posted Oct 24th, 2014 - The recent Sun Path Products NSL News updates from Belgium and France seem to have an impact on the outcome of the recent "FS Sweep 2016" poll question.

There is now a smaller number of voters who believe that a US sweep is possible, and 42% see no chance for the US delegation to win all four gold medals in Formation Skydiving competition.

The Sun Path Products NSL News now continues with the update from Belgium, where Roy Janssen, one of the three original NMP-PCH Hayabusa members has left the team, as the story on 12 October 2014 reported. The update on 16 October 2014 included Roy Janssen's review of the FAI World Championship of Formation Skydiving 2014. Finally, the story on 20 October 2014 explained how the remaining four Belgian world champions will continue with Jeroen "Bob" Nollet and the goal to defend the gold medals.

The second half of Roy Janssen's farewell notes after the world meet explain the plans of the leaving 4-way world champion. Roy Janssen said that he has an agreement with the Belgian Army that allows him to take a 1-year sabbatical, which he can even extend for additional two years if he wants to.

He will not be paid but still is officially in the Army. It means that he could go back and continue with a regular Army job or even train and compete again with Hayabusa. However, he plans to work as a full time coach during his sabbatical.

He said that it is still a strange feeling to be out of it: "For the last 12 years I’ve been chasing this goal. Every day I’d wake up, and think that I want to be a world champion. Now I wake up and think – oh, I’m not quite sure what to do today, what is my objective...?"

He feels sad and excited at the same time: "At this moment, I am mainly seeing the good things that I will be losing by stopping the team, but I’m also very much aware of the freedom that I now have and the new challenges that lay ahead of me. The last 12 years have been so much energy focused on Hayabusa, it was like nurturing a baby. It’s very hard to give it to someone else. I can’t imagine not holding the baby any more, but I must let it go. It’s like closing doors behind you, but at the same time new ones will open."

He said that it feels good to be free and enjoy life, but he is also looking for new goals: "They are never far away for me! For example, in this moment I am speaking with some friends and brainstorm about a tunnel team, what our possibilities are and who can be involved. Of course, coming back with a strong and experienced team is like giving candy to a child! If we can put together a really good tunnel team then I can still do what I love so much. As you can already see: Flying and competing is just who I am..."

However, jumping without a goal does not mean that much to him: "I’m not that interested in formation skydiving right now. I’ve been doing it for so long only focused on that specific goal. It’s good to do something different. However, I am open-minded and if there are good opportunities for building a new team, I am always interested to listen. Right now I’m more excited to do new things like freeflying, for example. I really enjoyed flying dynamic, as well."

Then there are the other areas outside the skydiving world: "I also love to be in the mountains – I haven’t been climbing for so long, so I am excited to pick that sport up again. I’ll find challenges in new projects, new stuff to train for. Riding enduro really excites me, I love it. I can see myself competing in that discipline. Don’t get me wrong, I am not going to be a world champion in any other sport now, it’s too late. But there will be challenges I can achieve: Racing - improving - winning. Competing is something that’s in my blood. I can’t do without it. To always push myself is in my nature. But more then ever, I realize that having fun and enjoy the things you’re doing is more important than anything else!"

Roy Janssen is also looking forward to his new goal of being the best coach he can be: "I love sharing my knowledge and passion for our sport, teaching individuals and teams to make them better." He can be reached by e-mail.

He also likes to write: "Helping other people with questions, sharing my experiences is a pleasure, and it feels rewarding. The mental aspects are the most interesting side of it. Everyone can give some technical information, but getting the best out of people, or finding a way to resolve conflict - that is the real challenge."

He also sees a future as a motivational speaker: "This would be a very big personal challenge. Keynote speaking is new to me, so it would be difficult, but it’s something I’d like to try. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about my whole experience, going from zero all the way to world champion, working as a small team to achieve our goal. This is very valuable information in every walk of life, so I think this has a lot of potential. But this is a long-term plan."