posted Nov 25th, 2024 - The NSL News reported on November 8th how "fast and clean became a necessary combination in 2005". The article covered the change of judging rules that eliminated an additional 1-point penalty deduction for each infringement. The only impact of any rules violations after the rule change was not counting the infringed formation or maneuver as a scoring point.

Practically, the punishment for a "bust" was halved from two points to one, and the rule change had a significant impact on the performance strategies of the competitive teams. Correcting mistakes and infringements, which had created cleaner leaderboards until 2005, became a waste of time and of the performance flow, and the teams began to disregard potential mistakes and the according corrections.

The potential to score higher by ignoring trouble situations and complete as many scoring points within the working time with a faster pace was the new strategy that was not even kept quiet. The rule change invited this scoring strategy, and the leaderboards became much more colorful, as the article pointed out. One result of the same rule change was delayed, as the introduction of slower-motion judging followed a few years later. It was supposed to allow the judges to generate more accurate scores after the teams and competitors adopted and used the new scoring strategy quickly and consequently.

Flyspot Open 2024			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Busts	Avg
Rank	AAA Class		21,Q,E,C		1,13,F		20,L,K,3		15,O,17		10,19,16		N,D,2,G		M,8,5		J,18,12		P,6,11		22,A,H,7		Total	Busts	Avg
1	Skywalkers Junior	CZ	35	-1	26	-2	24	-1	30		19	-2	24	-1	25	-2	17	-2	24	-1	24	-5	248	-17	24.8
2	Magic 4	LT	23	-3	25		17	-2	23		19		19	-1	19	-1	12	-4	22		24		203	-11	20.3
3	Flyspot Sky4Four	PL	24	-1	23		19		20	-1	15	-1	21	-1	19		16	-1	19	-1	15	-8	191	-14	19.1
4	Crazy Donut	PL	19	-5	20	-1	13	-2	17	-1	13	-2	17	-2	17	-1	12	-3	16	-3	17	-2	161	-22	16.1
5	Hey Halla	DK	22		16	-2	12	-1	16		13		18		15		12		18		18	-1	160	-4	16.0

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Skywalkers Junior at the Flyspot Open 2024

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The best teams in the world eventually began to master the challenge of the fast and clean combination. The progression from an amateur sport to full-time training and regular competition for the small number of teams on the top level made it possible for them to become familiar with the faster pace and be accurate enough to avoid any point deductions. Arizona Airspeed and NMP PCH HayaBusa were the leading examples for the successful combination of fast and clean in the past decade.

Indoor training also allowed all teams and competitors to move quicker, as the burden and weight of skydiving gear is not a factor in the flying chamber. At least the teams and competitors who perform in both environments, indoors and outdoors, have to switch back and forth quickly despite the significant differences.

The "amateur teams and competitors" don't have the same resources as the full-time teams in the sport and have to learn the same scoring strategies within their limited training opportunities. However, they still usually like to follow their role models and copy what top competitors and coaches are trained for and capable of. The judges are not always excited and supportive when teams try to apply the same fast and clean strategy. Colorful leaderboards are still a result of the development, and the most recent example was the one at the Polish Flyspot Open 2024.

Flyspot Open 2024			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Busts	Avg
Rank	AA Class		Q,F,C,9		2,G,7		20,K,18		J,M,1		H,14,L		4,N,O		21,13		15,6		19,E,8		A,P,22		Total	Busts	Avg
1	Panthers	CZ	25	-6	14	-4	7	-6	24		21		19	-4	15	-1	12	-4	11	-4	15	-5	163	-34	16.3
2	FS Nuts	LT	19	-3	14		11		16	-2	12	-2	15		12	-1	11		11	-1	13	-1	134	-10	13.4
3	Supra	DK	21	-1	15		8	-2	17	-1	13	-1	13	-2	10	-2	11	-1	10	-1	14		132	-11	13.2
4	Dropping Like It's Hot	DK	24		14		8	-1	14	-3	10	-2	8	-3	13		11		10	-1	15		127	-10	12.7
Rank	Rookie		A,Q,F		E,O,D		B,C,M		N,G,H		L,P,K		J,K,E		N,L,G		F,D,A		J,C,O		B,P,Q		Total	Busts	Avg
1	BZIM TIM	PL	10	-11	18	-4	24	-1	14	-3	19	-1	17	-4	12	-1	21	-3	17	-3	19	-2	171	-33	17.1
2	Sky Zone	BE	11	-4	6	-8	13	-1	10	-1	6	-4	11	-3	5	-2	17		7	-3	7	-4	93	-30	9.3

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Panthers at the Flyspot Open 2024

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The record numbers of point deductions in the ten rounds were in the 30s (34 - 33 - 30) which reduce the scoring level for a 10-round meet by three average points. The negative record numbers were posted in the AA and RRR categories. The highest total of point deductions in the AAA Class were the 22 infringements of Polish team Crazy Donut, and the winners, Skywalkers Junior, lost a total of 17 points.

Skywalkers Junior still increased their results at the first indoor meet of the winter season earlier this month from the 22.6 average at the Hurricane Factory to 24.8 at Flyspot in Poland. The 17 point deductions kept the Czech national indoor and outdoor team from finishing with a new team record average.

The Panthers won the second of the three categories for the Czech delegation in Poland. The junior team actually accumulated the highest number of point deductions for the 34 infringements. Both Czech teams were still far ahead of any opponents after all ten rounds. The Panthers performed with Skywalkers Junior member Michal Mikolasek throughout the first seven rounds, as team member Pavla Mlýnková was not ready for the competition. However, she was back in the lineup for the last three rounds on the second meet day. The Panthers also missed a new team record average after the 34 point deductions.