posted Jul 19th, 2017 - It was almost exactly a year ago when the Sun Path Products NSL News reported an "undetected move" by the Qatar Tigers.

The world class team from the Arabian Peninsula, who have moved themselves up the leaderboards year after year to finally becoming a 4-way medal contender, had competed at the annual military CISM world championships where they finished in 2nd place behind NMP PCH HayaBusa with another impressive performance.

A few weeks later, the Qatar Tigers finished in 5th place at the FAI Mondial 2016 with a 22.6 average, the best placement and average ever of a team from Qatar at a World Championship of Formation Skydiving.

The same event took place last week, this time in Germany, and the outcome was very similar to the one last year.

NMP PCH HayaBusa won without a problem and posted the highest meet average in the history of the sport, with an 8-round draw that is very different compared to FAI/IPC competition. The Qatar Tigers placed 2nd again, also with the team's highest meet average ever.

CISM 2017		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Men	M,B,22,M	M,10,H,F	M,14,C,J	M,A,K,4	M,17,E,L	M,G,11,Q	M,19,O,D	M,P,21,N	Total	Avg
1	NMP PCH HayaBusa	27(-1)	37	35(-1)	38(-1)	45	30(-3)	37	34	283	35.4
2	Qatar Tigers	28	32(-1)	26(-3)	34	41	27(-1)	32	29(-1)	249	31.1

The difference between HayaBusa and the Tigers (35.4 - 31.1) is still much too large for a serious challenge; however, it has become slightly smaller (35.1 - 30.3) after one year of training for both teams.

More significantly, the Qatar Tigers even won a round, which was a completely new experience for the team.

It was the meet opener where the Belgian 4-way world champions were not awake yet and also lost one point in the judging room.

The Tigers had completed the same number of points in working time and won after the penalty deduction for HayaBusa.

It did not happen again, as the world champions picked up the pace right away and won all remaining seven rounds by at least four points each.

It was still an accomplishment that not many 4-way teams can claim. In fact, only Arizona Airspeed has been able to win a few outdoor rounds here and there over the Belgians in the last two years.

HayaBusa's new 35.4 record average is still not too encouraging for the other top teams in the world, despite the lost Round 1.

CISM 2016		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Men	M,3,F,E	M,J,M,2	M,8,N,B	M,1,Q,D	M,H,G,4	M,P,A,6	M,7,O,C	M,L,K,5	Total	Avg
1	NMP PCH HayaBusa	38	38(-1)	37	38	32(-4)	34	32	32(-2)	281	35.1
2	Qatar Tigers	32	34(-1)	32	31	30	33	24	26(-1)	242	30.3

The trip to the CISM championships was not a long one this time. HayaBusa is used to travel to far away places for this event, while nearby Germany was the host for the 2017 competition.

The travel agenda of the Belgian team is a very casual one this summer, as the FAI World Cup 2017 will be held in Germany, as well. The trip from Belgium to the CISM event site in Warendorf was within driving distance, and the trip to the Fallschirmsportzentrum in Saarlouis is about the same distance.

The meet schedule is more challenging for the Qatar Tigers, who have to travel far across the planet between home and both event sites in Germany.

The situation of the Qatar 4-way and 8-way teams was still not clear. Hopefully, they will be able to attend the FAI World Cup in Saarlouis, as well, and measure up once again with HayaBusa and more of the best 4-way teams in the world.