posted Nov 16th, 2009 - The Norwegian 4-way teams Arcteryx, Nexus and Frost were covered quite frequently by the NSL News this year.

Arcteryx was Norway's national team of the past years and competed once again, and probably for the last time, at the World Games 2009.

Nexus was the new official national team of 2009 and represented Norway at the FAI World Cup 2009. Frost was a player coach project team that competed at the ESL Championship 2009.

Frost and Nexus competition videos at their international events were featured with the NSL News story on 16 September 2009. Finally, the story on 20 October 2009 presented the new national 4-way team until 2012, X3M4S, after the members were officially selected last month.

The team members (Marianne Nordlund, Yngve Haugom, Kjetil Nordin and Tore Granmo) are not new to each other at all. In fact, they already trained and competed together in 2008 under the same team name. X3M4S of 2008 had already posted a 17.0 average at the World Challenge 2008 in Bedford, as the new NSL-TV video shows this performance.

However, the lineup parted at the end of the 2008 season and continued in 2009 with the two mentioned teams, Nexus and Frost. The original lineup still had another showing this year when all members attended the June meet of the Norwegian 4-way Cup.

The selection of the new Norwegian national team in October eventually brought the original team members back together, first as four of the six candidates, then eventually as members of the new official national 4-way team after the selection process.

The team is already in full action - at least in the virtual skydiving world. The Norwegian winters are long, and team member Kjetil "Rookie" Nordin used his down time already in 2008 to develop a very team specific computer game.

He explained to the NSL News that his team had a computer game programmed and named after it in 2008. The X3M4S Game features many familiar teams and faces, such as Arizona Airspeed, Hayabusa Defence, Babylon, Skywalkers, Arcteryx, Fortitudo, Dynamic Fource, Sequence, Tora Tora, DeLand Majik, Steve Hamilton, Rez, and many more. He added that the game takes place at dropzones all across the world: DeLand, Reykjavik, Texel, Maubeuge, Eloy, some Norwegian DZs, and also at the Bodyflight Bedford wind tunnel.

He said that it is an amateur game that relates to the skydiving world: "It is fun when you can recognize people."

The game plan introduces the team members and lets the player pick one of the team members as a character. Then the skydiving journey into the virtual skies begins and follows a similar pattern as the famous Mario game does. The NSL News did not get very far due to very poor game skills. There are probably many more unexplored features.

Kjetil "Rookie" Nordin gets very excited when he explains more of the game:

"It also features several elemental power combinations, powered by Aerodyne, and of course, the Arcteryx Helpers. Also, there are many many formation references hidden across the levels. You need to find Diamonds, and the ultimate Stairstep Diamond. You'll encounter enemies such as the Donut, Captain Hook, Monopod, Unipod, Eye, Phalanx, Murphy and his Murphy Flakes, Yuan Cannons, and the Tora Tora bombards you with Ritz, Icepicks, Hammers and Cranks. And if you're really lucky, you'll get a Star!"

Well, it all sounds very exciting, and the link to the virtual 4-way team fun can be found at the game's website. It is probably a good tool for weather days, as well, not only for the long Norwegian winters. Hopefully, X3M4S will soon be able to follow up with real 4-way action...