posted Dec 16th, 2015 - No trouble this month, wheeewwww... In fact, great news. I just came back from the USPA National Skydiving Championships 2015 in Eloy, where I did once again what I usually do for the SUN PATH PRODUCTS NSL News: Try to bring the event to the poor audience that cannot be there live on competition site.

It has been quite a trip over the many years, as I would never know what to expect for my working environment at USPA Nationals. My intentions have never been doubted when I did what I usually do at any other major events, where I have felt welcomed while my work was appreciated. It has not always been like that when I visited the USPA Nationals...

In fact, it was so frustrating the last times I went that I even skipped the event last year - for the first time in over a decade. So, the great news is that this has changed. USPA Director of Competition Jimmy Hayhurst took the time to sit down with me and discuss how we can work together productively. Great results came out of it, and it was a pleasure to be there. Thanks, Jimmy and Ed Scott, USPA Executive Director.

TURNING POINTS: U.S. Sweep in 2016?

There is more great news, at least for USPA members and fans of U.S. Formation Skydiving competition. However, the good news for U.S. fans is not such great news for the rest of the world; the U.S. delegation is heading straight toward an accomplishment that only France has been able to claim so far: the complete FS sweep.

The four French national teams (4-way Open, 4-way Women, 4-way VFS, 8-way Open) of 2010 took home from Russia the four sets of gold medals and the two William H. Ottley Swords for Formation Skydiving Competition - which are also known as the Excalibur Swords - plus Exi's trophy for the 4-way Women's event.

The FS sweep situation was status quo and good balance at the next two world meets (Mondial Dubai 2012 and Prostejov 2014) when Arizona Airspeed (4-way Open) and Golden Knights (8-way Open) won the gold medals in 2012, NMP PCH Hayabusa (4-way Open) and Golden Knights (8-way Open) in 2014. France defended the gold medals successfully in 4-way Women and 4-way VFS at both events.

The balance has been changing year by year after the first FS sweep in all four events by the French delegation in 2010. There is now a lot of weight on the U.S. side of the Formation Skydiving see-saw, and the U.S. delegation may have a chance to copy the impressive French FS sweep of 2010 on home turf next year.

It is not the home-turf advantage that may bring a new FS sweep. The U.S. delegation has been gaining strength year by year, and the USPA Nationals 2015 provided new evidence that the Star Spangled Banner might fly four times at Skydive Chicago next year.

The Golden Knights are playing a big role in the potential FS sweep. The U.S. Army's 4-way Women's team has finally caught up and passed the French Girls after years of hard work, and with new coach Solly Williams. In fact, it seems like the Golden Knights are quite far ahead of the French Girls at this point, after five years of French dominance in 4-way Women.

The Golden Knights 8-way team just tied their own highest meet average in history (23.7) in Eloy and posted a world record for a single round (32) at the same event. It was the first competition with new member Drew Starr and a few slot switches. France has put together their strongest 8-way lineup possible, and it will still be very difficult for them to stop the Golden Knights.

France has dominated the 4-way VFS event since it was included in the World Championship of Formation Skydiving in 2010. However, Dubai Nexus, with VFS expert Jason Russell, began to challenge the French Team4speed, who still won their third consecutive set of gold medals in Prostejov 2014 before they disbanded the team.

French VFS coach Philippe "Le Professeur" Schorno was instantly in trouble, as the B-Team Transfert was not even close to the VFS top level, while Arizona Arsenal and SDC Standard XP kept pushing each other on a significantly higher scoring level. Then came a third U.S. factor in the VFS game: Former Nexus members Jason Russell and Stephanie Strange left Dubai and formed SDC Core for the U.S. competition in this event. They won this year's USPA Nationals with a 20.6 average, which is far ahead of any other VFS teams in the world.

So it may all come down to NMP PCH Hayabusa from Belgium, the reigning and defending world champions in 4-way Open. A team from Belgium may defend France's unique achievement of 2010...

There is an even more exciting view from a different angle. All the pressure of the potential U.S. sweep in 2016 might be on Arizona Airspeed. Let's say that the U.S. gold medals in 8-way Open, 4-way Women and 4-way VFS are in the U.S. bag. That is surely not the case in 4-way Open, where both teams and all 4-way experts expect another horse race all the way through the last round next year at Skydive Chicago. Pressure, pressure...

Well, Airspeed is used to that, and they love the fight. And then there is France who will hate to read this column, and who will surely do everything possible to win at least one set of gold medals. Last but not least, there is the Canadian factor, at least in 4-way VFS. The Canadian Lemay brothers and their new teammate in both events, Jean-Christophe Ouimet, are young and strong and have performed on bronze medal level. There is no reason why they could not be able to turn bronze into gold. Coach Shannon "Papa" Pilcher knows about the Canadian potential. A very exciting year of Formation Skydiving competition is ahead of us...