posted Sep 25th, 2023 - The combined AAA Class leaderboard at USPA Nationals is a different one compared to FAI/ISC events. Teams in 4-way Open and 4-way Advanced have their own leaderboards and sets of USPA medals, even though they use the same competition draw. There is no separation of teams with all-female lineups in the United States. The qualification as the U.S. national team in 4-way Women is embedded in the 4-way Open Class competition.

Combined AAA Class leaderboards at FAI/ISC events allow the integration of teams in 4-way Women on the 4-way Open Class leaderboard, as both categories apply the same competition draw, as well. There is no separation of teams according to their performance and skill level, which is the purpose of the two different categories (4way Open - 4way Advanced) at USPA Nationals.

In fact, there are actually three different kinds of gender-oriented categories at FAI/ISC events. The two official 4-way categories at outdoor events have leaderboards and sets of medals in 4-way Open and 4-way Women, while the teams with mixed-gender lineups are a not defined part of the 4-way Open Class competition. There is no female category in 8-way. The total number of 124 participants in front of the cameras in the two 4-way categories breaks down into 76 male and 48 female 4-way competitors.

23rd FAI World Cup of Formation Skydiving			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	4way Open/4-way Women		3,G,N,19		11,17,L		13,7,C		2,D,O,8		14,K,J,12		9,M,P,H		5,4,18		15,1,10		16,21,E		F,20,6		Total	Avg
1	Arizona Airspeed	US	26		27		26		25		22		48	-1	22		21		25		25		267	26.7
2	France 4-way Open	FR	23		25	-1	26		24		19		45	-1	19		19		23		23		246	24.6
3	NMP PCH HayaBusa	BE	20	-4	20	-2	25		23	-1	18	-2	45		20		19		24		24		238	23.8
4	Qatar Tigers	QA	20	-1	22	-1	23		20		19		40		13	-4	17	-1	22		19	-4	215	21.5
5	XPG4	US	21		20		20	-1	19		17		38		16	-1	16	-1	18	-2	18	-1	203	20.3
6	SDC Rhythm XP	US	18		17	-1	19	-2	19		17		38		16		17		18		18	-1	197	19.7
7	Airbus Illertissen Oceanside	DE	17	-1	18		20	-1	17		14		31	-1	15		15		18		18		183	18.3
8	Amnesya	IT	16	-1	17		19		17	-1	16		31	-1	15		14		18		18	-1	181	18.1
9	Papea	ES	14	-3	17	-1	18	-1	17		14	-1	32		14	-1	15		18		18		177	17.7
9	France 4-way Women	FR	17		15	-1	20		17		15		33		14		14	-1	14	-2	18		177	17.7
11	Qatar Cheetahs	QA	17		16		19		17		16		29		14		14		17		17		176	17.6
12	Out Of The Blue	NL	17		15	-1	18		16	-1	15		31	-4	14		13		16		18	-1	173	17.3
13	Agera	NO	15	-2	13	-2	16		18		12	-1	32	-1	13	-1	15		18		13	-4	165	16.5
14	Lightspeed XP	US	14		15	-1	17		15		12		30		13		13		15		17		161	16.1
15	Chaotic Motion VIXX	NL	15		13	-2	15	-3	16	-1	13		30	-1	12		11		15		18		158	15.8
16	Skydive Midwest NEXT	US	15	-1	11	-4	16	-2	16		13	-1	32		14		10	-1	15	-1	14	-3	156	15.6
17	Qatar Lions	QA	0		14	-1	16		18		13	-2	31	-2	15		14	-1	14		17	-2	152	15.2
18	Meltemi Oceanside	DE	12	-2	15		16		16		11		25	-1	12		12		15		16		150	15.0
19	Aurora	SE	14		14		15	-1	13	-1	12		26		11	-1	13		13	-1	17		148	14.8
20	Sequenz	DK	14	-1	12		15	-1	12	-1	10	-1	24	-1	12		11		12	-1	13		135	13.5
21	Thyra	NO	11	-1	12		14		13		11		21		10		12		12		14		130	13.0
22	NFTO	UK	11	-2	11		12	-1	12	-1	11		25		10		10		12	-2	13	-1	127	12.7
22	LUX	NL	12		11		13		13		10		23		10		9		11		15		127	12.7
24	Whitefish	AU	11	-1	10	-1	14		13	-1	11		20	-1	9	-2	11		12	-1	15		126	12.6
25	SNE Fly Girls	US	13		11		15		11	-1	10		21	-1	11		11		9	-2	11	-1	123	12.3
26	Alola	UK	11		12		13	-1	12	-1	10		20	-4	11		10	-1	11	-1	11	-1	121	12.1
27	ALIS	UA	11		10		9	-2	11		10		20	-1	9		9		10	-1	14		113	11.3
28	Grumsen	NO	12	-1	9	-1	12	-2	13		10		21	-3	7	-2	10	-1	10		8	-3	112	11.2
29	DNF	UK	11	-1	9		12		11		9		21		9	-1	9		8	-1	10	-2	109	10.9
30	4igami	NL	8		8		8		9	-1	8		14	-1	7		7		10		11	-1	90	9.0
31	4Reigners	UK	9		8		7	-1	9		7		16	-1	7		0	-10	8	-1	10	-1	81	8.1

