posted Jul 14th, 2014 - The Sun Path Products NSL News provided a preview of last weekend's Coupe de France competition on Saturday. It turned out that the weather in Maubeuge was as bad as the forecast predicted, and the French teams got in the air only on Monday for a few rounds.

The last test for the national 4-way teams before the FAI World Championship of Formation Skydiving 2014 was only a 2-round meet, while Venturi Maubeuge was the only 8-way team with five completed rounds on Monday.

All French AA Class teams completed five rounds, as well, while the other 8-way teams were done after Round 3. The French national championships are scheduled for the beginning of August and could be another opportunity for the national teams to attend a competition. However, the timing may not fit to the French countdown plans for the world meet, and national coach Jeremie Rollett will probably have the final word soon.

The French AAA Class 4-way teams did not even have the chance to get through the three tough opening rounds of the meet. Volt'R Maubeuge mastered the 3-block sequence in Round 1 with a 20-pointer. It was only the third and the slowest 3-block sequence in a competition for the new lineup, after a 21-pointer (7,4,21) and a 20-pointer (6,1,17) at the Paraclete XP Outdoor Championship 2014. The 23-pointer for the slot switcher in Round 2 was the end of the competition for the AAA Class teams in Maubeuge.

The French Girls will probably still be quite happy with the results of the two rounds, as they managed once again to keep close to the French national team in the AAA/Open Class. The 1-point difference in both rounds roughly matches the distance between both teams (22.7 - 21.6) after the ten rounds in DeLand.

No other teams were anywhere close to both French national teams, neither in France nor in the United Kingdom. Flyzone's indoor experts took the 3rd place in Maubeuge, and the French Air Force team won the duel win Monaco Vitalsea in Round 2.

Coupe de France - July 2014		Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Total	Avg
Rank	8-way	21,4,11	H,O,13,16	J,10,5	14,Q,19	12,15,3	Total	Avg
1	Venturi Maubeuge(FR)	15	15	13	15	16	74	14.8

The Coupe de France events include an 8-way competition, as well. The French national 8-way team usually does not participate, and Monaco Vitalsea's 8-way lineup walks away with the 1st places.

It was different last weekend, as national coach Jeremie Rollett sent all three national lineups in the traditional FS events to Maubeuge for the competition. Venturi Maubeuge managed to complete five rounds in a hurry on Monday, and the meet conditions were far from normal. The 14.8 average is almost identical with the scores at the Paraclete XP Outdoor Championship 2014 and is not threatening for the Golden Knights yet.

Former French 8-way world champions could be found as player coaches in the other 8-way lineups: Bruno Perin and Damien Sorlin (alternate) with Acceler8 Maubeuge in 2nd place, Erwan Pouliquen with Meetic Pamiers in 3rd place, Emmanuel "Manu" Sarrazin as the coach and alternate for Le 8 Cretin Horzone Clermont. Paul "Polo" Grisoni, French national 4-way and 8-way competitor of the late 90s until 2006, competed again for Monaco Vitalsea.