posted Jun 19th, 2011 - The NSL News story on 6 April 2011 reported a Thunder nightmare at the World Challenge 2011 when the opening round went south with a painful 13-pointer.

The Belgian/Dutch Thunder lineup reacted and recovered quickly. The team had worked its way back up to the 10th place at the end of the first day and never looked back after Round 6.

Thunder attended the first outdoor competition this weekend at the Tomscat Trophy 2011 and won with an impressive 20.1 average after eight rounds. The weather in the Netherlands allowed only the completion of eight rounds. The Thunder average would most likely have been even higher, as two faster sequences were coming up in Round 9 (P,A,9,15) and Round 10 (O,N,6,7).

Tomscat Trophy 2011		Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Round 6	Round 7	Round 8	Total	Avg
Rank	AAA Class	20,14,K	M,4,D,F	Q,18,G,2	B,1,5	3,10,17	13,E,19	L,8,12	22,16,21	Total	Avg
1	Thunder	18	32	21	21	18	18	17	16	161	20.1
2	Netherlands Whooops	13	22	14	13	10	12	12	12	108	13.5
3	Netherlands Ignition	10	18	11	12	11	9	10	11	92	11.5
4	Netherlands Turbulence Unloaded	10	12	10	12	9	9	9	8	79	9.9

Thunder had already shown in Round 2 that the team likes a fast sequence and that it is good with it. The 32-pointer for Round 2 (M,4,D,F) was not only the highest score of the meet. It was also the highest score for single round ever in the history of the Tomscat Trophy. The Dutch national team of 2010, Dynamic Fource, held the previous highscore of 27 points.

Dynamic Fource will continue to be in the book of Dutch records, no matter what. They 2010 lineup had scored a new national 4-way record for a single round at the World Championship of Formation Skydiving 2010 with the 44-pointer in Round 3.

Thunder is not eligible for national Dutch records anyway, even though the Tomscat Trophy is the most relevant annual event in the Netherlands. Thunder consists of two Belgian competitors (Wesley Claessens - Point, Sven Ibens - Center Inside) and two Dutchmen (Jacco van Eerden - Tail, Paul Hofstee (Center Outside). However, the Tomscat Trophy has its own book of records.

There is also a Tomscat Trophy record streak that is very impressive and remains uninterrupted. Thunder member Paul Hofstee, member of the Dynamic Fource lineup at the World Meet 2010 in Menzelinsk, has won the gold medal at the Tomscat Trophy for the 17th consecutive time.

He won the first gold medal at the inaugural event in 1995 with a 12.5 average, which included a 19-pointer for a new Dutch record score for a single round. This weekend's 20.1 Thunder average is not the highest result in the event's history. Dynamic Fource won last year with a 20.6 average after five rounds.

The 2010 competition draw had a very similar sequence (N,4,H,O) for the highest score in Round 1. This year's 32-pointer (M,4,D,F) came up in Round 2. However, Paul Hofstee now still owns the Tomscat Trophy record average of 20.6 and also the new highscore for a single round. The 20.6 average mark would have needed better weather this year...