posted Jun 7th, 2004 - The Norwegian national team Arcteryx is the only team in the line-up for the IPC Anton Malevsky Memorial World Cup 2004 that has not been introduced yet. This is actually not a surprise since Norway is also the nation that has gone through the most significant changes. The Malevsky World Cup 2004 will be the first competition for the current line-up with Ditta Valsdottir (Point), Ole Petter Hjelle (Center Outside), Tore Buer (Center Inside), Oyvind Buer (Tail) and Morten Sondrol (Video).

One of the biggest changes in the Norwegian Formation Skydiving competition history happened after the World Championship of Formation Skydiving, the Mondial 2003. The DeLand Norgies with Lise Aune, Pal Kolbenstvedt, Carl-Erik Tuv and Torstein Valen had dominated the 4-way competition in Norway for many years and had also grown to become one of the three best 4-way teams in the world. The same line-up won three consecutive bronze medals in 1999 (19.1 meet average), 2001 (20.6 meet average) and 2003 (20.6 meet average). It was very impressive to see a team from such a small country with limited talent resources consistently performing on the top level of the world.

However, this line-up was almost set in stone over the years and did not offer many other Norwegian competitors the perspective of a slot at any time soon. There were efforts by the Norgies to help bring up individuals to the highest performance level. The members of the national team have always been committed to forward their expertise and experiences to the new generations, especially at the famous Norwegian Basic and Advanced Camps. There was also a B-Team for a while, the "Norgie Rookies" who were training and competing with their eyes on a slot in the A-Team. The Rookies lost their interest and motivation when they had to wait too long for a chance. However, one Rookie member, Aleks Gamme, became the official alternate for the DeLand Norgies and was ready for his turn.

Other Norwegian top competitors used the opportunity of the female category to find the motivation for hard training and the drive for competition on a top level. The Norgie Girls placed second at the Mondial 2003 after an exciting competition with V-Max for the gold medal and finished with a 16.2 meet average in Gap. Team member Kristin Opøien had trained and competed with the Norgie Rookies and joined the Norgie Girls in 2002 for the pursuit of the gold medal in the Women's Class. There she became team mate of a future member of the new national 4-way team, Ditta Valsdottir.

Another Norwegian 4-way competitor went a completely different path while the DeLand Norgies, with female world class competitor Lise Aune in the center outside position, were still pursuing the gold medals in the IPC Open Class. Ole Petter Hjelle was not interested in the B-Team or other waiting positions within the Norwegian skydiving community. He went his own way and joined the international 4-way combination of Punky Fish. The Dutch 4-way competitors Paul Hofstee and Bert Hajee had launched their own 4-way project with two player coaches years ago. Punky Fish trained and competed with great success at several NSL meets. Hjelle joined the project when Hajee stepped back in 2002 and opened his scoring records with a 17.5 meet average in March 2002.

Hjelles' next appearance, this time with three players (Hajee, Hofstee and Hjelle) and coach Shannon Pilcher, was at the April meet of the Florida Skydiving League 2003. Punky Fish posted an 18.8 meet average after five rounds in DeLand. As the other Punky Fish members, Hjelle was very satisfied with his investment into this expensive player coach project. He had propelled himself up to a performance level that was significantly higher than any other Norwegian teams behind the DeLand Norgies that could have materialized in the meantime. He was also performing on a higher level than the Norwegian national team in the female category.

There was still a big hole when the DeLand Norgies decided to retire after the Mondial 2003. It was now up to the new Norwegian national coach, Lise Aune, to form the line-up of the next national 4-way team and bring it up to the Norwegian scoring level of the past. It was promising when the first forming sessions were completed at the end of last year. Three new members (Valsdottir, Hjelle and Gamme) were already well trained and highly talented. The fourth member, Oyvind Buer (26), was one of the young Norwegian talents who had already gone through the drills of the Basic and Advanced Camps in 2002 and was then selected by coach Lise Aune after the try-outs for the new team.

However, former Rookies member, Aleks Gamme, had thought about the commitment for quite a while before he finally decided to join the new team. The team made plans that included the first training camps at Skydive DeLand in the spring of 2004. Center Inside Gamme was still not completely convinced that he could go through the whole drill and made an honest decision to withdraw during the first camp. The new team was pulled back to a three-way situation but still committed to the project. Word got out that a slot was open, and there was a candidate who was eagerly waiting for this opportunity.

Oyvind Buer's 22-year old brother Tore had already filmed the new team at the previous camp. Tore Buer was a product of the same Norwegian Basic and Advanced Camps that his brother Oyvind had attended before. Coach Lise Aune and his future team mates knew about his talent and that he was eager to join the team, as well. In fact, Tore Buer simply dropped all other commitments back home, arranged things for the near future and left his home in Norway as soon as he could. He did not make it to Florida early enough to compete at the April meet of the Florida Skydiving League. That was the reason why coach Lise Aune filled the slot at the meet in Lake Wales.

The new team is now complete and in the middle of the preparations for their first competition in Russia. The couple with Hjelle and Valsdottir have formed the front piece, while the brothers are taking care of the rear piece business. The newest and youngest member Tore Buer has a big job and large foot prints to follow. Torstein Valen was the previous engine of the DeLand Norgies, and Aleks Gamme was also a very powerful Center Inside. This does not bother the new Norwegian engine, and the jumps are flowing very well, as coach Lise Aune and other team members have reported. Arcteryx scored a 15.7 meet average with Aune in April. It will be interesting to see how far the team has come in the meantime and with the original line-up. The Malevsky World Cup is less than four weeks away.