posted Feb 1st, 2010 - The NSL News has already covered the potential top contenders for the World Championship of Formation Skydiving 2010 several times. So far, the stories have mostly discussed the chances of the three medal winners at the World Meet 2008 in France, Arizona Airspeed, Aerodyne Cypres Maubeuge and Hayabusa Defence. It may have given the impression that there are no other serious contenders for this year's top spots.

It is probably the truth that these three teams will once again be the top contenders for the first three places. However, there will be underdogs, such as the Canadian LeMay family team Evolution and any Russian national team of 2010. There is also an underdog that is not really an underdog.

Italy's national team of 2010, Sinapsi, already knows how to win medals at a World Championship of Formation Skydiving. The 2006 lineup (Pete Allum - Tail, Arianna de Benedetti - Center Outside, Luca Marchioro - Center Inside, Livio Piccolo - Point, Luca Poretti - Video) won the bronze medals at the World Meet 2006 in Germany with a 22.0 average. The US team DeLand Fire won gold, France won silver. Hayabusa, with three members of the 2010 lineup, finished in 6th place.

Arianna de Benedetti then left the team, and Sinapsi took a break in 2007. The Spin Team competed for Italy at the World Meet 2008 in France. Steve Hamilton had taken Arianna de Benedetti's slot in the meantime. Sinapsi, with the three bronze medalists of 2006, was back in action, won the Italian Nationals in 2008 (19.5) and 2009 (22.5) and qualified as the national team for the World Meet 2010 in Russia.

Sinapsi also competed at the World Cup 2009 and won the bronze medals with a 21.4 average. France and Belgium won gold and silver.

Only Airspeed and Evolution of the top contenders were not present in the Czech Republic last year. Sinapsi then followed up a few weeks later with a 22.5 average at the Italian Nationals 2009.

Sinapsi is now finalizing the plans for the 2010 season. The same lineup of 2008 and 2009 will continue this year and guarantees for another top challenger at the World Meet in Russia.

Sinapsi will train this year and doesn't need much to get close to the very top level of 4-way competition. The team members are very current, extremely well trained and experienced as individuals, and the same lineup goes into its third year.

Sinapsi Tail Pete Allum informed the NSL News that the team has not trained as a team at all since the World Cup 2009. However, the individual team members have all been busy, as Pete Allum explained: "Occasionally we are all at the tunnel coaching other groups. Luca is busy in the mountains and with his DZ. Steve is coaching full time."

Full time coach Pete Allum, who works in Empuriabrava, Spain, said that he even took a month off in January after working so hard. He went snowboarding and spent as much time with his family as possible.

Point Livio Piccolo is also on a break at the moment. He and his wife Ale just welcomed baby boy Filipo to the Sinapsi family a few days ago. Congratulations from the NSL News to the growing Piccolo family.

Pete Allum said that the Sinapsi training of 2010 begins with wind tunnel training at Bodyflight Bedford. The team has scheduled 15 hours of flying time and plans to use 50% of the time to fly with their containers.

Sinapsi plans to complete approx. 250 outdoor training jumps in addition to the tunnel time. The first training camp will most likely take place in DeLand, Pete Allum's former winter home. The outdoor jumps will include camps at a dropzone with a Turbolet, the jump plane at the World Meet in Russia this year.

The last training camp will be held in Menzelinsk, right before the competition, which begins on the first week of August.

15 hours of tunnel training and 250 training jumps will most likely be enough for Sinapsi to reach the medal level. Finally, the Sinapsi shape during the ten rounds in Russia will decide whether more medals will go to Italy or not.