posted May 23rd, 2023 - The first one of the two annual major FAI/ISC events, the FAI Indoor World Championship 2023, was successfully completed at the Hurricane Factory Tatralandia in Slovakia, and the next one is in the works.

Most of the national teams who competed at the indoor event will also travel to Norway in August, where the Voss Fallskjermlubb will be the host of the 23rd FAI World Cup of Formation Skydiving.

Six of the 19 teams in Slovakia will not compete at the outdoor competition in Norway, as they have either not won/participated at the outdoor qualification events in their respective countries, or they train and compete only indoors exclusively.

The other 13 teams are qualified as the national outdoor teams and could follow up with the next ten competition rounds in August at the upcoming world cup. There are also three more team slots available for each country, as the world cup rules allow a total of four teams per nation.

FAI Indoor World Championship 2023			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open		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	Qatar Tigers	QA	24		29	-1	32	-1	26		25	-3	32		30	-2	26		25	-1	26	-1	275	27.5
5	Jochen Schweizer Arena Airfource	DE	22	-2	28	-1	33		22		25		30	-2	31		24		24	-1	25	-1	264	26.4
6	Echochamber Oceanside	SE	22		26	-1	30		17	-5	24		28	-3	27	-2	23		24		25	-1	246	24.6
7	FLY X	IT	19	-4	27		30	-1	20	-1	21	-1	29	-2	30	-1	23	-1	22	-2	24	-1	245	24.5
8	HF Flying Circus	CZ	20	-2	23	-1	29	-1	22		20	-2	30	-2	29		24		20	-3	25		242	24.2
9	Purple Maze	FI	22		26		29		19	-3	21		29		27		25		21	-3	21	-2	240	24.0
9	Papea	ES	23	-1	24	-2	29	-2	19	-5	21	-2	28	-2	28		25		21	-1	22	-2	240	24.0
11	Out of the Blue	NL	22		23	-2	27	-2	21	-1	21		26	-1	26	-1	22	-1	21		22		231	23.1
12	Agera	NO	22		24		29		19	-1	23		25	-2	26	-2	23		19	-2	19	-3	229	22.9
13	Meraki	UK	17	-4	24		26	-3	22		19	-2	27		28		22	-1	23		18	-5	226	22.6
14	INIT-Y	BR	19	-2	20	-3	29		15	-4	19	-1	27		27		23	-1	23		20	-2	222	22.2
15	Realfly Fire	CH	20	-1	21	-2	26	-1	17	-2	20		27		24	-2	23		20	-1	19	-3	217	21.7
16	Bronteroc	HU	20	-1	22	-1	24	-3	18	-1	20	-1	26	-1	25	-1	19	-1	21		18	-2	213	21.3
17	FlySpot Sky4Four	PL	21		21	-1	24	-3	16	-2	21		27		25		17	-6	20	-1	20	-1	212	21.2
18	Red Bull Aerodynamix	AT	20	-1	21	-2	21	-3	16	-2	23		26	-1	25	-1	16	-3	20	-1	20	-1	208	20.8
19	Magic 4	LT	17	-1	19	-2	23		15	-4	20		27		25	-1	18	-3	19		18	-2	201	20.1

Germany's Jochen Schweizer Arena Airfource, in 5th place at the indoor world championship, will most likely not compete for Germany in Norway. Airbus Illertissen Oceanside won the national outdoor championship title last year and represented Germany at the FAI Outdoor World Championship 2022, as well.

FLY X from Italy have only two indoor meets in their records, even though the team members are highly experienced outdoor competitors at the same time. Amnesya won the national outdoor championship in 2022, which FLY X did not attend. Italy did not send a team to the outdoor world championship in Eloy last year.

HF Flying Circus competed in Eloy, as well as in Slovakia. However, the NSL News reported on May 10th that the Czech national indoor and outdoor team of the past years is taking a break from 4-way training and competition.

Purple Maze from Finland is in a similar situation as Italy's FLY X. The lineup consists of four experienced outdoor competitors, while the team has only indoor scores in their records.

