posted Mar 14th, 2018 - The NSL News mentioned in previews of the Shamrock Showdown 2018 that French national coach Mathieu Bernier has a very important year ahead of him, as new FAI/IPC medals have to be collected for the French Formation Skydiving delegation.

The performance of his teams at the Shamrock Showdown will provide him with very important information for the remainder of the 2018 season until the world meet in Australia.

He collected the last indoor meet data and experiences at the Wind Games 2018 where he was also responsible for the performance of the French 4-way junior team, Aerokart Ak'demie. The junior team competed in the AAA Class, even though their 4-way category applies the AA Class dive pool at official FAI/IPC events, where they are the reigning world champions.

Mathieu Bernier said that the competition experience matters mostly, even if they are not very well trained for the additional six slot-switching blocks and the potentially longer sequences. He had sent the Ak'demie team to Empuriabrava for competition training.

FAI World Cup 2017			1	2	3	4	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way AAA Class - French Delegation		L,O,F,K,11	C,3,7	13,2,G	1,17,20	Total	Avg
1	NMP PCH HayaBusa	BE	35	26	21	20	102	25.5
2	RealFly-Sion	FR	35	26	20	20	101	25.3
3	SDC Rhythm XP	US	33	24	20	16	93	23.3
4	Black Cat	RU	26	24	17	18	85	21.3
5	French Weembi Girls	FR	29	17	19	16	81	20.3
6	bUSA Defiance	US	26	22	16	17	81	20.3
7	Airbus	DE	27	21	17	15	80	20.0
8	Espoir Saumur Weembi	FR	25	19	16	18	78	19.5
11	Papea Masculino	ES	26	19	12	14	71	17.8
11	ISR FireFlash	BE	24	18	14	15	71	17.8
11	Barguzin	RU	24	15	17	15	71	17.8
14	Airheads Realfly	CH	24	20	13	13	70	17.5
15	Ex3mo	IT	23	17	12	14	66	16.5
15	Espoir Maubeuge Weembi	FR	24	17	12	13	66	16.5

The French 4-way junior team seems to be in a good position to defend the top spot in the junior world successfully. The French Weembi Girls will also most likely bring the gold medals in 4-way Women back to France.

Sophia Pecout's shoulder does not cause any trouble any longer, and the team is ready to post the first world class scores this week in DeLand.

It is much more difficult for France in 4-way Open, where NMP PCH HayaBusa and Arizona Airspeed are both major obstacles on the way to FAI gold medals.

The results at the Shamrock Showdown will be the first milestone for both teams on their road to meet the reigning Belgian world champions in Australia.

Success at the official FAI/IPC events is very important for the French national coach, as the funding of the teams and the selection program by the government is directly related to competition results and rankings. The selection system in France has been very successful, as the national coaches can always rely on the farm teams who produce the talent for the official national teams.

Wind Games 2018			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	AAA Class - French Delegation		K,5,4	12,8,M	19,2,17	P,C,F,16	D,B,9,N	22,21,13	3,14,11	G,L,E,Q,10	6,20,H	A,O,18,1	Total	Avg
1	NMP-PCH Hayabusa	BE	31	26	27	46	54	23	24	38	31	32	332	33.2
2	Arizona Airspeed	US	29	26	27	41	51	24	24	35	31	28	316	31.6
3	Realfly Sion	FR	29	24	27	42	45	22	23	35	29	28	304	30.4
4	Qatar Tigers	QA	27	25	25	42	41	19	20	30	28	27	284	28.4
5	French Weembi Girls	FR	27	23	25	39	47	19	20	30	27	25	282	28.2
6	IFS-Moscow	RU	25	22	23	39	44	21	23	30	28	24	279	27.9
7	Gavroche Weembi	FR	25	21	24	40	42	17	20	31	27	27	274	27.4
8	Echochamber	SE	28	22	23	40	41	17	21	26	27	22	267	26.7
9	Amnesya	IT	24	22	20	40	40	17	20	29	28	26	266	26.6
10	Airheads	CH	26	22	24	37	47	17	19	26	22	22	262	26.2
11	XL	UK	23	20	22	35	37	17	20	28	25	24	251	25.1
12	NFTO	UK	20	20	21	34	40	17	16	25	22	22	237	23.7
13	Odin Parachute System	FR	23	14	22	33	40	16	17	23	23	21	232	23.2
14	Tenanine	MR	21	19	20	29	29	17	19	28	23	23	228	22.8
15	Weembi Legion	FR	21	18	19	32	34	17	17	24	21	20	223	22.3
16	Papea Masculino	ES	19	18	21	31	34	16	16	24	21	14	214	21.4
17	JETMAX	BE	18	18	16	29	31	15	16	20	18	21	202	20.2
18	Aerokart Ak'demie 2	FR	18	20	15	30	19	17	15	22	22	22	200	20.0

The French Weembi Girls were the latest example how the national teams can go back to B-Team members when they need help. Espoir Weembi Saumur member Gaelle Giesen stepped in for Pamela Lissajoux at the Wind Games when she could not perform in Spain. The French Weembi Girls still finished close to their usual scoring level.

Mathieu Bernier was very pleased with the performance of his national team in 4-way Women considering the circumstances. It confirmed the French selection and development system with the two farm teams who prepare the members for a potential future in the national teams. There have been many other examples of the same pattern in the past.

The results at the Wind Games were not so promising for the national team in 4-way Open, where Mathieu Bernier was hoping to be closer to Arizona Airspeed. However, it was an indoor competition, and Aerodyne Sion went straight to outdoor training after the Wind Games, where they showed great improvements, Mathieu Bernier said.

More outdoor training followed in February in Arizona, and his 4-way Open Class team is ready for the Shamrock Showdown after that final training camp in DeLand. Mathieu Bernier knows that the meet is important, and he hopes that Aerodyne Sion will repeat what they showed in the first four rounds of the FAI World Cup 2017 in Saarlouis: "Let's see..."

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Shamrock Showdown 2018 March 16 - 18 at Skydive DeLand

Shamrock Showdown Information

Skydive DeLand has confirmed the availability of a Cessna Caravan, beginning on March 1st through the competition, and as needed after the meet. Participating teams pay $22 per jump ticket for training before and after the meet. Let us know that your team is planning to attend and tell us your team's preference for the jump plane: Twin Otter or Cessna Caravan. Please send an e-mail as soon as possible.

Shamrock Showdown 2018			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	AAA Class		TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	Total	Avg
1	Arizona Airspeed	US	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1	RealFly-Sion	FR	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1	SDC Rhythm XP	US	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1	French Weembi Girls	FR	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1	Qatar Tigers	QA	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1	SCZ ZEUS	US	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1	FL Defiance	US	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1	Adventure Flyers	PY	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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