posted Oct 26th, 2005 - The 4-way Open competition has also found its best team in the world at the moment. Nobody really questions after the completion of six rounds that Airspeed Odyssey with Eliana Rodriguez, Craig Girard, Andy Delk, Brian Johnson and Will Pesek on camera will win the competition.

Odyssey has posted the highest scores in each round except round two, and it would be no surprise if it continued that way. The Airspeed team is in the middle of a dream competition, which reminds on the performance of the French 4-way team Maubeuge in Gap 2003, the Golden Knights at the USPA Nationals in 2002 or DeLand Majik in Croatia 2004.

Viewers were waiting on the second day for at least DeLand Fire making a move or for a weakness by Odyssey. Neither happened. Odyssey does not seem to be bothered a bit by the fact that the team has very long days with 8-way in the morning and 4-way in the afternoon. To the opposite, the team members seem to enjoy it a lot.

DeLand Fire on the other end is simply not able to make a move of a dimension that would bring a change. The new US national 4-way team has been performing well, without too many major mistakes or flaws. Two Fire points got lost in the judging room, which would have reduced the difference to currently five points. However, it just does not look as if any team can step up to the Odyssey pace and energy level.

DeLand Fire members explained the difference in very few words: "Training helps..." The DeLand team has made eight training jumps between the USPA Nationals and the FAI World Cup, while Odyssey has been in full training mode. DeLand Fire will probably have to settle for a battle with the Russian team Black Cat for the silver medals. The Fat Lady sings only after round ten, however, it is difficult to imagine that Odyssey could be threatened by any team on site in Eloy.

Black Cat seems to be the strongest Russian team once again. The former Sky Panthers have won each competition with its Russian rival team Extreme.RU this year. Extreme.RU is currently five points behind DeLand Fire and Black Cat, followed by Fastrax, which is two points behind Extreme.RU.

Both Fastrax and Extreme.RU seem to be too far away for a chance to get to the bronze medal position. Extreme.RU lost touch with Fire and Black Cat in round five, and Fastrax was hit even harder in round six. Fastrax was only one point behind the Black Cat in third place and two points behind DeLand Fire after round five. This promising position got completely lost in round six with a 17-pointer, which meant a loss of six points to the two teams ahead in only one round. It will be hard work for Fastrax to move back up to where the team was before round six.

Nothing has changed in the midfield. Norway's Arcteryx continues to show the best performance in team history and has secured the 6th position, which would guarantee the completion of ten rounds, including semifinals and finals. Germany would be the contender for the precious 6th place but seems to be too far away, despite a great showing, as well.

The third Russian team, SkyLight Barkli, is the penalty record holder in Eloy. The team has already lost ten points due to infringements and would have been a serious threat for Arcteryx and the 6th place. The Norwegian team on the other hand is one of the cleanest performers in the whole field.

The Danez perform and score on the team's highest level ever. The current position is according to the drastically reduced training schedule. The 18.5 average after six rounds does not allow the Danez to challenge the well trained teams from Norway and Germany at this point. However, the Danish show in Eloy will probably motivate the team to continue with its efforts.

The UK national team, the British Army, does not face any pressure from the other two UK teams with its 16.0 average. In fact, the Brazilian team CTR Optimum has successfully caught up and passed UK's 4Motion and South Park and moved up between the British Army and the other two UK teams. It's a tight battle for the 12th place.

Lithuania's Magic 4 continues with a very consistent performance and four 11-pointers in a row. The team brought a little trophy as a gift for Airspeed members who helped with coaching. Craig Girard tested the unique trophy, and it was a little bit too small for the tall Odyssey member. He might pass it on to his kids...

Round seven of the 8-way competition is scheduled for Wednesday morning, and Airspeed has to defend its 2-point lead against the French team. The page with previous meet jumps has been updated. Stay tuned.