posted Jul 23rd, 2017 - The AAA Class leaderboard on the July 1 weekend included several French 4-way teams, as the Sun Path Products NSL News reported on 8 July 2017. They competed in Bouloc at the second event of the Coupe de France 2017.

Both national B-teams attended the event and completed four and five rounds, as the weather in the southern part of France near the Spanish border did not allow more. The short event was still enough for the two B-teams to show their outdoor potential compared to the previous indoor results of the 2017 season.

Espoir Saumur Weembi claimed or tied the highest scores in each of the first four rounds, despite the strong competition from the Netherlands, where Team Orange of the Dutch 20+ project competed for the first time with the signature lineup. The second and even younger French B-team, Espoir Maubeuge Weembi, placed 4th on the AAA Class leaderboard of 14 teams that weekend.

It was the first outdoor competition this year for the French national B-teams who had missed the first Coupe de France event in May. They had both attended the French Indoor Nationals 2017, and Espoir Saumur Weembi also traveled to Bedford for the World Challenge 2017.

July 1st, 2017			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Total	Avg
Rank	AAA Class		14,E,20	3,7,4	B,15,10	H,F,2,6	5,1,16	P,8,K,22	19,J,M,L	17,21,11	Total	Avg
1	Espoir Saumur Weembi	FR	19	16	17	19	-	-	-	-	71	17.8
2	Team Orange	NL	15	16	15	19	15	17	23	15	135	16.9
3	Out of the Blue	NL	14	13	14	15	8	13	18	13	108	13.5
4	Espoir Maubeuge Weembi	FR	12	11	12	17	14	-	-	-	66	13.2
5	Ookpik 5rd Agen	FR	10	12	11	17	-	-	-	-	50	12.5
6	HF Flying Circus	CZ	10	11	-	14	11	-	-	-	46	11.5
7	Cool Runnings	NL	11	10	11	13	8	11	15	10	89	11.1
8	Les 4cretins Clermont Bouloc	FR	11	11	9	12	-	-	-	-	43	10.8
9	Gravity Abuse	BE	8	11	8	12	10	10	13	10	82	10.3
10	Hvezdy	CZ	9	11	6	13	6	-	-	-	45	9.0
11	Airbivores Annecy Pamiers	FR	9	7	8	11	8	-	-	-	43	8.6
12	Bouloc Onthehill Existenciel	FR	6	8	7	11	5	-	-	-	37	7.4
13	HF Skycentrum	CZ	7	8	9	-	4	-	-	-	28	7.0
14	Under Construction	NL	5	5	6	9	6	6	9	5	51	6.4

The French national 4-way and 8-way teams are usually getting most of the attention, as they have been competing for FAI/IPC medals since Formation Skydiving competition was created. It's not even only any medal that the French national coaches are after - they are always aiming at gold medals.

Weembi Lille member Mathieu Bernier is currently the national coach and in charge for the whole Formation Skydiving delegation. He is the only competitor in history who has ever won gold medals in 4-way and 8-way at the same World Championship of Formation Skydiving, in Menzelinsk 2010, when former national coach Jérôme David guided the French delegation to the 4-event sweep.

Mathieu Bernier is also in charge of the B-teams who get some support from the French skydiving federation and the hosting skydiving centers, recently also from the Weembi wind tunnel. The B-teams don't get the same attention, while they have been the foundation of the French success in Formation Skydiving in the past.

Most of the current members of the national teams (RealFly-Sion, French Weembi Girls) started their competition career to the world's medal level in the B-teams, and the young Espoir competitors are just waiting for the next opportunity.

World Challenge 2017 - Top 10			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	AAA Class		D,B,6,22	12,E,17	20,G,C,10	N,M,15,H	Q,19,K,4	8,21,L	P,9,J,7	O,11,1	13,A,16	3,18,5	Total	Avg
1	NMP PCH HayaBusa	BE	33	29	29	46	34	28	47	28	28	29	331	33.1
2	Weembi Lille	FR	33	31	29	43	35	28	46	29	29	27	330	33.0
3	French Weembi Girls	FR	30	29	28	38	32	24	43	28	26	25	303	30.3
4	RealFly-Sion	FR	29	29	26	38	31	26	42	27	24	23	295	29.5
5	SDC Rhythm XP	US	29	26	24	37	30	26	40	27	24	23	286	28.6
6	Gavroche Weembi	FR	27	26	23	35	29	23	39	23	21	21	267	26.7
7	IFS-Moscow	RU	26	26	23	35	29	21	40	24	24	18	266	26.6
7	Espoir Saumur Weembi	FR	27	26	23	33	28	23	37	24	23	22	266	26.6
9	Volition	UK	25	24	19	34	23	21	36	24	22	21	249	24.9
10	ISR FireFlash	BE	25	21	21	33	23	21	35	22	21	20	242	24.2

The Espoir Saumur Weembi lineup has four members of the same age (28) and perform already on world class level, as the scores at the World Challenge 2017 are showing. The new 2017 lineup made the Top 10 with a 26.6 average. Gaéélle Giesen was in the Maubeuge lineup last year and moved up when a slot became available.

Aurelien Lemaire and Eliott Lesimple have been training and competing together since 2014 when French Weembi Girls Clémentine Le Bohec and Pamela Lissajoux were still in the B-team lineup.

The second French B-team has an average age of 23 years, with youngest member Mathieu Quizy (20). He has a total of just over 200 jumps. He was selected by national coach Mathieu Bernier when he needed Gaéélle Giesen for the Espoir Saumur lineup. Claire-Victoire de Fleurian and Jessica Thebault started together last year. Laurent Nittis is also new in the 2017 lineup. Jérémy Bignami (25) is filming the Maubeuge team, and Patrice Kerdudo (42) is on camera for Saumur.

The B-teams have mostly been mixed-gender lineups. This way, the national coaches can fill open slots in both national teams (4-way Open, 4-way Women) with members from any of the B- teams. France has registered three 4-way Open Class teams for the FAI World Cup 2017, and both B-teams will probably attend their next outdoor meet in Saarlouis.