posted Aug 24th, 2019 - The UK Nationals 2019 are in full swing, and the four teams that Joey Jones mentioned during his NSL Live Talk preview on Friday are in the TOP 4 positions. Only the ranking order is different than expected, and Team 4mula is probably too far behind the well trained opponents currently in the medal positions.

Joey Jones is expecting Chimera to clean up the performance in the remaining four rounds and avoid more penalties, with the help of coach Katie Woods, whose brother James is in the Chimera lineup. He had expected Chimera as the top challenger for NFTO, while his own team Eros is in 2nd place instead after Round 6.

Joey Jones introduced his team mates Helen Williams and Travis Woods during the latest NSL Live Talk from Hibaldstow at the end of the first event day. 4th Eros member Roy Little took a break after a very long day.

Eros' 2nd place after Round 6 is due to a significantly increased performance and scoring level. The same lineup had finished with a 16.3 average at the UK Nationals last year and is currently standing at 18.7 after Round 6. Joey Jones hopes that this number will even go up to a 19+ average, with two faster rounds coming on Sunday morning.

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UK Nationals 2019			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		11		Total	Avg
Rank	AAA Class		2,H,7		17,M,J,4		F,13,A,P		20,15,Q		10,21,1		12,22,C		9,E,11		D,K,L,8		O,18,B,16		6,5,19		14,G,3		Total	Avg
1	NFTO	UK	21		22	-1	28		17		15	-1	15		-		-		-		-		-		118	19.7
2	Eros	UK	21		20		25		17		15		14		-		-		-		-		-		112	18.7
3	Chimera	UK	20	-2	20	-1	26	-2	15	-1	15		13	-1	-		-		-		-		-		109	18.2
4	4mula	UK	19		18	-2	24		16		14	-1	14		-		-		-		-		-		105	17.5
5	Pajama Pumas	UK	16		17		19		12		11		11		-		-		-		-		-		86	14.3
6	H40	IE	13	-3	15	-1	17		13		11		10	-1	-		-		-		-		-		79	13.2
7	Game of Clowns	UK	15		11	-5	17		9		11		10		-		-		-		-		-		73	12.2
8	Quadriga	UK	13		14		17		7		10		11		-		-		-		-		-		72	12.0
9	Alola	UK	12	-1	12	-1	17		8	-1	9		8	-1	-		-		-		-		-		66	11.0
10	Draconis	UK	11		12		16		8		10		8		-		-		-		-		-		65	10.8
11	Team	UK	13		11	-1	11	-4	7		10		8		-		-		-		-		-		60	10.0
12	Barely Grown Ups	UK	12		11	-2	14		8		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		45	11.3

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Joey Jones was coaching Eros, with Catherine Leather in the lineup, in 2017 and stepped in as the player-coach when she did not continue after the World Challenge 2018. The 16.3 average at the UK Nationals 2018 won the 4th place on the AAA Class leaderboard.

A year later, the over 200 training jumps with Joey Jones in the active lineup are showing great results. The highly experienced coach had also guided Team 4mula to three silver medal finishes, first as the external coach in 2015, then as the player-coach 2016 and 2017. Now he is in a strong position to do the same with Eros.

However, there are four more rounds to go, and Chimera is only three points behind. Seven point deductions kept Chimera behind the teams in the first two places, while Eros has a clean sheet so far. At least the battle for the BPA silver medals could still become very interesting.

NFTO will most likely defend the British 4-way Open Class title successfully, and the scoring level after Round 10 will probably be very similar to the 2018 numbers and on the French level in 4-way Women. French national coach Mathieu Bernier will be watching the NFTO performance and the first 2019 outdoor scores with the new lineup very carefully.

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Eros is not the only team on a significantly improved performance level. In fact, Chimera's penalty situation is distracting from the well increased scoring level. The 17.3 average at the UK Nationals 2017 is the team's standing outdoor record number, followed by a 16.9 last year.

The 18.2 average after Round 6 at this year's event will probably turn into a 19+ finish, as well, and almost match the impressive Eros progression. The top spot is probably out of reach for Chimera, while the 2nd place would still be the best placement for the team at national championships (6th in 2016 - 3rd in 2017 - 3rd in 2018).

Pajama Pumas, who will compete with the British delegation at the FAI World Cup in October, are in good shape for a potentially new team record average, as well. The team that started the 4-way career with a 0.2 average in the Rookie Class of 2016 has actually never completed a 10-round outdoor meet yet.

The 14.1 average in the team records was posted after nine rounds at last year's national championship. As Eros, Pajama Pumas also have a clean score sheet through Round 6, and the 5th place would be the best AAA Class placement.