posted Oct 26th, 2022 - Arizona Airspeed dominated the 4-way Open Class competition just as much as Paraclete XP8 did in 8-way. Neither the Airspeed gold medals nor the 1st place for XP8 was a surprise, not even the winning margin. In fact, the results at the FAI Outdoor World Meet 2022 were more or less just a copy of the top of the leaderboard at the USPA Nationals 2022, where NMP PCH HayaBusa performed the same competition draw at the Belgian outdoor championships.

NMP PCH HayaBusa and Qatar Tigers now followed up with their next ten rounds, and the ranking order of the same three teams was the same. Even the distance between Airspeed and HayaBusa (31 - 33) was almost exactly the same at the two events, while the Tigers finished three points closer (12 - 9) to the Belgians yesterday in Eloy.

The difference to the 3-team competition between Airspeed, HayaBusa and Tigers in September was the fact that the fourth medal contender from France was present this time, and the young and new French 4-way Open Class team played a major role in the battle for FAI medals.

The battle between Belgium, Qatar and France for the silver medals was expected just as much as the dominating performance by Airspeed, as the NSL News mentioned in all the previews of the outdoor world meet. Gary Smith, Joey Jones and Solly Williams added even more excitement when they predicted a real showdown in the last two rounds during their Majik Coaches Corner.

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USPA Nationals 2022			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open Combined		G,9,M,8		P,3,O,E		7,13,18		B,21,Q,14		20,L,2		D,1,A,19		5,11,15		10,17,N		F,C,K,H,22		12,J,16		Total	Avg
1	Arizona Airspeed	US	28	-2	32		23		26	-1	22		26		22		21	-1	35		23		258	25.8
2	NMP-PCH Hayabusa	BE	27		29	-1	18	-1	23		20		25		18	-1	21		26	-2	20	-1	227	22.7
3	Qatar Tigers	QA	23	-2	21	-3	20		23		19		23		18		20		29		19	-1	215	21.5

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Arizona Airspeed - NMP PCH HayaBusa - Qatar Tigers with the USPA Nationals 2022 draw

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It became indeed a real and very dramatic showdown, even though Arizona Airspeed and NMP PCH HayaBusa were not a part of it. They had distanced themselves enough from their opponents for a relatively relaxed last day of the competition.

It was totally different for the French 4-way Open Class team and Qatar Tigers. France had placed 4th at the FAI Tanay Mondial, where the Qatar team won the first 4-way bronze medals for their country. The re-match at Skydive Arizona created a drama in the last two rounds of the meet.

The new French 4-way Open Class lineup, with former 4-way junior Tom Mattoni in the inside center slot, had the re-match with the Qatar Tigers apparently under their control. They tied the first three rounds and then created a 5-point lead on the second meet day.

Gary Smith, Joey Jones and Solly Williams said in the morning of the last day that everything would still be possible in the last two rounds, even including NMP PCH HayaBusa within the range of potential changes. Their wealth of experiences turned out with a prediction that the French delegation would not like much. The fastest sequence in Round 9 became the biggest obstacle for the young French team, while the 4-way veterans from Qatar delivered their best performance at the right time. France and Qatar switched positions on the leaderboard, and the Tigers won their second set of FAI bronze medals.

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FAI Outdoor World Meet 2022			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open		20,16,B		P,D,21,13		17,K,11		E,A,19,22		2,9,M		C,14,F,12		3,6,18		4,10,1		8,Q,O,H		5,7,J		Total	Avg
1	Arizona Airspeed	US	21	-1	28		27		27		31		23		21		20		32		31		261	26.1
2	NMP-PCH Hayabusa	BE	20	-1	25	-2	21		23		28		20	-2	19		17		29		26		228	22.8
3	Qatar Tigers	QA	19	-2	23	-1	22	-1	21	-1	26		18		17	-1	17		28		28		219	21.9
4	France 4-way Open	FR	19		23	-1	22		23		27		20	-1	18		15	-1	20	-5	27	-1	214	21.4
5	Chimera	UK	16		21	-2	19		19	-1	18	-5	18	-1	16		14	-1	23	-1	24		188	18.8
6	Papea Masculino	ES	17	-1	20	-1	18	-1	21		21	-2	18		15		15		21	-1	20	-3	186	18.6
7	Echochamber Oceanside	SE	14	-1	21		19		19		20	-1	17		16		15		24	-1	20	-1	185	18.5
8	Airbus Oceanside Illertissen	DE	16		18	-2	19		16	-1	20	-1	13	-3	15		14		19	-2	22	-1	172	17.2
9	Agera FS 2022	NO	16		16	-2	17	-1	17		18	-1	15		15		13	-1	18	-3	21		166	16.6
9	4Astrophe	CA	15	-1	20		19		15	-2	21		15		15	-2	14		16	-3	16	-2	166	16.6
11	Out of the Blue	NL	16		16	-3	17		17		14	-2	17		12	-1	13	-1	21	-1	18		161	16.1
12	Ripper	AU	14	-1	16	-1	18		16	-1	21		15		12		10	-3	19	-1	19	-1	160	16.0
13	Sky4Four	PL	13	-1	14	-3	14		16		16	-2	12	-1	12		13		21		18	-1	149	14.9
14	HF Flying Circus	CZ	13		10	-7	16		15	-1	18	-2	12	-1	13		11	-3	16	-5	17	-1	141	14.1
15	Sequenz	DK	10	-2	16		15		14	-1	17	-1	12	-1	12		11	-1	17	-1	11	-3	135	13.5
16	INIT-Y	BR	12	-2	14	-1	14	-1	13	-4	16		11	-2	10	-3	12		17	-1	15	-3	134	13.4
17	HSV Red Bull Aerodynamix	AT	10	-2	16		14		15		15	-1	8	-3	9	-2	10	-1	15	-1	13	-1	125	12.5
18	Adventure Flyers	PY	9	-1	13		12	-1	11		16		11		10		9		14		14	-1	119	11.9
19	Equinox	LT	10	-1	12	-2	12		12	-1	13	-1	10		10		9	-1	12	-4	14	-1	114	11.4
20	Tina & The Dinosaurs	NZ	5		8	-1	4		9		9	-1	8		5		4	-2	10		8		70	7.0
21	La Playa	GT	2	-1	7	-2	5	-1	3	-3	7		5		3	-1	5		-		-		37	4.6

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FAI Outdoor World Meet 2022: Qatar Tigers - France - Video Footage Courtesy of FAI/ISC and OmniSkore!HD

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