspeed scores for Round 6 and Round 7 and held on to the 2-point advantage.

The change came when Andy Delk had to leave. The schedule after the weather delays did not fit well to his travel arrangements, and XP8 had to activate alternate Rook Nelson for the last three rounds. Airspeed took advantage of the situation and once again walked away with the silver medals at the end.

Russian Nationals 2013		Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total	Avg
Rank	8way Open Class	22,15,C	1,F,4	G,E,14,3	Total	Avg
1	Barkli 8	21	29	18	68	22.7
2	Feniks 11	18	20	15	53	17.7
3	Fly Tanay 8	15	19	10	44	14.7

The Golden Knights have to look into different directions to orientate themselves in the 8way world. The only serious opposition usually comes from France and Russia. France is re-building a completely new 8way team and will probably need some time to come back to the world's top level in 8way, which is currently represented by the Golden Knights.

Russia won 8way gold medals in 2001 and 2003 and always has strong 8way teams. Barkli's 8way lineup has won the bronze medals for Russia in 2010 (18.5) and again in 2012 (19.2) at the Mondial in Dubai. Barkli's 4way lineup with three former 8way world champions is a very strong foundation, and the team posted impressive scores at this year's national championships in both events.

The weather in Russia was much worse than it was at Skydive Chicago, and only three rounds could be completed in early September. All three 8way teams had also competed at the World Cup 2013 and had now the opportunity to increase their meet averages significantly with three faster sequences.