posted Feb 3rd, 2022 - The recent NSL News updates from Russia introduced the teams that plan to attend the FAI Indoor World Cup in April. Four Russian teams are registered for the 4-way Open competition (Airborne VDV, IFS-Moscow, Quartet, DanDelion WN), as the NSL News reported yesterday, and Bubbles are the top contender in 4-way Women.

There are still two more 4-way teams who plan to travel to Charleroi in Belgium soon. In fact, the planning of the participation of the additional two teams will be done by parents and the managers of the Russian delegation, as the team members have to be younger than 18 years of age, following the FAI/ISC definition of 4-way juniors:

"For the purpose of all parachuting disciplines, a junior competitor is a person under the age of 24 or whose 24th birthday occurs during the calendar year in which the relevant competition takes place. For the purpose of all indoor skydiving disciplines, a junior competitor is a person whose 13th birthday occurs either during or before the calendar year in which the relevant competition takes place and whose 18th birthday occurs either during or after the calendar year in which the relevant competition takes place."

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Russian Indoor Nationals 2021		1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		Total	Avg
Rank	AA Class	M,C,A,6		M,H,Q,15		M,B,F,14		M,N,D,2		M,J,L,21		M,K,O,9		M,G,E,4		M,P,O,7		Total	Avg
1	Airborne Forces Juniors	20	-4	25		22	-3	23		22	-2	30		22	-2	30		194	24.3
2	Airborne Yunarmiya	23	-3	21	-4	22	-5	20	-4	23	-4	28	-5	18	-6	27	-2	182	22.8
3	Airborne Children	6		6		6		3		7	-2	5	-3	3	-2	6	-1	42	5.3

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Airborne Junior teams at the Russian Indoor Nationals 2021

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Three junior teams competed at the Russian Indoor Nationals in November 2021, and the Russian delegation for the indoor world cup includes two teams in the 4-way Junior event. With the minimum age of 12 years, the newest generation of 4-way junior competitors in Russia and in the Czech Republic would not be eligible to compete at the indoor world cup.

However, the two Russian teams in the Russian delegation for the indoor world cup seem to be just as competitive as the Russian juniors were at the FAI Indoor World Meet 2019. They could not keep up with the HF Cubs and Aerokart Ak'demie at Weembi Lille, while they still posted an impressive 20.4 average.

The 8-round averages at the Russian indoor nationals in November last year are significantly higher than the previous one in April 2019 by the different lineup. The new and current Russian 4-way Junior teams still have to transition to the FAI/ISC rules and dive pool for their category, however, pace and potential promise a closer competition with Czech Republic and France compared to 2019.

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FAI Indoor World Meet 2019			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Junior		14,6		11,J,O		9,2		7,D,F		20,B,21		1,M,P		8,15		Q,H,18		Total	Avg
1	HF Cubs	CZ	25		29	-1	31		47		24		34	-1	20	-3	32	-2	242	30.3
2	Aerokart Ak'demie	FR	24	-1	30		29		38		28		31	-2	24		31		235	29.4
3	Russia FS Junior	RU	14	-5	23	-2	19	-4	29		15	-4	26	-1	17		20	-3	163	20.4
4	Skydive Recruitz	UK	10	-2	16		16		20		14	-1	12	-5	10	-4	15		113	14.1

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HF Cubs - Aerokart Ak'demie - Russia - Skydive Recruitz at the FAI Indoor World Meet 2019

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The Russian junior teams performed different sequences throughout their eight rounds at the national indoor championships. The Russian junior category has a Star (M) at the beginning of each round, which continues as a part of the sequence.

The Russian dive pool is a mixture between the A Class/4-way Beginner and the AA Class/4-way Intermediate. Blocks 14 and 15 are not a part of the A Class dive pool, while several other AA Class blocks don't appear in the eight rounds. The blocks are always at the end of the sequence.

The FAI/ISC rules and the dive pool for the 4-way Junior category are identical with AA Class/4-way Intermediate competition. The videos of the indoor world meet in 2019 are showing that the junior teams are launching the first formations of each sequence just like the senior teams were doing it. The dive pool includes all 16 blocks without slot-switchers.

The Russian junior teams had time to make the transition since November 2021, and there are still several weeks to practice the required 4-way Junior sequences. The preparations for the indoor world cup probably include the penalty situation, as well, as both teams lost a lot of points, the Airborne Yunarmiya team a total of 33 in eight rounds. In fact, the team in 2nd place would have won the Russian gold medals with a cleaner performance...