posted Sep 29th, 2014 - The 8-way competition of the UK Nationals was scheduled for the weekend after the 4-way championship and was concluded after eight rounds.

No surprises were expected, as the national team Microclim8 has dominated the event in the United Kingdom since 2010. However, there were still a few occasions that deserved special attention. Team member Andy Pook won the British 8-way gold for the 16th consecutive time, and Liz Matthews became the first female UK competitor since 1985 winning gold medals in 4-way and 8-way at the same national championships with the current set of rules and dive pools. Jacky Smith had accomplished the same feat with UK team Symbiosis in the late 70s.

She had also competed with 4-way AAA Class winner Voodoo, as the Sun Path Products NSL News reported on 25 September 2014. Liz Mathews competed in the first British female lineup at the World Meet 2001 in Spain and won a gold medal with V-Max at the World Meet 2003 in France.

UK Nationals 2014		Rd. 1	Rd. 2	Rd. 3	Rd. 4	Rd. 5	Rd. 6	Rd. 7	Rd. 8	Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Open Class	12,14,4	B,8,18	19,1,11	21,K,H,15	7,E,6	22,17,3	D,Q,13,J	5,N,A,F	Total	Avg
1	Microclim8	12	11	13	14	13	13	14	11	101	12.6
2	Thunderbirds	8	8	10	10	11	10	11	9	77	9.6
3	Awkward Turtles	6	7	8	4	6	7	6	7	51	6.4
4	Brit Chicks	9	10	10	0	0	0	0	0	29	3.6
5	Snow White & the Cowabunga 7	7	7	5	0	0	0	0	0	19	2.4

Microclim8 had just returned from the FAI World Championship of Formation Skydiving 2014 in Prostejov, where they had a much more exciting competition.

M8trix from the Netherlands had given the British 8-way team a tough 1-point battle for the 4th place, and Australia tried to be a part of this race, as well.

It came down to the last round of the meet to determine the best unofficial 8-way amateur team in the world. Microclim8 was still two points behind M8trix after Round 8, and the last two rounds turned the table. The UK team caught up in Round 9, and Round 10 was the tie breaker. Microclim8 won by a single point and took the 4th place.

World Meet 2014		Rd. 1	Rd. 2	Rd. 3	Rd. 4	Rd. 5	Rd. 6	Rd. 7	Rd. 8	Rd. 9	Rd. 10	Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Open Class	E,3,C,5	F,G,D,21	19,H,2	M,4,1	O,14,A,P	8,J,16	7,11,12	22,20,15	17,G,18	13,B,9	Total	Avg
1	Golden Knights (US)	24	22	15	26	22	21	19	26	21	20	216	21.6
2	Barkli (RU)	19	18	13	25	14	16	16	19	18	13	191	17.4
3	Venturi (FR)	19	16	14	23	18	13	18	19	15	16	190	17.3
4	Microclim8 (UK)	14	14	11	15	12	13	12	15	12	13	131	13.1
5	M8Trix (NL)	15	13	11	17	11	13	13	15	10	12	130	13.0
6	Australia (AU)	12	13	11	18	11	12	12	12	10	12	123	12.3

M8trix member Leander van Schriek explained this 8-way battle from the Dutch perspective:

"The team had two goals: Beat the Dutch 15-pointer record for a single round and Dutch Flight's 12.6 average of 2001. During the meet we found ourselves in a good battle for 4th place with Microclim8. We won some rounds, lost some and tied most of them with the team from the UK.

"From Round 1 M8trix felt confident, with ourselves, the plane and the jumps. This resulted in eight perfect rounds were we performed at our very best. Unfortunately, as all teams during a 10-round meet, M8trix also experienced some trouble. Our Round 4 felt slower then we were used to, and there was a brain lock in the jump, as well. Despite all this, Round 4 brought us 17 points, and one of our goals was accomplished."

"Then we had trouble again in Round 9 and lost two points to Microclim8 after a brain lock. We were tied going into the final round, which was a good one for us. If Microclim8 defeated us, they deserved to be 4th in the world. Eventually the freeze frame showed a small difference, but Microclim8 was the better team over ten rounds.

"However, M8trix completed 130 points and again defeated Dutch Flight with the meet average. M8trix is now the best FS 8-way team that The Netherlands ever had. We had a lot of fun during the meet and on our road to Prostejov. We jumped with confidence and a lot of trust in each other, which resulted in disciplined and clean jumps.

"We are looking forward to the future, as we all feel we can go faster using this discipline. We still have to sit down to discuss the 2015 season in detail, but all members were motivated to move on. The new year will bring new goals, as we can only beat ourselves now. Hopefully, 2015 will lead us again to a peak performance at the European Championships, which might be held at our home dropzone: Texel."