posted Sep 22nd, 2019 - The 8-way competition at the USPA Nationals was just as exciting as it could be expected, even though it was difficult to match the 4-way Open Class thriller between SDC Rhythm XP and Arizona Airspeed.

The Golden Knights were actually closer to Paraclete XP8 than the final leaderboard was showing after Round 10. The 8-way battle between the two U.S. teams was decided in Round 3 when the U.S. Army team lost five points and fell too far behind. The NSL News had reported more details of the Golden Knights situation on September 19th.

The difference between Paraclete XP8 and Golden Knights would be only three points without the devastating 5-point damage in Round 3. In fact, the Golden Knights won the 3-round 8-way competition on the second day of the meet over Tanay 8 and Paraclete XP8 both. It was still not enough to turn the situation and the 10-point advantage that XP8 had worked out in the first seven rounds on Wednesday.

XP8 had won five of the first seven rounds by one point each and did not really need any help by the Golden Knights. The additional five points in Round 3 just added an unexpected cushion, and the 10-point lead at the end of the first day was more than enough to win the USPA 8-way title and qualify for the FAI World Meet 2020 in Tanay, Russia.

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USPA Nationals 2019			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Open		13,16,20		C,B,M,D,1		N,Q,17,D		5,L,E,21		P,15,12		14,4,22		10,O,9		F,19,8		11,7,18		2,6,A		Total	Avg
1	Tanay 8	RU	20		23		23		19		26		21		17		16	-1	17	-1	19		201	20.1
2	XP8	US	19	-1	24		22		19		24		20		17		16	-1	17	-1	19		197	19.7
3	Golden Knights	US	18	-1	23		17	-5	18	-1	24		19	-1	16		17		18	-1	19		189	18.9
4	Arizona Airspeed	US	16	-2	21		21		17		18	-2	19	-1	16		15		15	-2	16		174	17.4
5	Amphibious Attack Tigers	US	9		13		12		12		13		9	-1	10		11		8	-2	10		107	10.7
6	SDC Rhythm 9 XP	US	12		10	-2	9	-3	10	-1	11		12		10		9		11		10		104	10.4
7	Monster Mix	US	7	-4	10		9		9		9	-1	10	-1	9		9		8		9		89	8.9
8	Perris Riot!	US	9		7	-2	8		8		8	-1	9		9		9		9		7	-1	83	8.3
9	Fusion XP	US	7		8	-1	8	-1	9	-1	9		10		6	-1	7		7	-2	9		80	8.0
10	Lite 8	US	7		4	-2	6		6		4	-1	6	-1	6		4		5		7		55	5.5

Video Footage Courtesy of USPA/OmniSkore!HD

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The Golden Knights were showing in the last three rounds that they had worked their way back up to the world's 8-way top level with the new lineup. They did not only outscore their U.S. opponent Paraclete XP8 with the total of the last three rounds and claimed or tied each of the highscores.

The Golden Knights also won the total for the last three rounds over Tanay's 8-way team by the same two points. However, it was too late, and even the convincing second day could not compensate for the 5-point loss in Round 3 and the other lost rounds. Paraclete XP8 will compete for the U.S. delegation at the next world meet and try to add the outdoor world title to the indoor one that they won at the FAI Indoor World Meet at Weembi Lille in April.

Paraclete XP8 member Kirk Verner will try to win his next outdoor world championship title in Tanay 2020. He won the first one with the original Arizona Airspeed 4-way lineup in 1995, the last one in 8-way Open at the FAI World Meet 2004 in Croatia.

16 years later he will try to add a new 8-way title to his collection, and there would be 25 years between his first FAI 4-way and the next 8-way title (1995 - 2020).

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One of the main opponents next year visited the USPA Nationals to face off with the best U.S. 8-way teams and next year's U.S. national 8-way team a year before the world meet. The Russian Tanay 8-way team could not deliver a statement as strong as NMP PCH HayaBusa did in 4-way. However, the 1st place on the 8-way leaderboard was still a major achievement on foreign territory.

Tanay 8 will have the home advantage next year at the FAI World Meet 2020, and the performance and success at Skydive Paraclete XP will probably add confidence to the Russian agenda.

The NSL News mentioned earlier that the Russian 8-way team is not done yet with the visit in the United States. They will travel to Arizona next, together with their 8-way coach Craig Girard, where they will train until the start of the FAI Outdoor World Cup. The French national 8-way team will be on FAI's 8-way leaderboard, as well, and post their first scores of the year with the new lineup.

Craig Girard did not have much time to help Tanay 8 at Skydive Paraclete XP, as he was competing with Arizona Airspeed's 8-way lineup at the same event. He plans to compete again in Eloy, but it will be in 4-way with Airspeed Odyssey this time. Tanay 8 could be even stronger by then, with more training and their coach fully available...