posted Aug 11th, 2011 - Last not least, NSL-TV launches the video aftermath of the 4way Open Class competition at the World Cup 2011. The video features Round 1 of the teams that survived the second cut and made it to the final round, plus one more team.

The German 4way team Dynamite did not make it to Round 10, despite being ahead of Sweden's national team Bardagi by one point after Round 9. Only the best six teams qualified for the final round of the World Cup, including two Russian teams. Bardagi was in 7th place but still made it to Round 10 in the European Championship where only one team per nation is eligible for medals.

Russia's second team Gradient Alpha was out of the European Championship after Round 9 but in for the final round of the World Cup. Bardagi had the 6th slot for Sweden. Dynamite neither had a slot in the final round for the World Cup nor in the European Championship. However, the 1-point advantage over Bardagi qualified the second German team for a slot with the top teams on NSL-TV...

World Cup 2011		Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Round 6	Round 7	Round 8	Round 9	Round 10	Total	Avg
Rank	4way Open	C,22,19	E,M,1,2	12,9,16	O,8,10	Q,14,5	P,17,K,18	21,L,J,13	3,11,B	20,G,H,4	N,F,A,7	Total	Avg
1	Aerodyne Aerokart	22	27	23	22	26	25	25	24	24	37	255	25.5
2	NMP-PCH Hayabusa	22	27	23	21	24	25	21	23	24	39	249	24.9
3	Paratec-Saar	16 (-2)	23	19	15	19	18	16	19	20	31	196	19.6
4	Sky Panthers Barkli	18	21	19	16	19	16	15	19	19	33	195	19.5
5	Gradient Alpha	17	21	17	13	20	20	19	18	17	27	189	18.9
6	EX3MO	15 (-1)	19	17	17	17	16	19	18	16	28	182	18.2
7	Bardagi	15	20	17	15	16	14	19	15	17	29	177	17.7
8	Dynamite	14	18	16	16	17	17	17	17	17	-	149	16.6

Once again, the penalties have now been added to the leaderboard, and it shows point deductions only for Paratec-Saar (2) and Italy's team Ex3mo (1). It was obviously not the greatest start for the German team. The team members told the NSL News that it was not a big surprise for them to see the first point deductions.

It was the designed strategy for the meet that they would push their own limits as of speed and energy input. They knew well that they would only have a chance for a bronze medal if they pushed it to the edge on each jump. They had to put up with the three Russian Sky Panthers who won the bronze medals at the World Championship of Formation Skydiving 2010, plus Leonid Kazinets in Michail Kuznetsov's slot.

Gradient Alpha, the second Russian team with a world class lineup, joined the race for the World Cup bronze medals later after a slow start. The two point deductions in Round 1 put the unoffical amateur world champions of 2010 still behind both Russian teams.

However, there was also a good side of the German 16-pointer and the two lost points. The Paratec-Saar members could see and feel that the strategy may work. They kept up with the Russian pace from the beginning and just had to get used to this pace to avoid the penalties.

The strategy was confirmed and brought the first results in Round 2 when Paratec-Saar won by two points over both Russian teams. The scores of Round 2 surely contributed to the German confidence level. There was no going back and no slowing down any longer. But there were still eight more rounds to go...

Long story in short words: It worked out well for the Germans. It was a horse race with Sky Panthers Barkli and Gradient Alpha all the way throughout the ten rounds, and it almost came to a jumpoff situation. Paratec-Saar saved a 1-point advantage over the finish line and won the first IPC 4way medals for Germany in the history of modern 4way Formation Skydiving competition, which began with the introduction of the current rules and dive pools in 1985. Congratulations to the Paratec-Saar members.