posted Sep 2nd, 2023 - The 4-way competition of the German Outdoor Nationals reached conclusion after Round 8, even though the Rookie Class teams may still have a chance to complete more rounds. Meet director Helmut Bastuck finally had to begin with the 8-way competition, with only two more days left for the event. Most of the 4-way competitors were involved with the 8-way event, as well, and only the 4-way Rookie Class had no overlapping.

The 8-way coverage by the NSL News began with NSL Live Talk. The weather situation on Friday allowed neither 4-way nor 8-way for most of the day. The 8-way teams had their competition draw since Thursday night and were well prepared for the start of the competition. Members of the Airbus Illertissen Oceanside 8-way team agreed to discuss the situation at the Fallschirmsportzentrum (FSZ) Saar during the time of the weather hold.

Team captain Thomas Spielvogel invited the new members of the current lineup and introduced them to the audience. Only Thomas Spielvogel, Carl Endersand, Steffen Schiedek and team videographer Erik Lorenz continued with the team after winning the bronze medals at the FAI Outdoor World Championship 2022.

Karin Bauch, Shaline Dincher, Carola Fietz, Andreas Höhne and Holger Sass provided some details of their previous competition careers, which connect them in many different ways with other German 4-way and 8-way teams.

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NSL Live Talk with Airbus Illertissen Oceanside 8-way team

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The beginning of the 8-way competition may have come earlier than expected for teams and observers. It was at the end of Friday when meet director Helmut Bastuck detected the opportunity to finish Rounds 7 and 8 in 4-way and launch the 8-way competition next. A sunset with rainbows and parachutes in the air reflected best the weather situation that the German teams and competitors have been facing this week,

The NSL News had explained the stakes in 8-way Open with the update from Germanay on July 7th and followed up after the competition draw. The first round of the 8-way competition would show how close the two expected top contenders really were at the beginning of the competition and the qualification event for the next outdoor world championship.

There was no doubt that guest team Qatar Falcons, currently the second best 8-way team in the world, would be on the top of the leaderboard. However, the battle between Airbus and Operation Adler would be the highlight of the Formation Skydiving events at FSZ Saar, and it turned out to offer the expected excitement beginning in Round 1.

Operation Adler took a 1-point lead on Friday evening, and the same battle has continued on Saturday. The challengers won another single point in Round 2 before the well trained Airbus lineup began to keep up in Round 3. The weather has been perfect on Saturday, and several more rounds will offer more of this 8-way battle.

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NSL TV Unfiltered: Round 1 in 8-way

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German Outdoor 2023			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		11		Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Open		7,9,21		2,8,J		11,K,6		5,H,C,22		B,Q,O,1		14,15,3		A,4,10		16,13,D		F,20,19		N,E,17,G		12,M,L,18		Total	Avg
1	Qatar Falcons	QA	15		13	-1	19		18		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		65	16.3
2	Operation Adler	DE	12		11		12	-2	13		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		48	12.0
3	Airbus Illertissen Oceanside	DE	11		10		12	-1	13		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		46	11.5
4	Saar 8 SWDN	DE	7		4		9		7	-1	-		-		-		-		-		-		-		27	6.8
5	LQ macht KO's	DE	4		2		2		4	-1	-		-		-		-		-		-		-		12	3.0
6	M8-Nix	DE	1	-2	2		2		3		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		8	2.0