posted Dec 13th, 2022 - Jeana Billings, Paraclete XP8 world champion of 2021 and 2022, developed the idea of an all-female 8-way team project while she was competing for FAI World Championship gold medals with XP8, together with Michelle Karamon. She has been a player-coach for the 8-way lineups of the Veloce QRF and Hell Week events for a while before she decided to put together an all-female lineup.

She had her first lineup with only female 8-way competitors together at the Paraclete XP Indoor Championship 2022. The team (QRF3) was a part of the Veloce QRF Hell Week project and finished in 7th place with a 16.0 average, while Jeana Billings competed with XP8 at the same time.

Jill Stephenson and Kelsey Rose were in the QRF3 lineup at Paraclete XP, and they signed up soon after for Jeana Billings' plans to travel with an all-female lineup to France for the 8-way indoor competition at the Weembinamic 2022.

In fact, Kelsey Rose was also a candidate for XPG4's open slot, when Morgan Womble did not continue after the conclusion of the 2021 season. She could not commit to the demanding XPG4 agenda, and Anna Brunner became the new inside center for the U.S. national indoor and outdoor team.

Paraclete XP Indoor Championship 2022			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Open		22,12,9	H,4,15	F,13,J,16	L,N,B,1	8,19,E	21,C,2	M,3,Q,D	O,11,G,18	K,5,17	10,7,A	Total	Avg
1	XP8	US	28	40	31	40	21	23	42	26	25	26	302	30.2
2	Qatar Falcons	QA	20	34	26	34	20	20	35	25	23	21	258	25.8
3	Prison 9	US	21	27	19	30	15	15	28	19	20	17	211	21.1
4	Veloce QRF	FR	19	21	17	28	16	16	28	18	20	18	201	20.1
5	Veloce QRF 2	FR	16	19	16	20	12	14	22	15	14	14	162	16.2
5	Fusion XP	US	14	21	18	15	13	12	20	18	15	16	162	16.2
7	Veloce QRF 3	FR	15	19	16	18	12	13	23	15	15	14	160	16.0
8	Rhockalaka	US	16	18	14	17	12	14	20	13	13	13	150	15.0
9	Brandon's Friend's Team	US	13	18	13	18	10	13	16	15	14	13	143	14.3
10	They're Grrr8!	US	11	15	12	15	9	11	15	12	14	10	124	12.4
11	Veloce QRF 5	FR	11	12	13	15	10	9	16	13	10	13	122	12.2
12	Veloce QRF 4	FR	12	13	12	15	9	10	15	11	12	12	121	12.1

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Jeana Billings with Paraclete XP and Veloce QRF3 at the Paraclete XP Indoor Championship 2022, Video Footage Courtesy of Paraclete XP

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Jeana Billings and her XPG4 team mates Brenn Richards and Anna Brunner invited several other female Formation Skydiving competitors for the trip to France. Christine Bruchac, Rose Marie Smith and Kelly Turbeville eventually joined Jill Stephenson and Kelsey Rose with the three XPG4 members, and the 8-way lineup was complete.

Training took place at Paraclete XP and during the French 8-way Hell Week at Weembi Lille, and the videos of the competition rounds are showing a very well trained 8-way team. Brian Krause substituted for Kelsey Rose in competition, when she could not continue after a painful collision.

Jeana Billings' new 8-way lineup, with only two of her team mates at Paraclete XP in February, finished in 3rd place with a very impressive 23.5 average on the traditional leaderboard. They left all other Veloce QRF teams behind, including Martial Ferre's international signature lineup.

Only the French world champions and world-class competitors in the Ultim8 Weembi and Unexpected Weembi Team lineups were too strong for XPG8/QRF8, while they eliminated a few other Veloce QRF teams on their way to the 2-round battle with Julien Degen's French/British combination of Les Souillonnes for the 3rd place.

Weembinamic 2022			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Open		21,10,11	18,15,13	4,M,F,17	16,2,D	9,P,12	C,8,7	N,Q,22,H	5,19,J	L,A,K,6	3,1,E	Total	Avg
1	Ultim8 Weembi	FR	20	23	28	28	19	24	24	20	31	43	260	26.0
2	Unexpected Weembi Team	FR	19	23	29	20	18	19	26	21	27	43	245	24.5
3	QRFG8	US	20	23	25	23	18	22	23	21	25	35	235	23.5
4	Les Souillonnes	FR	18	20	26	19	19	22	20	19	24	29	216	21.6
4	After 8 Weembi	FR	18	16	24	22	15	21	19	17	25	39	216	21.6
6	Veloce QRF	FR	17	20	25	23	16	20	19	16	25	33	214	21.4
7	Veloce QRF 2	FR	15	20	24	23	17	16	19	17	25	32	208	20.8
8	Veloce QRF 3	FR	15	15	17	19	16	16	18	14	20	14	164	16.4
9	Veloce QRF 5	FR	13	15	19	16	14	15	11	12	17	20	152	15.2
10	Veloce QRF 4	FR	9	14	18	17	10	12	12	14	18	19	143	14.3
11	Pink Rabbits	FR	9	11	13	11	11	8	11	10	16	13	113	11.3
11	Les Hardeuses Weembi	FR	10	10	14	7	8	11	14	10	16	13	113	11.3
13	Veloce QRF 6	FR	9	12	11	13	11	10	11	7	13	12	109	10.9
14	Veloce QRF 7	FR	9	13	14	11	7	9	12	8	12	11	106	10.6

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XPG8/QRF8 at the Weembinamic 2022, Video Footage Courtesy of Weembi Lille

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All-female 8-way lineups are not totally new in Formation Skydiving competition, even though neither FAI/ISC nor any country on the planet separates the 8-way teams and offer a separate category for 8-way Women. The military CISM events, with their gender separation in 4-way, do not include 8-way competition.

Only five female competitors have won 8-way gold medals at FAI World Championships of Formation Skydiving in the past. Elena Vertiprakhova was filming the Russian 8-way team to the world championship title in 2003, and Eliana Rodriguez won her 8-way gold medal in Rijeka 2004.

Jennifer Davidson won with the Golden Knights in Australia 2018. Jeana Billings and Michelle Karamon became the first female competitors who won two consecutive gold medals, with Airspeed XP8 in Tanay 2021, and then again with Paraclete XP8 this year in October.

The first all-female 8-way team in the United States was Perris Passion 8, who won USPA's 8-way Open bronze medals in Sebastian 1999. The Brit Chicks kept Lesley Gale's 8-way project going between 2011 and 2019. They even represented Great Britain at the FAI Outdoor World Cup 2011 as the national 8-way team, and they followed up for their country a year later at the FAI Dubai Mondial 2012.