posted May 21st, 2023 - The NSL Power Rankings in 4-way Women were probably followed by the most unexpected results at the FAI Outdoor World Championship 2022. The latest update on April 11th, little over a week before Round 1 in Slovakia, had moved the reigning outdoor world champions of NFTO to the sole top spot.

The French Nephtys, XPG4 and HF Cubs were expected in a tight competition for the other sets of 4-way Women medals, while they would challenge NFTO for the top spot at the same time. Piteraq from Germany, bronze medalist at the FAI Indoor World Cup 2022, would not even be in the competition for medals.

The preview was correct for the placement of the German team, while everything else turned out differently. The new reality of the 4-way Women competition was already visible after Round 4 at the end of the first day. NFTO were seven points behind the leader and had to worry about any set of medals, as the HF Cubs were only one single point behind. XPG4, with Jeana Billings back in the 2022 lineup, had a 1-point lead over the Nephtys. It seemed to turn into a 2-team battle for the gold medals, while NFTO and HF Cubs had only the bronze medals to compete for.

FAI Indoor World Championship 2023			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Women Power Rankings		TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	Total	Avg
1	NFTO	UK	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2	France 4-way Women	FR	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2	HF Cubs	CZ	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2	XPG4	US	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5	Piteraq	DE	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
6	Airdrops	CH	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
7	Windabona Angels Chicas	ES	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
7	Fire Phoenix	IT	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
7	Kiss My Grips	SK	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Piteraq were just facing two additional top contenders (XPG4, NFTO) who did not compete in Charleroi last year. They probably knew that it would be extremely difficult or impossible to get to a medal position again. The HF Cubs, winner in 4-way Women last year, were not back on the same performance level (28.5 - 25.8) that won the world cup gold medals last year. The 28.5 average in Charleroi 2022 would have matched the gold medal average in Slovakia exactly.

The new and final order in 4-way Women was established after Round 8 at the end of the second competition day. Nephtys had taken a dominating lead after a mysterious re-flight of Round 7 by only the Top 3 teams in 4-way Women, while XPG4 were still in a secure position behind the French team.

NFTO had left the HF Cubs behind on the second day of the meet, while the distance to a higher ranking position was still unchanged.

XPG4 matched the French scores again in the last two rounds, after the unfortunate re-flight situation in Round 7. NFTO fell two more points behind the two top positions on the last day of the meet, while they had secured at least the bronze medals.

FAI Indoor World Championship 2023			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Women		E,14,3		K,F,22,17		O,7,5		N,2,18		L,P,12,15		M,10,D,H		16,9,C		1,G,J,8		4,Q,21		6,20,A		Total	Avg
1	France 4-way Women	FR	24	-2	30	-1	34	-1	22	-1	27		36		34	-1	27		25		26		285	28.5
2	XPG4	US	25		28	-1	33		25		25	-2	36		29	-3	24	-2	26		25	-2	276	27.6
3	NFTO	UK	25	-1	29		30	-2	20	-3	22	-3	32		34	-1	27	-1	23	-2	26		268	26.8
4	HF Cubs	CZ	22	-2	25	-3	33		23	-1	19	-5	31	-1	33	-1	25	-3	23	-4	24	-2	258	25.8
5	Piteraq	DE	22		19	-2	25		19		20		27		24		20		21		21		218	21.8
6	Airdrops	CH	18	-1	19	-2	23		13	-3	19		24		22	-1	19		21		16	-4	194	19.4
7	Windabona Angels Chicas	ES	18		16	-1	20	-1	16	-1	16	-1	22		16	-4	16	-1	18		17	-1	175	17.5
8	Fire Phoenix	IT	17		17	-1	20		14		14	-2	20	-2	16	-2	14	-1	16		16		164	16.4
9	Kiss My Grips	SK	13	-1	14	-2	19		14		12		19		16	-3	16	-1	16		13	-2	152	15.2

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HF Cubs at the FAI Indoor World Championship 2023, video footage courtesy of FAI/InTime

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Result of the three days in 4-way Women was an unexpected leaderboard that only French national coach Mathieu Bernier was confident about before the competition began. The Nephtys with the new lineup and a short comeback of Sophia Pecout and Christine Malnis did not train much at all. However, Mathieu Bernier knew better, as he was observing the lineup in training.

There was a vast wealth of competition experience in the Nephtys lineup, as the NSL News explained on May 12th. The only question was how the youngest team member, Elise Poindron, would deal with the high pressure, although she had her own world championship experiences, as a member of the Nephtys lineup who won gold in Weembi Lille 2019.

It was difficult to imagine that the winner of the FAI Indoor World Cup 2022, HF Cubs, would not even finish in a medal position a year later. That simply explains why the NSL Power Rankings were far off in 4-way Women.

It was just as difficult to predict that the little training would be enough for the French winners. The reigning outdoor world champions in 4-way Women, NFTO, seemed to be very well prepared under the guidance of coach Roy Janssen. That's 4-way competition at its best - when the field is so tight that anything can happen...

FAI World Championship 2023			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open/Women Top 10		E,14,3		K,F,22,17		O,7,5		N,2,18		L,P,12,15		M,10,D,H		16,9,C		1,G,J,8		4,Q,21		6,20,A		Total	Avg
1	Arizona Airspeed	US	27		35		39		27	-2	31		38		38		29		28	-1	31		323	32.3
2	France 4-way Open	FR	27		33		38		26	-2	28		33	-3	35		28		30		30		308	30.8
3	NMP-PCH Hayabusa	BE	26	-1	30		33	-3	26	-3	28		37	-1	37		28		29		30	-1	304	30.4
4	France 4-way Women	FR	24	-2	30	-1	34	-1	22	-1	27		36		34	-1	27		25		26		285	28.5
5	XPG4	US	25		28	-1	33		25		25	-2	36		29	-3	24	-2	26		25	-2	276	27.6
6	Qatar Tigers	QA	24		29	-1	32	-1	26		25	-3	32		30	-2	26		25	-1	26	-1	275	27.5
7	NFTO	UK	25	-1	29		30	-2	20	-3	22	-3	32		34	-1	27	-1	23	-2	26		268	26.8
8	Jochen Schweizer Arena Airfource	DE	22	-2	28	-1	33		22		25		30	-2	31		24		24	-1	25	-1	264	26.4
9	HF Cubs	CZ	22	-2	25	-3	33		23	-1	19	-5	31	-1	33	-1	25	-3	23	-4	24	-2	258	25.8
10	Echochamber Oceanside	SE	22		26	-1	30		17	-5	24		28	-3	27	-2	23		24		25	-1	246	24.6