posted Feb 8th, 2020 - Jan Klapka, godfather of the Formation Skydiving community in the Czech Republic, has added another activity to his own and the agenda of seven other 4-way competitors. He has put together the Octopucz 8-way team and launched the new Czech project with two indoor training camps, one in Berlin, the other one in Spain.

It is an interesting timing for the new 8-way team. There is no indication yet whether Octopucz have plans to compete, either at indoor or outdoor meets, or even send a team to the FAI World Meet 2020 in Tanay, Russia. However, all team members are active competitors, and Jan Klapka also hired 8-way expert Marco Arrigo as a coach.

There has never been a Czech 8-way team at a World Championship of Formation Skydiving since 1985. Even the 4-way Open Class presence at world meets has not been consistent in the same time period. Czech 4-way Open Class teams attended eight world meets since 1985, the last one in Dubai 2012. The Czech Ladies, with Jan Klapka's wife Jirina Klapkova in the lineup, were the last team at a world meet and represented their country first on home turf in Prostejov 2014, then again in Ottawa 2016. The best placement of a Czech 4-way Open Class team was the 18th place in Dubai 2012 with a 14.9 average.

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FAI World Meet 2016			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Women		12,A,16		18,15,O		1,F,E,C		17,B,14		10,2,20		21,11,G		J,5,19		L,M,K,7		D,8,4		3,13,Q		Total	Avg
1	Golden Knights	US	21		21		30		20	-2	17		19		24		35		20		17	-2	224	22.4
2	French Girls	FR	21		18		30	-1	23		17		18	-2	24		34		18	-1	14		217	21.7
3	NFTO	UK	17		15		21		19		13		16		18		26	-1	17		13	-1	175	17.5
4	Parachute Montreal Fuzion	CA	18		15	-1	19	-1	16	-2	14		16		17	-2	25		17		14		171	17.1
5	Les Stunts	BE	15		14		20	-1	16		11	-1	13		16		24		15		13		157	15.7
6	Bellatrix	AU	13		12		20	-1	16		12		13		15		22		13		14		150	15.0
7	Skymix	DE	13		11		15	-1	15		12		13		14		23		12		12	-1	140	14.0
8	No Mercy	PL	14		14		19	-1	13	-1	9		11	-1	12	-2	19	-4	14		11	-1	136	13.6
9	Infra Red Band	RU	15		12	-1	16	-3	13	-1	9	-2	11		13		17	-2	14		10		130	13.0
10	CZ Ladies	CZ	11		11		14	-1	13		9		10		12		19		9	-2	10		118	11.8
11	Valkyria	DK	10		8		16		10		9		10		11	-1	17	-2	12		10		113	11.3

Czech 4-way Open Class teams at FAI World Championships of Formation Skydiving since 1985

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Things have changed since the Hurricane Factory opened doors in Prague, and Jan Klapka decided to make his country more visible on the world map of Formation Skydiving competition. The 4-way junior program has been extremely successful and already generated the first Czech 4-way world champions with the HF Cubs at the FAI Indoor World Meet 2019.

The lineup of the Octopucz 8-way team is a very colorful mixture of 4-way competitors who are adding the 8-way experience to their agenda.

Jan Klapka is back together with his former Bad Boys team mate Marian Jeziak. His wife Jirina Klapkova has her own reunion with her Czech Ladies team mate Hana Opalkova. In fact, Jirina Klapkova and Hana Opalkova have also been training and competing recently with the Czech indoor team 4 V Tunelu.

Martina Vavackova and Lukas Kaderabek have been training and competing with HF Flying Circus since 2014, and they are the reigning Czech 4-way outdoor champions.

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FAI Indoor World Meet 2017			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Women		16,P,12		2,8,H		22,20,3		15,D,4		A,J,6,L		7,M,19		5,Q,21		18,B,17		G,14,C,N		K,E,10,11		Total	Avg
1	French Weembi Girls	FR	28	-1	26		23		27		38		34		30		30	-1	34		28		298	29.8
2	Volition	UK	22	-2	22		18	-1	23	-1	32	-4	29		25		26		28	-1	23	-1	248	24.8
3	HF Chicks	CZ	22		18	-4	16	-2	19	-1	32	-1	25	-1	24		20	-3	26		23		225	22.5
4	Team X	SE	24		20	-1	18	-1	22	-1	30		26		24		18	-3	21	-2	20	-1	223	22.3
5	Parachute Montreal Fuzion	CA	20		20	-1	19		21		31		27	-1	20	-1	19	-1	20	-2	20	-1	217	21.7
6	No Mercy	PL	24		18		18		19		23	-5	26		22	-1	18	-2	24		21		213	21.3
7	Texas Crush	US	18		14	-3	13	-2	14	-1	21	-2	24		19		15		16	-3	15		169	16.9
8	China 4-way Red	CN	11	-6	15	-4	13	-2	15		20	-5	20	-1	17		14	-1	15	-5	17		157	15.7
9	Not Your March	HU	14	-1	15		8	-3	14		18	-1	18	-1	17		11	-2	18	-1	16		149	14.9

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The last couple of 4-way team mates in the 8-way lineup are Eva Turkova and Hanka Urikova. They have been training and competing with the HF Chicks since 2016, and together they won the first set of FAI medals for the Czech Republic.

The HF Chicks took the 3rd place in 4-way Women at the FAI Indoor World Meet 2017. Eva Turkova and Hanka Urikova are still training and competing with HF Chicks, while the team's lineup has changed. Former HF Cubs juniors Kaja Svejdová and Tereza Zívalová are the new team members, and other current HF Cubs members are filling open slots when necessary.

The Hurricane Factory's 14-foot flying chamber does not allow a full 8-way training in Prague, and Jan Klapka organized the first two training camps at the 16+ flying chambers in Berlin, Germany, and Madrid, Spain. The Octopucz 8-way team has been jet-setting back and forth between three of the major capital cities in Europe since December, and the January camp in Madrid took place just a few days before the world's 4-way teams traveled to Spain for the Wind Games. No Czech team competed at the Wind Games, where the 14-foot flying chamber does not allow an 8-way competition.