posted Dec 8th, 2013 - One of the most popular events for participants and spectators at the 4th Dubai International Parachuting Championship 2013 was once again Canopy Piloting. The swooping pond at Skydive Dubai becomes the center of the attention as soon as the competition begins, as each of the three events (Accuracy, Distance, Speed) starts at the entry gate in the water.

The Sun Path Products NSL News has reported parts of Canopy Piloting competition in the past whenever Formation Skydiving competitors, like former 4way world champions Shannon Pilcher and Ian Bobo, were also competing under their open parachutes.

Ian Bobo competed once again in Dubai without placing in the medal positions. However, there were also two other 4way world champions competing in Canopy Piloting, and they came from France, Guillaume Bernier and Julien Guiho. One of them, VFS 4way competitor Julien Guiho, won the silver medal in the overall standings of Canopy Piloting.

4way Open

4way Women

4way VFS

8way Open

4th DIPC 2013		Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Round 6	Round 7	Round 8	Total	Avg
Rank	VFS 4way	8,G,1	17,N,10	E,9,F,15	B,16,3	D,12,4	11,7,J	6,5,A	K,H,2,C	Total	Avg
1	Dubai Nexus (AE)	36	19	23	27	24	31	24	27	211	26.4
2	Team4speed SD (FR)	32	16	19	27	20	25	23	22	184	23.0
3	Fly Definition (PL)	12	6	6	9	5	10	7	8	63	7.9

Canopy Piloting	Team4speed

Guillaume Bernier has won 8way gold medals for France in 2006 and 2008 and added 4way gold medals in 2010. He retired from the French national teams after winning another 4way bronze medal at the Mondial Dubai 2012 and then switched to Canopy Piloting.

He finished in 11th place of 74 Canopy Pilots in the overall rankings last week and made the TOP 10 two times in Speed and Distance. The 28th place in Accuracy kept him from placing closer to the medal and money slots.

Julien Guiho even competed in both events, VFS 4way and Canopy Piloting, at the same time, and he had a very successful trip to Dubai. The 3rd places in Accuracy ($1,500) and Distance ($1,500) and the 2nd place in the overall Canopy Piloting standings ($2,000) added up for a total of $5,000 prize money that he takes home to France. His additional share of the $10,000 for Team4speed's 2nd place in VFS 4way comes on top of that.

Mondial Dubai 2012		Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Round 6	Round 7	Round 8	Total	Avg
Rank	VFS 4way	A,11,13	J,14,16	5,1,7	17,F,9	6,8,D	N,C,M,L,13	2,10,4	E,B,H,I,G	Total	Avg
1	Team4speed XP (FR)	30	23	25	19	23	22	21	22	185	23.1
2	Dubai Nexus (AE)	31	28	22	18	23	18	17	20	177	22.1
3	SDC Standard XP (US)	29	23	22	17	19	21	18	19	168	21.0

The prize money may help Julien Guiho to get easier over the new defeat that Team4speed had to accept, as Dubai Nexus has recently run away from the French national team. Philippe "Professeur" Schorno has a lot of serious work ahead of him and the new French VFS 4way lineup.

However, as discouraging as the results in VFS 4way may look like at the moment from the French perspective, it may not be that bad. It is a fact that the new Team4speed lineup, with new member Cathy Bouette, has caught up with the performance level of the previous lineup. Team4speed won the gold medals at the Mondial Dubai 2012 with a 23.1 average and finished with 23.0 at the 4th DIPC 2013. The current 23.0 average also came after a recent slot scramble.

Dubai Nexus' record average of 26.4 is so impressive that it could mislead the evaluation of the French performance. Team4speed knows how to perform on a 25.5 average level, which was the winning average in 2010. The 2013 season included the personnel change and slot switches. Now it is time for Philippe Schorno to guide Team4speed back to the 2010 level. He knows how to do it...