posted Jul 22nd, 2024 - The NSL News covered the travel agenda of the Qatar Lions and the Qatar Cheetahs with their coaches Gary Smith and Luc Verstrepen on July 19th. The two 4-way farm teams of the Qatar delegation usually travel together to training camps and competitions when they leave their country.

The Qatar Formation Skydiving delegation actually has three different travel agendas. The national team in 4-way Open, Qatar Tigers, and their coach Andy Grauwels make their own plans that were mentioned in the previous 4-way updates after the CISM World Championships.

The third separate schedule of the 8-way team Qatar Falcons is in the hands of French coach Jeremie Rollett, 8-way world champion of 2006 and 2008. Jeremie Rollett became the French national coach after winning additional FAI 4-way gold medals in Menzelinsk 2010 before taking over the 8-way coaching of the Qatar Falcons from Gary Smith.

The whole Qatar Formation Skydiving delegation has become one of the world's powerhouses ever since, and the 8-way team Falcons have worked themselves into the silver medal position behind GKXP8 after the 4th place in 2016, first bronze medals in 2018, first silver medals in 2022. Once again they seem to be the strongest contender for the 2nd place behind GKXP8 this year.

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 Falcons at the German and at the French Outdoor Nationals 2023

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The Qatar Falcons still continue trying to move closer to the world's 8-way top level, even though they seem to be secure in their silver medal position at the moment. Russia and France used to have 8-way national teams who would claim FAI medals in this Formation Skydiving competition category.

Russia and France may come back to FAI/ISC events some day with 8-way teams just as strong as they used to be, and the Qatar Falcons want to be ready to keep up with them. They have made it to the medal level in the past only if one of the other three 8-way powerhouses did not send strong 8-way teams to the outdoor world championships.

However, the Qatar Falcons have been lifting their performance and scoring level consistently since the first 8-way team was formed and guided by the current coaching staff. They won their first bronze medals on the 16+ scoring level in 2018 and ended up 4th in Tanay 2021 with 18+ after the seven rounds and behind Airspeed XP8, France and Russia. Now they have been on the 17+ level consistently in 2022 and 2023, and at least the 18+ level can probably be expected for this year's competition results.

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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Operation Adler - Airbus Illertissen Oceanside at the German Outdoor Nationals 2023

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The 2024 season is better suited for most of the teams who plan to attend the FAI Outdoor World Championships 2024. The Qatar Falcons competed first at the FAI Outdoor World Cup last year and followed up at the German Outdoor Nationals, then at the French Outdoor Nationals.

They copy the travel agenda of 2023 in the reversed way, which makes more sense due to the timing of the three events. The national outdoor championships in France (August) and Germany (September) allow the Qatar Tigers to use the results of the two competitions to make final adjustments before the outdoor world championship in October.

This year, the French national championship takes place before the German Outdoor Nationals, where the Falcons will meet once again the two best and most competitive German 8-way teams, Operation Adler and Airbus Oceanside Illertissen, for their next showdown and the qualification to the outdoor world championship a month later. The Falcons will meet only one of the two German 8-way teams in North Carolina, and the audience at GoJump in Gransee will probably watch two of the world's 8-way medal contenders at the event. The NSL News will cover the 4-way and 8-way action once again live from the competition site in Germany before following up live from North Carolina.