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The U.S. Army team is the reigning 8-way world champion of 2012 and 2014 and posted a new world record for a single round last year. The Golden Knights are also the only 8-way team in the world at the moment with meet averages well above the 20-average benchmark.
This does not mean that the U.S. delegation has the 8-way gold medals at the Mondial 2016 in the bag, as Russia and France will do everything it takes this year to get within striking distance. However, there is no doubt that the Golden Knights had the No. 1 position in the world last year, indoor and outdoor.
Rank | Team World Rankings 8-way | Country | Averages | Best 3 |
1 | Golden Knights | United States | 23.7 - 22.2 | 23.0 |
2 | France Weembi | France | 21.5 - 17.2 | 19.4 |
3 | Tanay | Russia | 18.5 - 18.0 | 18.3 |
4 | Arizona Airspeed | United States | 17.7 | 17.7 |
5 | Thund8rbirds | Belgium | 16.3 | 16.3 |
6 | Dubai Asaar | United Arab Emirates | 14.7 | 14.7 |
7 | M8trix | Netherlands | 13.6 - 13.9 | 13.8 |
8 | Qatar Falcons | Qatar | 14.3 - 13.1 - 13.8 | 13.7 |
9 | Ex-Presidents | Great Britain | 12.9 | 12.9 |
10 | Microclim8 | Great Britain | 12.4 - 12.9 | 12.7 |
The 6th place is not only completely unrealistic for the Golden Knights. The U.S.A. has actually two teams positioned within the Top 10 of the SKYLEAGUE.COM World Outdoor Team Rankings in 8-way. Arizona Airspeed's 8-way lineup is still generating world class 8-way scores at the national championships without any training. The 17.7 average at the USPA Nationals 2015 places Airspeed in 4th place of all 8-way teams.
However, even the U.S. 8-way combination of Golden Knights and Arizona Airspeed is not enough to take the 8-way top spot in the FAI/IPC rankings, due to the formula that defines the positions. The results at USPA Nationals, one of the largest and most relevant Formation Skydiving competitions in the world, have no impact on the FAI/IPC rankings at all.
World Air Games 2015 | 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 | 20,13,4 | F,L,B,G,P | 22,D,7 | 14,O,5 | 9,C,J,H | 19,K,3 | Q,17,E,A | 15,21,18 | 12,16,1 | 8,11,2 | Total | Avg | |
1 | Golden Knights | US | 22 | 33 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 22 | 21 | 22 | 29 | 17 | 222 | 22.2 |
2 | Tanay | RU | 17 | 26 | 17 | 14 | 19 | 21 | 17 | 17 | 24 | 13 | 185 | 18.5 |
3 | France Weembi | FR | 16 | 23 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 20 | 17 | 17 | 22 | 13 | 172 | 17.2 |
4 | Dubai Asaar | AE | 14 | 17 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 11 | 147 | 14.7 |
5 | Qatar Falcons | QA | 13 | 16 | 14 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 11 | 138 | 13.8 |
Arizona Airspeed and Thund8rbirds will not compete at the Mondial 2016. Dubai Asaar's 8-way team and the Qatar Falcons can be expected to compete for the 4th place at Skydive Chicago, and M8trix from the Netherlands is probably stronger than any of the current British 8-way teams. Germany's Airbus 8-way lineup has a limited training plan, as Russia, due to additional 4-way duties.