posted Apr 6th, 2021 - It has taken a while until the live part of the Shamrock Showdown 2021 at Skydive City was ready to be continued with the online version.

The participating teams on the March 19 weekend completed as many rounds as possible in the three days with inclement weather, which turned out be four rounds in 4-way and 8-way both. Only the Sandbaggers could not complete the 4th round before the meet was called.

The Shamrock Showdown is traditionally an outdoor competition, and the 2020 event was promising to become another serious world meet test at the beginning of the FAI Tanay Mondial 2020 season, with the world's best 4-way and 8-way teams ready to compete at the same location in Florida.

At the same time, the Shamrock Showdown 2020 was supposed to be a test for Skydive City in hosting a high-profile event before the USPA Nationals 2020. Unfortunately, FAI Tanay Mondial 2020 and USPA Nationals 2020 both were canceled/rescheduled, as was the Shamrock Showdown eventually, as well. The corona virus crisis brought an early end to three of the most exciting Formation Skydiving competitions last year.

---

Shamrock Showdown Cloud 2021			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		11		Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Open		1,J,3		Q,K,D,H,L		F,B,C,22		18,E,21		M,5,10		4,G,2		15,8,11		16,19,O		7,P,14		9,12,20		N,17,A,6		Total	Avg
1	France	FR	30	-2	25		28		19		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		102	25.5
2	Airspeed XP8	US	28	-2	23	-3	24	-1	19		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		94	23.5
3	Qatar Falcons	QA	23	-3	19	-2	21	-1	15		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		78	19.5
4	Rhythm 8	US	14	-1	13	-1	14	-1	9		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		50	12.5
5	Sandbaggers	US	8		5		7		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		20	6.7
6	Tanay 8	RU	-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-	-

---

France and Qatar Falcons at the Shamrock Showdown Cloud 2021

---

The situation had not changed much at the beginning of the new year, as worldwide travel restrictions were still in the way of international teams possibly visiting the United States for the next edition of the Shamrock Showdown. However, at least the U.S. teams were ready to visit event locations under the circumstances, and the Paraclete XP Indoor Championship 2021 became the first well attended competition since the outbreak of the pandemic, despite the missing international visitors.

The FAI Tanay Mondial 2020 had been rescheduled for August 2021, and the national teams were once again looking for opportunities to get some outdoor competition practice early in a world meet year. International traveling was still impossible, or very limited, and the Shamrock Showdown hosts developed a contingency plan. Result was the additional online version of the 2021 event, the Shamrock Showdown Cloud.

International teams would have the option to perform the same ten sequences on the same weekend and the following week at different locations that would allow outdoor training and competition. The time period for the online part was extended when the live meet at Skydive City could not be completed. Even the U.S. teams now needed more time to perform the six missing sequences in the following weeks.

---

---

Airspeed XP8 at the Shamrock Showdown 2021

---

The French national 8-way team and the Qatar Falcons did not have to change their original plans and performed the competition rounds in the week right after the Shamrock Showdown at Skydive City. The videos were uploaded to the NSL Cloud, and the InTime judging panel went to work again ten days after the live event.

The scores and video links have now been added to the 8-way leaderboard, and the French 8-way team has taken the lead after Round 4, with highscores for each of the four sequences. France was still behind Airspeed XP8 at the last outdoor competition, the NSL Cloud Mondial 2020, which was the previous online competition in the middle of the corona virus pandemic.

Russia's Tanay 8-way team had won the last live 8-way competition at the FAI Outdoor World Cup 2019, where France finished in 2nd, Airspeed XP8 in 3rd place. The Qatar Falcons have moved significantly closer to the medal positions with the current scores. They were 43 points behind AZXP8 after Round 10 at the world cup in Eloy 2019.

There will be a complete 8-way leaderboard at the end of the extended Shamrock Showdown Cloud deadline on April 21st. Russia's Tanay 8 have the meet rounds on their agenda soon in Dubai, and AZXP8 finish up almost at the same time.

---

FAI Outdoor World Cup 2019			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Open		13,11,16		P,22,4		O,7,21		9,20,G		18,15,L		K,10,3		6,14,C		1,M,A,17		F,D,Q,8		2,5,E		Total	Avg
1	Tanay 8	RU	19		26		18		20		23		21	-1	20		24		20		16		207	20.7
2	France	FR	20		24		18		19	-1	21		22	-1	19		23		19		17		202	20.2
3	Airspeed XP8	US	21	-1	24	-1	16	-1	18		21		20	-2	19		22	-1	19		18		198	19.8
4	Arizona Airspeed	US	18		21		16		18		16	-3	21	-1	17		17	-1	16		14	-1	174	17.4
5	Qatar Falcons	QA	16	-1	20	-1	14	-1	13	-3	17	-1	12	-5	15		19		15		14		155	15.5
6	Airbus	DE	14	-1	15		12		15		15	-1	15		12	-1	15		14	-1	12		139	13.9
7	Monster	US	12		13	-1	10	-1	12		14		13		12		15		11	-1	10		122	12.2
8	Amphibious Attack Tigers	US	11		16		10		11		9	-3	13	-1	14		10	-1	13		11		118	11.8
9	Groomed	UK	7	-2	9		8	-1	9		10		7		8	-1	10		13		7		88	8.8

---

Tanay 8 - France - AZXP8 at the FAI Outdoor World Cup 2019

---