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Grey: All Male (10), Magenta: All Female (7), Yellow: Mixed Gender (14)

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The mixed-gender lineups had once again the majority with 14 teams. Ten teams had only male members, seven teams competed in 4-way Women, where male videographers are eligible on camera. Only two of the teams had female videographers (France, SNE Fly Girls). All male lineups had male team members in the camera slot, as well. Only Dutch 4-way Open Class team Chaotic Motion VIXX had Fanny Hopmans on camera.

The currently two best 4-way teams in the world, Arizona Airspeed and the French 4-way Open Class team, have selected only male team members for their lineups, including the camera slot. The national coach in France, currently Mathieu Bernier, is selecting the members of the national teams, while Arizona Airspeed recruit any team members by themselves.

French and U.S. national teams in 4-way Open both have traditionally all-male lineups, France with no exceptions, the United States with four (Dawn English, Natasha Montgomery, Eliana Rodriguez, JaNette Lefkowitz).

The next two teams in the world's current 4-way Open Class ranking, NMP PCH HayaBusa and Qatar Tigers are in a different situation. They are military full-time teams who compete annually at the military CISM world championships.

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Qatar Tigers - SDC Rhythm XP - Papea at the 23rd FAI World Cup of Formation Skydiving - Video footage courtesy of InTime/FAI/ISC

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The military CISM events divide male and female competitors rigorously into 4-way Male and 4-way Female, and there is no open class or any category for mixed-gender lineups. National teams who compete for their countries at CISM and FAI/ISC events both have to select their team members accordingly. Spain's national team Papea is in the same situation as NMP PCH HayaBusa and Qatar Tigers.

The two other Qatar teams (Cheetahs, Lions) are a part of the country's military delegation and follow the same CISM pattern. No female CISM teams have yet competed at FAI/ISC outdoor events, neither in 4-way Women, nor in 4-way Open. The U.S. Army's 4-way Women lineup of the Golden Knights won the FAI gold medals in this category at the FAI Outdoor World Championship 2016, with SDC Rhythm XP member JaNette Lefkowitz in the lineup.

Six of the Top 10 teams on the combined FAI/ISC leaderboard have all-male lineups, including the three CISM teams. XPG4 are moving their way up on the combined leaderboard and finished in 5th place at the 23rd FAI World Cup of Formation Skydiving in Norway. The French 4-way Women team, with Godeleine de Saint Just on camera, took the last Top 10 position, tied with Papea and one point ahead of the Qatar Cheetahs. The best two teams with mixed-gender lineups (Airbus Illertissen Oceanside, Amnesya), both with a 3-1 combination, placed 7th and 8th for Germany and Italy respectively.