posted Oct 10th, 2011 - NSL-TV finishes up the 8way coverage of the World Cup 2011 with the competition videos of Round 9 and the last and complete extended leaderboard. The point deductions in the final round did not have an impact on the standings for any of the teams. However, the final round of the competition still created the most controversial situation of the whole event.

It turned out that Round 9 would be the last round in 8way, as the weather deteriorated minute by minute, while the 8way teams tried to finish the competition. Round 9 was barely completed, as the last videos of of the 8way competition show. Very strong winds kicked in while the last two teams, Aerodyne Maubeuge and Golden Knights, landed from their jumps.

The meet management waited for a while to see if wind and rain would give the teams a break and a chance for the last round, but there was absolutely no way to get any teams back in the air. The 8way competition was over after nine rounds, and the Golden Knights had turned the 1-point deficit after Round 8 into a 1-point victory after Round 9.

World Cup 2011		Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Round 6	Round 7	Round 8	Round 9	Total	Avg
Rank	8way Open	7,M,15	8,14,D	5,18,J	B,9,2	Q,K,12,20	21,A,F,10	1,4,E	13,P,H,6	L,19,17	Total	Avg
1	Golden Knights	23	18	18	19	23	21	25	20	19	186	20.7
2	Aerodyne Maubeuge	21	18	19	18	23	19	29	21	17	185	20.6
3	Sky Panthers Barkli	17	15	14 (-2)	17	16 (-3)	15 (-1)	19	19	15 (-2)	147	16.3
4	Germany EADS	15 (-1)	13	14	9 (-4)	16	15	22	15	14	133	14.8
5	Switzerland VIVA	15	11	12	14	15	14	18	14	-	113	14.1
6	UK Brit Chicks	10 (-1)	10 (-1)	11	11	13	11	15	13	10 (-1)	104	11.6
7	Germany Südwest	12	9 (-1)	8	10	11 (-1)	11	12 (-2)	12	11	96	10.7
8	Russia Phoenix 11	11	8	9 (-2)	11	10	11	9 (-3)	11	6 (-3)	86	9.6
9	Netherlands M8Trix	8	6 (-1)	9 (-1)	6 (-2)	9 (-1)	8	9 (-2)	11	8	74	8.2
10	Germany Saar 8	7	7	4 (-2)	7	3 (-2)	5	5 (-3)	8	6 (-1)	52	5.8

The NSL News discussed the judging situation of Round 9 in 8way extensively on 9 August 2011, and a few other stories covered the same topic, as well. The audience has another opportunity to review all videos of Round 9 and go back to this 8way thriller.

A thriller it was - even disregarding the judging drama in Round 9 where the Golden Knights could hardly be seen on the video at the end of the working time. The French team had just taken the lead for the first time in this competition after winning Round 7 by four points and then Round 8 by one point.

Team members said that they were looking forward to the fast sequence of Round 10. They had just outscored the Golden Knights by four points in the other fast sequence of Round 7. They expected the US Army team to perform well in the technically challenging sequence of Round 9, as the US team was much better trained this year.

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French national coach Jeremie Rollett had given 4way the number one priority in 2011 since his national lineup had a new member, and it would be challenging to keep up with NMP-PCH Hayabusa and Arizona Airspeed's new lineup. The scores at the Valentine's Meet 2011 showed clearly how much work was waiting for the French 4way team.

Jeremie Rollett's decision worked out well in 4way, as Aerodyne Aerokart won the World Cup gold medals over Hayabusa. He also thought that his 8way team, with several world champions of 2006, 2008 and 2010, would be able to maintain a top performance level without much training. His 8way lineup made less than 100 jumps in 2011.

It was actually surprising how well the French 8way lineup kept up with the Golden Knights, while the four members of the 4way lineup battled with Hayabusa at the same time. Jeremie Rollett was already satisfied with the results of his 2011 plan. However, now his 8way team was one point in the lead, and the whole French delegation wanted to win in 8way, as well.

The French team was not surprised that the Golden Knights performed better in Round 9, won the round by two points and took the lead back by one point. They counted on their team's passion for the fast rounds and were confident to make the last and most important move in Round 10.

The sequence of Round 10 (3-C-11) had the potential to shake up the leaderboard. It would not be as fast as the world record sequence of Round 7, which only did not produce even higher scores due to flaws by both top teams, but it was fast enough to easily eliminate a 1-point difference.

It did not happen. Round 10 never had a chance when rain, thunder and lightning took over in Saarlouis-Duren. The meet was over, and the Golden Knights had the 1-point lead after Round 9. The French delegation was disappointed, and the controversial judging of Round did not make it easier to digest the final results. However, the French coach and competitors were good sports and accepted the better performance of the Golden Knights in Round 9 with congratulations. Emmanuel "Manu" Sarrazin said it all in a note posted in the poll's forum and acknowledged that the Golden Knights deserved the gold medals: "Hello, the GK was the fastest team in Round 9, their jump was more fluid and they had two more points. They were the best, congratulation :-) Belle bataille. Manu Sarrazin".