Skyleague

*Winner after jump-off and tie-breaking: NFTO*
image by: Martin Skrbel

posted Aug 30th, 2021 - The NSL News previews of the British Outdoor Nationals were promising an exciting competition for the top spot in the AAA Class, the 4-way championship title, and for the status of the British national teams in 4-way Open and 4-way Women.

The same three teams who battled for the three medal positions at the last national championships in 2019 would be back this year, after the 2020 championships were canceled due to the corona virus crisis. The NSL News update on August 16th provided the latest preview in the run-up of the same three teams to the competition last weekend.

The 2019 championship was already a thriller, as NFTO, Chimera and Eros were separated by only eight points at the end of the 10-round competition. Each of the three teams won and tied rounds, and NFTO eventually had a 6-point advantage over Chimera at the end.

There are not many countries where three teams have the potential and are close enough to each other to win the competition, and usually it does not get much closer than than it was for the three British teams in 2019. However, it became even much more dramatic last weekend at Skydive Hibaldstow.

UK Nationals 2019		1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		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		Total	Avg
1	NFTO	21		22	-1	28		17		15	-1	15		18	-1	18	-1	20		19		193	19.3
2	Chimera	20	-2	20	-1	26	-2	15	-1	15		13	-1	22		20		17	-1	19		187	18.7
3	Eros	21		20		25		17		15		14		19		19		18		17		185	18.5
4	4mula	19		18	-2	24		16		14	-1	14		19		18	-1	18		15	-1	175	17.5
5	Pajama Pumas	16		17		19		12		11		11		16		16		14		12	-1	144	14.4

*Runner-up after jump-off and tie-breaking: Chimera*
image by: Martin Skrbel

The same three teams were separated by only six points at the end of this 10-round competition two years later, and the battle between NFTO and Chimera could not have been any more exciting than it turned out to be.

One round was completed on Friday, and it seemed like there would not be any big surprises in the ranking order.

However, NFTO, the defending AAA Class champions, were not able to create any more distance on the second day of the competition, not to Chimera, and Eros were still in striking distance after Round 6, as well.

In fact, Chimera had eliminated the 1-point difference on Friday, and both national teams were tied in 1st place, only four points ahead of Eros. Pajama Pumas, Alola and T.B.C. had an even closer race (77 - 76 - 76) for the 4th place behind the three top contenders.

The last day of the competition on Sunday could not have promised more than it did, and it became even more dramatic than it looked like on Saturday evening. It was Round 7 that would eventually become the most important part of the competition, not only because NFTO created a 3-point lead with the fastest sequence of the event.

UK Nationals 2021		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Total	Avg
Rank	AAA Class	5,15,P	21,6,L	B,4,3	E,G,11,Q	10,N,16	C,H,K,19	M,17,A,F	D,2,9	22,O,18	13,1,14	7,12,8	Total	Avg
1	NFTO	20	18	15	18	17	23	32	19	13	16	15	191	19.1
2	Chimera	19	18	15	20	16	23	29	21	14	16	15	191	19.1
3	Eros	16	18	18	19	14	22	27	21	15	15	-	185	18.5
4	Alola	12	13	10	14	11	16	22	17	9	12	-	136	13.6
5	Pajama Pumas	12	13	11	15	12	14	21	12	11	11	-	132	13.2
6	T.B.C.	12	11	13	15	10	15	15	11	11	11	-	124	12.4
7	Restart	5	10	12	13	11	10	16	12	11	12	-	112	11.2
8	Vantage	8	10	11	8	9	12	14	11	10	9	-	102	10.2

3.2 Objective of the Events
3.2.1 The objective of the event is for the team to complete as many scoring formations as possible within the working time, while correctly following the sequence for the round.
3.2.2 The accumulated total of all rounds completed is used to determine the placing of teams. Only one completed round is required to declare champions.
3.2.2.1 If two or more teams have equal scores the following order of procedures will be applied to determine the final placings:

i. one tie break round, if possible (for the first three placings only). The tie break round will be the next drawn round of the competition,
ii. the highest score in any completed round,
iii. the highest score starting with the last completed round and continuing in reverse order, round by round until the tie is broken,
iv. the fastest time (measured to hundredths of a second) to the last formation scored without infringement by both teams in the last completed round. Starting time must be that used for original evaluation of the jump.

*Strong last three rounds: Eros*
image by: Martin Skrbel

Eros were too far away after Round 7, even though they

outscored NFTO in the remaining three rounds (51 - 48). NFTO's 3-point advantage over Chimera after Round 7 also seemed to be enough to finish on top, with three slower sequences ahead.

However, Chimera had a strong comeback and won back the three points in Round 8 (2) and Round 9 (1). Round 10 was already the first jump-off for the championship title, with NFTO and Chimera going into the last round tied in 1st place. The drama continued when they tied again in Round 10 and now needed the extra round for a real jump-off.

It became even more dramatic when they tied again, and the judges had to use the rules for tie-breaking to find a winner of the competition. That's when the scores of Round 7 became the most important part of the competition.

Chimera ended up once again in 2nd place and took it with pride: "Chimera gave it all they had to produce what we felt were 10 good rounds and one we would rather forget... But overall we had a fantastic competition and were supported, as always, by Niklas Hemlin with remote coaching. Having achieved a tied score with NFTO, the team is feeling happy with the performance and we look forward to returning to Hibaldstow for the 8-way competition next weekend."

Did You Know... ... that NFTO won the British 11-round championship in Round 7?

Did You Know...

... that NFTO won the British 11-round championship in Round 7?