FAI Outdoor World Cup 2019			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open		13,11,16		P,22,4		O,7,21		9,20,G		18,15,L		K,10,3		6,14,C		1,M,A,17		F,D,Q,8		2,5,E		Total	Avg
1	Arizona Airspeed	US	20	-1	22		28		29		21		21	-1	21	-2	29		31	-2	24	-2	246	24.6
2	SDC Rhythm XP	US	19	-1	22		25		21	-2	20	-1	20		23		25		29	-1	24	-2	228	22.8
3	Airspeed Odyssey	US	14	-2	17	-2	22	-2	21	-2	18	-1	16	-3	21		23		26	-3	17	-2	195	19.5
4	Defiance	US	17		17		21	-1	22		16	-2	15	-2	21		20	-2	26		16	-2	191	19.1
5	Aerodyne Cypres Lille-Bondues	FR	15	-1	16		19		21		16	-1	17		18		22		25		21		190	19.0
6	Echochamber	SE	17		14	-3	22		20	-3	17		16	-1	19		20		23	-1	21		189	18.9
7	Chimera	UK	14	-1	16	-1	21		19	-1	17		16	-1	18	-1	22		26	-1	18	-1	187	18.7
8	Pro Team	FI	15	-1	18		20		17	-1	17		15		18		21		26		18	-1	185	18.5
9	Kinetix	AU	14	-1	17		19		19		15	-1	17		18		19		23	-1	16		177	17.7
10	China	CN	12	-1	17		19		17	-1	14	-1	13	-1	16		20		24		15	-1	167	16.7
11	Eros	UK	12	-2	16		20		18		15	-1	13	-2	12	-4	17	-1	22		16	-1	161	16.1
12	eX3MO	IT	13		13	-2	17	-2	13	-4	12	-1	14		13		16	-1	22	-2	14		147	14.7
13	Pajama Pumas	UK	10	-2	12		17		14	-1	13		12		15		16		15	-2	13		137	13.7

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U.S. 4-way Open Class Sweep at the FAI Outdoor World Cup 2019

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The last FAI Outdoor World Cup was hosted by Skydive Arizona in October 2019. The U.S. delegation used up all four team slots in 4-way Open, and Great Britain had three teams on the 4-way Open Class leaderboard. Six teams from additional six countries traveled to Arizona, and the U.S. delegation won all three sets of 4-way Open Class medals. A total of seven teams came from Europe in 2019, Australia and China turned the event eventually into a broader international world cup.

This year's outdoor world cup is including once again the official 15th FAI European Formation Skydiving Championships at the same time. This event was a part of the FAI Outdoor World Cup 2017 at the Fallschirmsportzentrum Saar in Germany when it was held last time.

A total of 31 teams competed on the 4-way Open Class leaderboard for the world cup title that NMP PCH HayaBusa won by one point over France after only four rounds. SDC Rhythm XP won the world cup bronze medals. HayaBusa and France won the European gold and silver medals automatically, while Russia's Black Cat team won the European bronze medals.

Most likely, there will be a split again between the world cup and the European medals. Neither Arizona Airspeed nor Qatar Tigers can win European 4-way titles or medals. There is an opportunity for another European team, and teams from Russia will still be banned from participating...

FAI Outdoor World Cup 2017			1		2		3		4		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open		L,O,F,K,11		C,3,7		13,2,G		1,17,20		Total	Avg
1	NMP PCH HayaBusa	BE	35	-1	26	-1	21		20	-1	102	25.5
2	RealFly-Sion	FR	35		26	-1	20		20	-1	101	25.3
3	SDC Rhythm XP	US	33		24		20		16	-2	93	23.3
4	Black Cat	RU	26	-4	24	-1	17	-3	18	-2	85	21.3
5	bUSA Defiance	US	26	-1	22		16		17		81	20.3
6	Airbus	DE	27	-1	21		17		15		80	20.0
7	Espoir Saumur Weembi	FR	25	-2	19	-2	16		18		78	19.5
8	Papea Masculino	ES	26		19		12	-1	14		71	17.8
8	ISR FireFlash	BE	24	-1	18	-1	14		15		71	17.8
8	Barguzin	RU	24	-1	15	-3	17		15		71	17.8
11	Airheads Realfly	CH	24		20		13	-1	13		70	17.5
12	AtomiX YUU	DE	19	-2	19		13		15		66	16.5
12	eX3MO	IT	23	-1	17		12		14		66	16.5
12	Espoir Maubeuge Weembi	FR	24		17		12	-1	13	-1	66	16.5
15	Chimera	UK	21	-1	16	-1	14	-1	13		64	16.0
15	Kinetix	AU	22		17		13		12	-1	64	16.0
17	Tanay Wolves	RU	22		16		14		11	-1	63	15.8
18	Antimatter	UK	19		14	-1	13		13		59	14.8
19	NeVa	DE	20		15		11		11	-1	57	14.3
20	Out of the Blue	NL	18		14	-1	12		12		56	14.0
21	Team C4	SE	17	-1	14		12		11		54	13.5
22	Flyspot Sky4four	PL	18		14	-1	9	-1	11		52	13.0
22	Eros	UK	16		14		11	-1	11		52	13.0
24	Aurora	SE	15	-3	11	-1	11		11		48	12.0
25	Airvengers	AT	16	-1	12		10		9		47	11.8
26	Tyanno4us Rex	UK	11	-1	11	-2	8	-1	10		40	10.0
26	Atmosfera G4	PT	12	-1	10		9		9		40	10.0
28	Yingyang	UA	10	-2	12		9		6	-2	37	9.3
28	TNT	RO	13		11		6		7	-1	37	9.3
30	Tulpar	TR	8	-2	8		9		7		32	8.0
30	Cyprus	CY	12		9		6		5		32	8.0