posted Jun 29th, 2004 - The training day did not get many teams in the air in Stupino. The skies cleared up in the later afternoon. Some teams had used the challenging weather conditions earlier for a last test. However, most of the teams decided to stay on the ground, and none of the top teams stressed too much over missed training opportunities. The weather was perfect when the judges finally called teams and competitors for the briefing and competition draw at 7:30 p.m. The schedule for the first competition day on Tuesday had the 4-way competition as the meet opener at 9:00 a.m.

The draw is obviously not a very fast one and requires good engineering skills, as some of the 4-way experts commented. The teams went to work right after the draw was published and delivered to the team captains. France Maubeuge did not need much time to prepare the first jumps. The team quit the work day quite early and then relaxed at the bar restaurant on site. The bus shuttle took the teams back to the hotel around 9:00 p.m.

The weather was not much better Tuesday morning. Overcast skies and some rain slowed things down at the drop zone. Sinapsi PD, the Italian national team and one of the three serious medal contenders of the Malevsky Cup, finally arrived Monday night. Team member Marco Arrigo took a chance Tuesday morning when he accepted a ride with the Majik van from the hotel to the drop zone. Majik members Solly Williams, Doug Park and Gary Smith used the unique opportunity to prepare Arrigo for the meet in their own way, while Joey Jones drove the vehicle. However, there was a witness for the torture...

Skies over Stupino cleared enough for the eager host around 10 a.m., and they sent the first MI-8 load into the cloudy Russian skies. However, the clouds came back and covered up the sun while the teams were boarding the helicopter. The pilots still gave it a try but had to give up after a short circle around the airfield. The meet is back on a weather hold with a good chance that round one will get re-started soon. The NSL-TV will use the meantime to create some video files of yesterday's training jnumps.