posted Oct 1st, 2023 - Qatar's Formation Skydiving delegation sent an 8-way team to a world championship for the first time in Dubai 2012. The Falcons finished in 10th place with a 10.1 average. They missed the next world meet in Prostejov 2014 and were back in 4th place two years later at Skydive Chicago 2016 with a 14.6 average.

The Falcons won their first FAI medals with coach Gary Smith and the 3rd place with a 17.0 average in Australia 2018. The 18.7 average at the FAI Tanay Mondial in Russia 2021 with new coach Jeremie Rollett was not enough for a medal position, as France was back with a strong lineup after missing Australia 2018.

The 8-way door to FAI medals opened again when the Russian 8-way team was banned from competing in Eloy 2022 and the French federation did not support a strong 8-way team any longer. Coach Jeremie Rollett now had the opportunity to even guide his Falcons lineup to the first silver medals for Qatar in Formation Skydiving competition with a 16.4 average. The situation at the 23rd FAI World Cup of Formation Skydiving was the same, as Russia has still been banned from participating at FAI events, and France did not send a national 8-way team that would be in medal contention. The Falcons brought their performance level back to the 17+ average and won the next FAI silver medals without any serious opposition.

23rd FAI World Cup of Formation Skydiving 2023			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Open		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	GKXP8	US	27		22		19		19		20		24		24	-1	25	-1	23		25		228	22.8
2	Qatar Falcons	QA	18		18		16		13		16		20		16	-3	20		20		20		177	17.7
3	Prison 9	US	16		14		12	-1	11		12		13	-1	15		16		13		15		137	13.7
4	Mojo Annecy-Clermont	FR	15		11	-1	12		8	-1	10	-1	14		12		13	-1	13		13	-1	121	12.1
5	Ap8thy	UK	11		9		10		7	-1	10		10		10	-1	11		10		11		99	9.9
6	Bra Nok XP	US	12	-3	6	-2	10		7	-2	9		10	-1	11	-2	11	-1	13		6	-4	95	9.5
7	Deton8	UK	4		2		4		0		0		3		3	-1	2		3		3		24	2.4

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Qatar's 8-way team was not done with training and competition in Europe after completing the ten rounds at Skydive Voss, as much as the two new 4-way teams (Cheetahs, Lions) continued their journey with another visit at the combined Belgian/Dutch outdoor championship.

This event did not include 8-way competition, and the Qatar Falcons traveled to Germany instead, where they took the top spot at the national outdoor championship a week after the conclusion in Norway.

It was still not the end of the visit in Europe for the Falcons, as they also had the French national championship on their competition schedule. There are not many opportunities for 8-way teams to collect competition experiences, and the French Outdoor Nationals in Gap-Tallard was near enough for another extension of the Falcons' 2023 journey in Europe.

Once again, there was not any serious opposition for Qatar's 8-way team in France. The French 8-way team that finished 4th at the outdoor world cup, Mojo Annecy-Clermont, did not even attend their national outdoor championship. The outdoor lineup of After 8 won the national 8-way title.

German Outdoor Nationals 2023			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		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		Total	Avg
1	Qatar Falcons	QA	15		13	-1	19		18		21		19		20		21		16		12	-4	174	17.4
2	Operation Adler	DE	12		11		12	-2	13		14		13		16		14		13		14	-1	132	13.2
3	Airbus Illertissen Oceanside	DE	11		10		12	-1	13		15		13		15		9	-1	12		11	-1	121	12.1
4	Saar 8 SWDN	DE	7		4		9		7	-1	6		9		7	-1	7	-1	7	-1	8		71	7.1
5	LQ macht KO's	DE	4		2		2		4	-1	4		2	-1	5		4		3		2	-1	32	3.2
6	M8-Nix	DE	1	-2	2		2		3		2		3		4		4		3		3		27	2.7

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Qatar Falcons coach Jeremie Rollett met his former 4-way and 8-way team mate Mathieu Bernier at two of the three events that the Qatar Falcons attended. Both coaches were on work duty in Norway, Jeremie Rollett only in 8-way, Mathieu Bernier only in 4-way. Then they met again in Gap-Tallard for the French national championship, once again in the same two separate events.

Jeremie Rollett and Mathieu Bernier were team mates when France was still a powerhouse in 8-way competition. They won three FAI world championship gold medals together, with the French 8-way teams in 2006 and 2008, followed by 4-way gold medals in Menzelinsk 2010, where Mathieu Bernier became the only Formation Skydiving competitor in history who won 4-way Open and 8-way gold medals at the same event.

Jeremie Rollett became the French national coach a few years later, Mathieu Bernier his successor for France when Jeremie Rollett accepted a job offer from the Qatar Formation Skydiving delegation. Mathieu Bernier is working on lifting the French 4-way teams back to gold medal contention, while Jeremie Rollett is currently still waiting for more 8-way opposition. There is no indication that a French 8-way team could challenge the U.S. world champions of GKXP8 or the Qatar Falcons any time soon, while the French 4-way teams have one year of time to catch up with Arizona Airspeed and XPG4. Jeremie Rollett and Mathieu Bernier will probably meet again somewhere on their path to the outdoor world championship in Israel 2024.

French Outdoor Nationals 2023			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Open		H,12,L,2	6,21,N	3,O,13	10,G,J,22	8,11,B	14,E,5	A,19,C,P	18,M,16	Total	Avg
1	Qatar Falcons	QA	16	18	19	19	15	14	17	19	137	17.1
2	After8 Bondues	FR	9	11	11	9	9	9	12	13	83	10.4
3	QRFO	FR	6	9	9	9	8	10	7	11	69	8.6

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Qatar Falcons at the French Outdoor Nationals 2023 - Video footage courtesy of Federation Francaise de Parachutisme

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