posted Jul 27th, 2014 - The story of Finland's national 4-way team in the last decade is the story of the battle between Tigers and Pro Team, and it seems to be a never-ending story.

It begins in 2001 when Kimmo Pohjola and his future wife Outi Palmen formed the first Pro Team lineup (with Tomi Kallunki, Petri Lehtinen, Nina Kivilompolo, Matti Eskonniemi on camera) for the A/Intermediate Class competition in Finland.

It took five years until the 2006 lineup (Henrik Lakela, Laura Miettinen, Kimmo Pohjola, Outi Pohjola, Niina Pöllänen, Matti Eskonniemi still on camera) eventually won the national championships in the AAA/Open Class for the first time with an 8.1 average.

July 26th, 2014		Rd. 1	Rd. 2	Rd. 3	Rd. 4	Rd. 5	Rd. 6	Rd. 7	Rd. 8	Rd. 9	Rd. 10	Total	Avg
Rank	AAA Class	H,13,A,10	8,21,6	15,C,18	G,17,E,14	19,L,3	F,2,20	N,5,Q,9	16,1,22	12,K,O,4	P,11,D,B	Total	Avg
1	Pro Team (FI)	14	13	14	14	14	17	17	12	14	21	150	15.0
2	Tigers (FI)	14	13	13	17	16	14	19	11	14	18	149	14.9
3	50 60 (FI)	9	11	8	11	10	12	13	10	10	16	110	11.0
Rank	A Class	H,A,B	8,21	C,6	G,E,7	19,L	F,2	N,Q,9	J,A,M	K,O,4	P,D,H	Total	Avg
1	Team Puumat (FI)	19	8	11	14	9	6	13	19	-	-	99	12.4
2	Awe-SOME (FI)	11	4	8	10	5	8	8	13	-	-	67	8.4
3	Opossumit (FI)	11	3	5	8	2	5	9	15	-	-	58	7.3

However, the 4-way championship reigning lasted only for a year. Original Pro Team member Nina Kivilompolo had become a Tigers member in 2007, together with Nadja Konnroth, Joonas Karjalainen, Markus Pitkänen, Erkki Kursukangas (Camera), and Riku Peltola (Alternate), and the Tigers outscored the Pro Team (13.0 - 11.5) at the national championships.

The Tigers competed for Finland at the World Meet 2008 in Maubeuge and won the national championships one more time (15.4 - 15.0) the same year. It was the end of the Tigers reigning.

The Pro Team lineup of 2009 (Laura Miettinen, Eija Suvala, Kimmo Pohjola, Outi Pohjola, Mikko Kajala - Camera, Juho Mikkola - Alternate) won back the national championship title (15.9 - 15.5) and has maintained Finland's 4-way top position ever since.

Pro Team won last year's national championships, as well, but decided not to compete for Finland at the World Championship of Formation Skydiving 2014. The Tigers will represent the Scandinavian country next month in Prostejov.

The Tigers launched the 2014 season with a 12.6 average at the Paraclete XP Outdoor Championship 2013 and finished with a 14.9 average this week at the national championships. It was once again a tough battle with Pro Team, which ended with a 1-point advantage for the defending champion's new lineup.

The team in 3rd place also had a very interesting and colorful lineup, including members of former Finnish national teams and Veera Ronalter, who lives, trains and competes in the USA. But 50/60 is another story...