posted Sep 2nd, 2011 - Eight rounds have been completed at the German Nationals 2011, and Paratec-Saar had to accept another round without the highscore. Final Four DeLand stole another point and reduced the deficit to nine points with the team's first sole highscore for a round in this meet. However, the national team with substitute and a switched exit slot is still performing so solidly that nobody seriously considers a change on the very top of leaderboard in the last two rounds.

This does not count for the ongoing race for the 2nd and 3rd place where one of the three teams will end up without a medal. Final Four DeLand is the best trained team, and a silver medal finish would only be logical. It would still be an upset for the 4way and 8way veterans in the Dynamite and Mixed Fource Remscheid lineups.

The internal ISB Air race between Petra van Overveld (Paratec-Saar) and Anne Heinrich + Pia Weingart (Mixed Fource Remscheid) is not the only interesting one. Husband (Henning Stumpp - Dynamite) and wife (Petra Baerenfaenger - Final Four DeLand) are also battling hard for the silver medals.

German Nationals 2011		Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Round 6	Round 7	Round 8	Total	Avg
Rank	AAA Class	1,8,21	N,H,F,9	B,5,O,16	A,19,13	7,J,2	3,20,18	L,15,12	22,P,4	Total	Avg
1	Paratec-Saar	14	37	21	14	17	15	15	15	148	18.5
2	Final Four DeLand	14	30	20	15	18	13	13	16	139	17.4
3	Dynamite	14	31	18	14	19	12	14	14	136	17.0
4	Mixed Fource Remscheid	12	31	20	15	18	13	13	13	135	16.9
5	Usual Suspects	12	26	16	14	16	10	12	13	119	14.9

The Usual Suspects tied Remscheid's 13-pointer in Round 8 and are actually running under Plan D in Germany this weekend. The NSL News found out the story behind the different team name. Team videographer Erik Lorenz explained that the original lineup was actually in full training swing until a few weeks before the national championships.

Team member Katharina Gebele then had to undergo an urgent back surgery, and her doctor did not give permission to jump any time soon. Plan A was dead. Former Hayabusa member Luc Verstrepen has been coaching the Usual Suspects this year, and he was the best choice to fill in for the Plan B. Unfortunately, he was called to a NATO maneuver at the time of the German Nationals, and Plan B was dead, too.

The remaining Ususal Suspects asked their coach more or less jokingly whether he possibly knew of another Hayabusa member who might want to fill the slot. Point Dennis Praet was available and surprisingly agreed. The Usual Suspects now had a good Plan C.

It still was not the end of this story. Andrea Jongebloed came down with a bad tooth two weeks before the competition and needed serious treatment. Her dentist told her that there was no way for her to be jumping in the next six weeks. That was the end of Plan C.

The two Plan A members with Plan C sunbstitute Dennis Preat did not have much hope any longer for an appearance at the German Nationals this year. Then Kai Wolf showed up at the competition site in Kassel-Calden und spontaneously agreed to help out. His jumpsuit was shipped per express mail from California to Germany, and he borrowed gear for the ten rounds. Now the Usual Suspects could not resist to name themselves Plan D...

The bad luck had some good sides, as well. Plan A member Katharina Gebele is the on-line correspondent for the host, and she knows what she is talking about. Her meet reports are interesting and up-to-date. Only Plan A member Andrea Jongebloed seems to be bored. She is killing the downtime playing cards between the rounds. However, the Plan D vibes are great, and the Ususal Suspects are still somehow complete in Kassel-Calden...