posted Aug 30th, 2024 - The NSL News reported on August 20th that British 8-way team Ap8thy will represent the country at the FAI Outdoor World Championships 2024, after qualifying with the tied 1st place at last year's national outdoor championship, and then sharing the 1st place again earlier this month, even after an extra round.

The preview of the 8-way competition at Crystal Coast on August 22nd pointed out that British 8-way team MicroClim8 had been dominating this event in Great Britain for a decade since 2014. Ap8thy is now a brandnew team on the 8-way leaderboard of an outdoor world championship.

Team speaker Liz Ashley explained to the NSL News that the world championship experience is even totally new for all team members. She said that "almost every British 8-way team at a world meet this century has shared team members with the one before it". The first NSL Power Rankings for the event in October then followed up by seeding Ap8thy in a position that indicates a competition with the 8-way team Brazil in the expected positions on the 8-way leaderboard.

FAI Outdoor World Championship 2024			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Open Power Rankings		TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	Total	Avg
1	GKXP8	US	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2	Qatar Falcons	QA	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
3	Operation Adler/Airbus	DE	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
4	Ap8thy	UK	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
4	Netunos	BR	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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Ap8thy at the FAI Outdoor World Cup 20023 - Netunos at the Brazilian Outdoor Nationals 2024

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Ap8thy members are familiar with international 8-way competition though, as some of them have been attending world cups over the years. Ap8thy themselves joined the British delegation at the FAI Outdoor World Cup 2023, Groomed competed with Ap8thy members at the FAI Outdoor World Cup 2019.

The international history of Ap8thy members reaches as far back as to the FAI Outdoor World Cup 2007 where Sounds Grrr8 competed for the British delegation in Stupino, Russia. Ap8thy members also attended several other world cups in the 4-way events.

The 8-way team Ap8thy was launched in Round 1 of the British national outdoor championships of 2022, which was the team's first jump together. Liz Ashley said that the name was a "nod to our lack of training and not taking ourselves too seriously". The first Ap8thy figured out the 8-way exit after a few rounds, then ended up in 3rd place with a British bronze medal.

British Outdoor Nationals 2022		1	2	3	4	5	6	Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Open	A,L,K,11	16,E,B,H	1,2,7	4,N,15	6,J,C,3	M,F,21,20	Total	Avg
1	MicroClim8	13	14	12	14	14	12	79	13.2
2	Micro Climb In	10	9	8	14	12	7	60	10.0
3	Ap8thy	5	8	7	9	9	7	45	7.5
Rank	8-way Intermediate	4,B	13,J	N,6	18,G	K,21	14,P	Total	Avg
1	Micro Climb Out	1	2	2	1	3	1	10	1.7
2	Fell8	1	1	0	0	0	0	2	0.3

The 7.5 starting average was encouraging, and the team members began to realize that they really enjoyed themselves. MicoClim8 won their last British 8-way title as the same event and did not continue after the FAI Outdoor World Championship 2024. The door was open for a new national 8-way team.

Ap8thy followed up a year later at the FAI Outdoor World Cup 2023 where they raised the performance and scoring level by more than two average points (7.5 - 9.9) followed by 10.4 and the tie with Aeolus in 1st place of the British outdoor championship last year, then with Skywars and an extra round earlier this month.

Preparations for the 8-way representation of the British delegation at the upcoming outdoor world championship at Crystal Coast was not easy for Ap8thy. Indoor training for an 8-way team is almost impossible in Great Britain, and they had to visit Weembi Lille in France for this purpose.

The 2024 lineup have a total of 37 jumps from air planes together, and they needed an alternate at the national championship after an injury. There is only one training weekend scheduled before the trip to North Carolina, and Apathy might not be the most trained 8-way team, while Liz Ashley expressed the team attitude for the event: "We might not be the most trained team but we intend to have the most fun in NC."