posted Mar 17th, 2014 - The Paraclete XP Outdoor Championship 2014 was the end of one of the longest going team projects in the modern history of Formation Skydiving competition - unless it was the beginning of a new project.

Voodoo has been SouthAfrica's national 4way team ever since Equanimity, bronze medalist in Turkey 1997, discontinued, with all team members (Solly Williams, Gary Smith, Fred Whitsitt, Robbie Spencer, Graham Harding) emigrating to the USA.

Actually, it was Colin Rothman who launched the team project and has been a member of all Voodoo lineups between 1998 and 2013. He missed only the team's last two meets (UK Nationals 2013, Paraclete XP Outdoor 2014) where Dave Sumter, Dennis and Vana Parker had Gary Smith in the lineup, with Erik Vliegenthart on camera. The Voodoo members in DeLand informed the Sun Path Products NSL News that Voodoo will not compete as the SouthAfrican national 4way team any longer.

Paraclete XP Outdoor 2014		Rd. 1	Rd. 2	Rd. 3	Rd. 4	Rd. 5	Rd. 6	Rd. 7	Rd. 8	Rd. 9	Rd. 10	Total	Avg
Rank	4way AAA/Open Class	18,2,O	D,19,22	G,C,P,10	9,A,L,H	K,16,B,Q	7,4,21	11,15,F	M,3,E,8	6,1,17	20,12,J	Total	Avg
1	Arizona Airspeed (US)	20	20	28	46	33	24	23	20	19	21	254	25.4
2	Evolution (CA)	21	22	25	40	30	21	23	23	20	19	244	24.4
3	VoltR (FR)	20	19	24	36	29	21	20	22	20	16	227	22.7
4	SDC Rhythm XP (US)	21	18	24	34	28	20	20	22	16	17	220	22.0
5	Carolina Turbo XP (US)	18	15	20	30	27	18	19	20	18	16	201	20.1
6	Voodoo (ZA)	18	17	20(-1)	26	24(-1)	17	18	20	16	14	190	19.0

Voodoo tried in DeLand one more time to wipe out Equanimity's 19.3 average that won the bronze medals in 1997 and still stands as the highest SouthAfrican meet average. The 19.0 average at the Paraclete XP Outdoor Championship was the highest Voodoo average in team history and still four points short of a new SouthAfrican highscore.

The Sun Path Products NSL News provided the last comprehensive Voodoo update on 6 February 2013, after the SouthAfrican team had posted a new team record average at the Mondial Dubai 2012. The 17.9 average soon became history again when Voodoo finished with an 18.9 average at the UK Nationals 2013, for the first time with Gary Smith in the lineup.

Team founder Colin Rothman has moved to Australia, and it has become too difficult for all Voodoo members of the past two years to find time together in SouthAfrica or anywhere else, as the complete current 3way resides in the United Kingdom. Gary Smith lives in The Netherlands.

Colin Rothman, Vana Parker and Dave Sumter had the longest Voodoo period together (2004 - 2010) which included the attendance at four different world meets (Croatia 2004 - Germany 2006 - France 2008 - Russia 2010). Airspeed member Thiago Gomes (2004), Julian Boulle (2005) and Amy Kirtland (2006 - 2010) were the 4th Vodoo members in this time period.

Voodoo has signed up once again for the World Challenge 2014 where the same lineup competes as the one last week in DeLand. Voodoo's 19.9 indoor team record average of 2013 will also be history after visiting Bodyflight Bedford this year with Gary Smith.

It seems like Voodoo is currently getting better with fewer training jumps, as the chart of the whole Voodoo history shows. It's the time together that compensates for lack of training. However, SouthAfrica has to find a new national team, and Voodoo will hopefully turn into a different team project - something like Thunder...?