posted Jul 5th, 2024 - NMP PCH HayaBusa keep impressing the opponents and the audience in Hungary. The situation after Round 3 now seems to resemble previous CISM World Championships, or even the time when the Belgian signature lineup of the past decade (Dennis Praet, Jeroen Nollet, David and Andy Grauwels) were dominating the world's 4-way indoor and outdoor leaderboards.

The Qatar Tigers fell behind due to very serious video trouble. They already lost two points after the exit of Round 2, and the judges deducted four more points at the beginning of the sequence in Round 3. The point deductions are all the more surprising, as the exit rules of CISM events intend to give all teams an equal starting point, no matter which jump planes they have trained 4-way exits from.

The working time for each sequence begins with the breaking of the first Star (M), five seconds after the exit, at the latest. FAI/ISC rules have set the beginning of the working time differently since 1985: "Working Time is the period of time during which teams are scored on a jump, which starts the first moment any competitor (other than the Videographer) separates from the aircraft, as determined by the Judges." CISM teams and their videographers have five seconds to build the Star in each competition round and get ready for the maneuvers of the respective sequence.

CISM Military 2024			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Male - Top 4		M,16,E,B		M,D,F,21		M,A,C,22		M,O,19,P		M,H,L,11		M,G,N,1		M,17,K,J		M,Q,R,14		Total	Avg
1	NMP PCH HayaBusa	BE	37	1	36		30		-		-		-		-		-		103	34.3
2	Golden Knights	US	35	2	35		28	1	-		-		-		-		-		98	32.7
3	Qatar Tigers	QA	38	1	31	3	25	4	-		-		-		-		-		94	31.3
4	Papea	ES	27	2	33		26		-		-		-		-		-		86	28.7

It is not unusual that 4-way teams at FAI/ISC events do not get scoring points right after the exits, if the judges cannot see the required formation clearly enough. "Camera angle/grip visibility" is the usual explanation on the scoresheet for such a point deduction. It is unusual, however, if a trained videographer is not in place when CISM teams have used up the five seconds and break the first Star.

Five of the eight point deductions in the first three rounds of the Qatar Tigers were caused by "Camera angle/grip visibility" troubles, and it seems like another point deduction in Round 2 could be related to the same problem. The Qatar Tigers are now facing the fact that the Golden Knights are also ahead of them in 2nd place by four points.

Disregarding all point deductions on the current leaderboard, the Qatar Tigers would still be in 2nd place (102 - 101) after Round 3, two points behind NMP PCH HayaBusa (104), and all three medal positions would still be wide open.

As much as the video troubles of the Qatar Tigers are surprising, the performance of the Belgians on the top of the CISM leaderboard is even more captivating, and the Golden Knights are impressing with their performance and scores, as well. The Qatar Tigers have only five rounds left to win back at least the 2nd place in the CISM world.

NMP PCH HayaBusa lineups between 2002 and 2024

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The past three years were surely not an easy time period for NMP PCH HayaBusa, and it has been impressive to follow the Belgian rebuilding efforts time and time again. It seemed as if David Grauwels' transition to the team's camera slot went seamlessly and smoothly when Michele Silvi replaced him at inside center. NMP PCH HayaBusa won their next gold medals in Tanay 2021 with a lineup that was as talented and experienced as the previous one.

The next change was shocking when original team member Andy Grauwels decided not to continue after the outdoor world championship. Dennis Praet, Jeroen Nollet and Michele Silvi had to find a new team mate, as David Grauwels had committed to the camera slot. They selected Neal Willems for the inside center slot, while Michele Silvi switched to outside center.

It became even more shocking when Michele Silvi left the team unexpectedly after the FAI Outdoor World Cup 2023. The next recruiting campaign brought Ray Lodens into the new lineup, who is now in his first year with NMP PCH HayaBusa.

The HayaBusa delegation used all resources that they could come up with to find a way how to get back to the highest 4-way level in the world without losing too much ground. This year, they trained with two different lineups, one that targets a medal position at the FAI Outdoor World Championships 2024, the other one for defending the CISM World Championship title. Slot scrambles were necessary to accommodate the goals, and the one for the CISM competition is the most interesting one. World champion tail of 2016, 2018 and 2021, Jeroen Nollet is the CISM point, and inside center Neal Willems is in the tail slot to make room for David Grauwels in his world champion slot of 2014, 2016 and 2018. Result of the efforts is the 1st place currently in Hungary, and the results there indicate that HayaBusa will most likely be in medal contention with the FAI/ISC lineup in October, as well.