posted Nov 27th, 2016 - The story of Qatar's 8-way team, the Falcons, actually began at the USPA Nationals 2011, where the first lineup competed in the Intermediate Class competition. It was a combination of the Qatar Tigers and Falcons 4-way teams that posted the first 8-way scores (6.9) on the USPA leaderboard.

Three members of Qatar's current national team, the Tigers, were in the 8-way lineup of 2011 and are now pursuing medal positions in the 4-way Open Class competition.

The second 4-way team of Qatar's Formation Skydiving competition project, the Falcons, had several personnel changes over the years, and the Falcons eventually became Qatar's national 8-way team. There was a long break after the USPA Nationals 2011 and the 10th place of the Falcons on the 8-way leaderboard (10.1) of the FAI Mondial 2012. There was no 8-way team from Qatar at any events in 2013, and the Falcons were eventually back in December 2014 for the 5th Dubai International Parachuting Championship.

The Qatar Falcons resumed with full energy after missing almost two complete years of 8-way competition, while the Qatar Tigers were already climbing up the 4-way rankings.

The lineups of the 4-way and the 8-way team were separated with the 8-way comeback, and both teams focused only on one Formation Skydiving discipline. The Qatar Falcons hired coach Gary Smith, who was still training and competing with the Dutch national 8-way team, M8trix, throughout the FAI World Cup 2015. The Falcons outscored M8trix with coach Gary Smith in Teuge and won the bronze medals.

Gary Smith then discontinued as an 8-way competitor for the Netherlands and committed to a full coaching job with the Qatar Falcons, next to his work with NMP PCH HayaBusa.

FAI Mondial 2016			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Open		12,A,16	18,15,O	1,F,E,C	17,B,14	10,2,20	21,11,G	J,5,19	L,M,K,7	D,8,4	3,13,Q	Total	Avg
1	Golden Knights	US	31	25	26	22	20	22	19	26	24	24	239	23.9
2	France	FR	22	20	25	18	16	19	17	23	19	20	199	19.9
3	Tanay	RU	23	19	25	17	14	16	16	21	20	19	190	19.0
4	Qatar Falcons	QA	19	16	20	15	7	10	13	16	15	15	146	14.6
5	Microclim8	UK	15	14	16	14	11	13	13	14	13	17	140	14.0
6	Airbus München	DE	16	15	17	11	11	13	12	14	12	15	136	13.6
7	Australia	AU	13	13	14	12	9	13	12	15	10	14	125	12.5
8	Divergence	CA	11	10	9	11	8	10	8	10	11	11	99	9.9
9	Brazil	BR	11	8	10	9	5	9	9	11	8	13	93	9.3

The exclusive focus of the Qatar Falcons on 8-way competition has shown results, and the situation has changed significantly since the first attendance at a world meet in Dubai 2012. The Falcons now seem to be on a similar path than the Qatar Tigers who finished 5th at the FAI Mondial 2016 and have only the medal positions left as goals for the near future.

The Falcons finished with a new record average in Ottawa, despite a devastating 7-pointer in Round 5 and a shaky Round 6, and the Qatar national 8-way team had only the three 8-way powerhouses ahead of them, United States - France - Russia. The other 8-way nations (Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, Switzerland) who used to compete for the spot behind the three 8-way giants, may have to change their goals in the future, as the Falcons could turn the Top 3 situation soon into a race of four teams for 8-way medals.

The Qatar Falcons were still competing with Microclim8 and Airbus for the 4th place this year, and the medal positions were still completely out of reach. However, the Falcons have the resources and talent, plus the wealth of expertise provided by coach Gary Smith, and they are collecting 8-way experiences rapidly. The distance between 4th and 3rd place will surely be shorter at the next 8-way meets...