posted Jul 1st, 2020 - The seemingly unlimited great answers to the NSL News question why it is beneficial for teams to attend as many meets as possible had some new additions when three NMP PCH HayaBusa members (Michele Silvi, David and Andy Grauwels) met online with the NSL News on June 29th.

Triple 4-way world champions David and Andy Grauwels (2014 - 2016 - 2018) said that their HayaBusa lineups have attended more than 110 competitions since the team was founded in 2002. The NSL News database includes more than 80 leaderboards with 4-way scores of the Belgian team.

Once again, the latest NSL Live Talk brought new thoughts to the surface that the other world champions had not covered at all, or that they had touched with a look from different perspectives.

It also becomes clearer with each new feedback that the topic of Round 1 alone covers the answers almost completely and comprehensively. Only real meet experience can provide the feelings and dynamics when the first round of a competition is coming up.

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World-class answers: Why is it beneficial for teams to attend as many meets as possible?

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The Grauwels brothers David and Andy agree completely with their thoughts about meet attendance, competition experiences, and Round 1. That's no surprise, as they are original HayaBusa members and have gone through their 110 4-way and 8-way competitions together. Andy Grauwels eventually gave the emotional status before each Round 1 the well known name: "Butterflies and jitters". It was once again amazing to hear this from a 3-time world champion.

Andy Grauwels also believes that it is important to meet the opponents on a regular basis and get familiar with their behavior. Then he knows what to expect when it comes to the major events.

He thinks that it is helpful to know the opponents and learn how to control his own nerves. The meet psychology includes his own state of mind and the reactions of his team mates and the opponents. Competition practice at real meets teaches routines that can be applied when the pressure is at the highest point.

Andy Grauwels also pointed out that is is important to learn how to deal with different logistics. Each team has to familiarize as quickly as possible with a new environment and become comfortable with it. Only meets at foreign and unknown facilities can provide this experience.

The psychological pressure with butterflies and jitters drops significantly after Round 1. Andy Grauwels said that the knowledge of the first scores of his own team and of the opponents provides a feeling of security, as the "unknown" is out of the way.

He confirmed that the butterflies and jitters are always there before the completion of Round 1, and a competitor has to find a way how to master the mental challenge. He finds comfort in trusting his team mates, and he finds it helpful to look in their eyes and then see and feel the mutual confidence.

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FAI Outdoor World Meet 2018			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open Top 10		21,L,B,G		22,18,17		19,7,O		J,16,12		10,A,D,15		Q,M,F,C,N		H,20,P,13		6,14,11		E,2,5		4,1,3		Total	Avg
1	NMP-PCH Hayabusa	BE	32		21		27	-2	24		22	-3	62	-2	22	-2	20	-1	27	-1	22		279	27.9
2	Arizona Airspeed	US	26	-5	21		27	-1	24		24	-1	60	-1	26		22		27		20		277	27.7
3	Aerodyne Realfly	FR	29	-1	19		24	-2	23		24		52	-3	20	-3	17	-3	24		19		251	25.1
4	Qatar Tigers	QA	24	-2	14	-1	24	-1	21		22		53	-4	21	-1	18		20		17		234	23.4
5	Echochamber	SE	25	-1	16		21	-1	17	-2	20	-1	48	-4	14	-3	18		21	-1	15	-1	215	21.5
6	Amnesya	IT	24	-2	14		20	-1	18		18	-1	48	-5	18		14	-2	21	-1	15		210	21.0
7	Satori XL	UK	21		14	-1	21		19		19		37	-3	19		17		18	-1	16	-1	201	20.1
7	Airheads	CH	22	-3	14	-2	19	-2	17	-1	18		44		16		16	-2	18	-1	17		201	20.1
9	Evolution	CA	21	-1	13	-2	22		18	-1	15	-3	43	-2	15	-5	15	-2	19		15		196	19.6
10	Airbus FSZ Saar	DE	21	-1	14	-1	17	-5	17		16	-1	45	-1	15	-3	14	-1	18	-1	15		192	19.2

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NMP PCH HayaBusa and Arizona Airspeed with Round 6 in Australia 2018

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David Grauwels even extended the thoughts about Round 1. He said that meets often have more than only the famous Round 1, and that other rounds could easily bring the same pressure as in the meet opener. Each meet day has a new Round 1 in the morning, and there are also special rounds that can feel like Round 1.

He pointed out Round 6 at the FAI Outdoor World Meet 2018, which was a sequence of five random formations. He said that such a sequence can easily make or break a whole competition. A team can win or lose the meet just in this one round, as the number of points is so much higher compared to an average sequence.

NMP PCH HayaBusa gave this special round in Australia just as much attention as Round 1. Result was the 62-pointer world record performance, which was enough to fend off the Airspeed challenge. He added that even the last round could create the same pressure as Round 1. In fact, NMP PCH HayaBusa and Arizona Airspeed were tied going into Round 10, and the Belgians won the gold medals with a 2-point advantage in the last round. He said that Round 1 still seems to create the highest pressure, as the teams have so much more time to think about it between competition draw and boarding the plane for the meet opener.

Newest and youngest member Michele Silvi will be able to learn from his new world champion team mates. However, he knows that he needs the competition experiences before he goes to the next world meet. He still added one comforting fact to the Round 1 discussion: "You can only see a meet after ten rounds." In other words: There are nine more rounds to come after each Round 1...

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NMP PCH HayaBusa and Arizona Airspeed with Round 10 in Australia 2018

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