posted Oct 26th, 2018 - The first day of the FAI Indoor World Cup 2018 was over after Round 4 in 4-way Open and 4-way Women, while the 4-way Junior teams had only three rounds on their meet agenda for Friday. FAI/IPC events in this category complete after eight rounds, due to the smaller AA Class dive pool.

The 4-way Junior event is also offering the tightest competition for any of the medal positions so far. Air Devils and Aerokart Ak'demie are tied in 1st place after Round 3.

The 4-way Junior leaderboard is also unique for another reason. There has not been one single clean round for any of the teams yet. All three leaderboards are heavily sprinkled with red color, as the judges try to keep up with the significantly faster indoor speed and detect all infringements that come along with it. Several judges in the Bahrain panels were also at the FAI Outdoor World Meet in Australia where the judging was very strict and accurate.

The French top team is actually the Aerokart Ak'demie 2 lineup who surprisingly upset the Ak'demie 1 team at the French Indoor Nationals 2017 and then competed for France at the FAI Indoor World Meet 2017 in Montreal where they won the gold medals. The Air Devils had a change in the lineup at the end of the 2017 season, with Hope Hadfield replacing Malachai DeAth.

FAI Indoor World Cup 2018			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		11		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Junior		20,4		14,11		H,2,8		22,P,6		A,15,Q		N,E,M,F		G,K,O,J		19,9		B,18,7						Total	Avg
1	Air Devils	CA	21	-1	18	-2	21	-2	-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		60	20.0
1	France Aerokart	FR	21	-2	19	-2	20	-4	-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		60	20.0
3	HF Cubs	CZ	18	-3	14	-5	20	-2	-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		52	17.3
4	France Aerokart B	FR	16	-1	14	-3	17	-1	-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		47	15.7

The first real scores have now followed the NSL Power Rankings, which are always set according to previously posted scores, and the indoor world of the last three years has been turned upside down after Round 4.

It could be expected that it would not be easy for the reigning indoor and outdoor world champions from Belgium, NMP PCH HayaBusa, after focusing on outdoor competition until the recent world meet in Australia.

However, the overwhelming Weembi power in Bahrain was probably still surprising for the Belgians and for the audience. It seems like the Weembi Mix, with 4-way Women outdoor world champions Sophia Pecout and Christine Malnis, is moving on a pace that is even a gear faster than the usual Belgian speed.

The difference of 13 points after four rounds creates an almost hopeless situation for the still reigning indoor world champions, and it might take the mixed-gender Weembi lineup to defeat HayaBusa for the first time at an indoor competition since 2011.

The remaining six sequences don't seem to offer great potential to catch up easily from behind, unless Weembi Mix make some big mistakes.

It will be interesting to see how NMP PCH HayaBusa will respond to the Weembi charge throughout the upcoming four rounds on Saturday.

FAI Indoor World Cup 2018			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		11		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open		K,17,J,21		4,H,F,11		18,L,16		5,M,O,C		N,8,P,19		6,9,10		D,12,15		Q,B,G,22		20,E,14		7,3,2		A,19,12		Total	Avg
1	Weembi Mix MF	FR	34	-3	35		31		57		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		157	39.3
2	NMP-PCH Hayabusa	BE	35		35		27	-1	47	-3	-		-		-		-		-		-		-		144	36.0
3	Amnesya	IT	30		28	-1	24	-1	46		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		128	32.0
4	IFS-Moscow	RU	28	-3	29		21	-3	45		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		123	30.8
5	Echochamber	SE	30		30		23	-1	37	-3	-		-		-		-		-		-		-		120	30.0

The expected battle of four teams for the bronze medals in Bahrain has probably been reduced to three, unless ACM Weembi come back on Saturday morning with a new plan for the next four rounds. In fact, Odin Parachute System has continued with the consistent progression this year and added a very impressive step to it. ACM Weembi first have to get past the French team before getting a view of the bronze medal position.

Italy's indoor and outdoor champions of Amnesya confirm once again the strong indoor performance and are finally ahead of Echochamber from Sweden. However, the 5-point lead over IFS-Moscow is not a secure position at all.

The Russian team and Echochamber both have won at least a round over their direct opponent in Bahrain, and Amnesya will have to continue showing their best to win the first FAI indoor world medals.

NFTO, with Kate Lindsley in the lineup, is in 1st place as expected. However, the biggest challenge from behind is coming from the very young and talented French lineup in 4-way Women, and the British outdoor world champions are not safe yet.

French national coach Mathieu Bernier has assigned the lineup in Bahrain to indoor competition, and he intends to prepare the next generation of French female 4-way competitors for the next opportunities. Two former French B-Team members could become the best Open Class indoor competitors in the world this weekend with Weembi Mix, and Clementine Le Bohec and Pamela Lissajoux are also in 3rd place of outdoor 4-way competition with their Aerodyne Weembi team mates...