posted May 16th, 2018 - The Italian Indoor Nationals 2018 took place on the weekend after the Russian Indoor Nationals were completed at the Flystation in St. Petersburg.

A total of 13 teams competed in the AAA/Open Class. Additional eight Russian teams completed eight rounds with modified A Class sequences, which all began with a Star (M) as the starting point.

The AAA Class competition brought some of the best 4-way teams in the world back together. Russia's national team in 4-way Open, Black Cat, and in 4-way Women, Bubble Trouble/Struggle, had both posted scores on different leaderboards at the FAI European Indoor Championship 2018. They were back together on the AAA/Open Class leaderboard in St. Petersburg, even though the event agenda included a 4-way Women competition.

Three other teams (G-Spot, Option H, Plan B) had all-female lineups, as well, and won their championship medals in the separate category. Bubble Trouble/Struggle was too far ahead of the three teams in 4-way Women and wanted to be in the mix of the AAA/Open Class competition, where they won the Russian bronze medals.

Russian Indoor Nationals 2018			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	AAA Class		6,L,K,3		17,C,O,11		H,8,P,5		19,A,J,9		4,20,21		10,M,14		18,12,Q		2,B,E,D		7,G,F,22		16,N,15		Total	Avg
1	Black Cat	RU	30	-1	30	-1	29	-1	37	-1	25		25	-1	25	-1	36	-1	31	-1	26	-1	294	29.4
2	IFS-Moscow	RU	24	-1	28	-1	22	-5	38		22		20	-4	24		31	-3	29	-2	23	-2	261	26.1
3	Bubble Struggle	RU	26	-1	23	-2	27		28	-3	19	-1	22	-2	21		32	-2	23	-2	26		247	24.7
4	Russian Thunder	RU	21	-2	26	-1	26		28	-3	19	-1	22	-1	21		30	-1	27	-1	21	-3	241	24.1
5	Weembi Legion	FR	22	-1	27		23	-4	27	-3	19		22	-1	16	-4	28	-3	21	-6	23		228	22.8
6	G-Spot	RU	18	-3	21		20	-2	26		12	-3	17	-2	16	-1	24	-2	20	-4	17	-1	191	19.1
7	ASVP	RU	21	-1	21		19	-1	21	-4	15		14	-2	13		22		21	-1	17		184	18.4
8	No Limits	RU	17	-2	20		20		24	-1	14	-1	17	-2	16		20	-1	19		16	-1	183	18.3
9	Option H	RU	19		18	-1	19	-1	22		15		18	-1	13	-2	20	-2	22		14	-1	180	18.0
10	KasperSky	RU	16	-2	17		19		16	-4	13		15	-1	16		20	-1	15	-2	15	-1	162	16.2
11	Podel'niki	RU	15		16	-1	16		18		10	-2	16		13		17	-2	13	-1	15		149	14.9
12	Plan B	RU	11		11		10		13		11		14		9		15	-1	15		13		122	12.2
13	Quartet	RU	11		9		13		12	-1	9		10		6	-2	16		14		10		110	11.0

Both teams were back with the same lineups that they competed with in Norway and at the previous recent events. Both teams also had personnel changes that came first for Black Cat and later for Bubble Trouble/Struggle.

Vladimir Pavlenko has been replacing Evgeny Stashchenko who had to take a break after his knee injury and surgery in the spring of 2017. He has been in the Black Cat 4-way lineup since the FAI Outdoor World Cup 2017 and is also a member of the Tanay 8-way team, as his other Black Cat team mates.

Bubble Trouble/Struggle still had Zhanna Kazakova and Tatiana Polyanskaya in the lineup at the world cup in Saarlouis. Maria Odinokova and Yulia Shuvaeva replaced them at the end of the 2017 season, and the new lineup with Olga Bykova, Alena Chistova and the two new members attended their first competition at last year's Russian Indoor Nationals in December.

Black Cat brought a set of FAI silver medals back to Russia from Norway after posting a new 31.6 team record average. Bubble Trouble/Struggle added bronze medals for the Russian delegation at the same event, after an extra round to break the tie with British team Volto who eventually won the silver medals.

FAI European Indoor 2018			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	AAA Class		G,12,20		F,16,22		N,E,D,21		17,L,4		18,14,O		19,2,5		7,15,Q		6,B,M,P		K,11,9		8,H,J,C		Total	Avg
1	Aerodyne Realfly	FR	25		29		39		31		26		26		32	-1	45	-1	33	-2	38	-2	324	32.4
2	Aerodyne Weembi Girls	FR	25		30		39		29	-3	25	-1	27		33		45		32	-1	38		323	32.3
3	Black Cat	RU	23		31		36		32		25	-2	26		32	-1	46		30	-2	35	-2	316	31.6
4	Echochamber	SE	21	-1	26		34		27		23		23	-1	29	-2	38	-1	27	-2	35	-1	283	28.3
5	Airheads	CH	21	-2	26		35		26	-1	22	-2	23		29		40	-1	28	-2	32	-4	282	28.2
6	Amnesya	IT	21	-1	28		29	-2	22	-3	24		22		29	-1	39	-2	27	-2	38	-3	279	27.9
7	Volto	UK	21		24		32	-1	25		20	-1	20	-1	25	-3	40		30		28	-3	265	26.5
7	Bubble Trouble	RU	17	-3	25		30	-2	24		23		23		24	-2	39		26	-3	34		265	26.5
World Challenge 2018			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	AAA Class		10,H,F,13		20,6,22		12,1,11		4,M,G,J		9,B,P,A		N,C,8,3		K,7,L,D		18,19,14		5,Q,21		15,16,O		Total	Avg
1	NMP-PCH Hayabusa	BE	31		25		25		38		62		32	-1	47	-1	26		31	-2	32	-1	349	34.9
2	Weembi Mix MF	FR	29		25		24	-1	40		59	-2	33		45	-1	27		32	-2	31		345	34.5
3	Arizona Airspeed	US	29		24		23	-1	35	-1	59		26	-3	43		24		33	-1	28		324	32.4
4	IFS-Moscow	RU	26		21		23		33		50		26		40		23		29		24		295	29.5
5	ACM Weembi	UK	24		21		21		29		48		21	-4	36		21		25		23		269	26.9
6	Gavroche Weembi	FR	23		17		17		31		46		25		35		21		26		26		267	26.7
7	ISR FireFlash	BE	23		17		20		28		45		27		35		21		25		24		265	26.5
8	Chimera	UK	23	-1	21		20		26	-2	44		24		31	-4	21		24		24		258	25.8
9	NFTO	UK	21		19		19		29		42		23		31	-2	19		22	-1	19	-2	244	24.4

Indoor team IFS-Moscow had met both teams last time at the Russian Indoor Nationals 2017, where they challenged Black Cat for the 1st place (302 - 308). The same lineup represented Russia at the Wind Games 2018 with a 6th-place finish (27.9) and followed up with a 4th place (29.5) at the World Challenge 2018.

IFS-Moscow was the only other Russian team in Bedford, as Black Cat, Bubble Trouble/Struggle and a new Russian 4-way Junior team had the FAI event in Norway on the meet schedule.

Then it was time for the next showdown of all three Russian top teams at this year's indoor championships, and the outcome in the Top 3 rankings was the same as in December 2017.

The AAA Class leaderboard also shows one visiting team from France. Weembi Legion's lineup in St. Petersburg included Aerodyne Weembi Girls member Clementine Le Bohec and Weembi's Julien Degen. It was the fourth indoor meet for Weembi Legion with the fourth different lineup. Only Samir Nasser has been at each of the four meets so far.