posted Aug 10th, 2006 - The scores and many videos were posted yesterday evening, and they speak for themselves. Some additional information might be helpful to provide an even better picture of the current situation. There is enough time for it since the weather does not allow any jumping on Thursday morning.

The forecast is not very promising, and Plan B becomes a serious option. Plan B means that the teams will soon have to change their jump preparations, as an earlier NSL News story explained the rule situation. Most likely, the next round will be the semi-final with the assigned sequences for 8-way and 4-way.

There is also the possibility that there will be no more jumping at all in Gera. This would make the current top positions on the leaderboard the new world champions. At the moment, the teams have to be ready for two situations: the next upcoming round of the "selection rounds" and also for the semi-final round. The meet director will announce when he thinks that the remaining selection rounds will definitely be skipped.

The jury has decided in Spa Hayabusa's case, and the Belgian team will not get back the four points they lost in round three. The NSL News will try to get a jury member to the microphone for an explanation of the details.

DeLand Fire's stunning 28-pointer in round five has shocked the rest of the field and increased the lead to six points after five rounds. Only a miracle can take the sword away from the DeLand team. The 4-way Open Class competition is not about the gold medals any longer.

However, everything is still possible behind the leader. France made its way to the second place in the 4th round. It was the round where several teams received re-jumps due to the weather situation. Sinapsi PD had posted the highest score of the round with the 19-pointer, and France tied it with the team's first attempt.

France Gap Nice Icarius Autrement received a re-jump and scored 19 points again. Then the judges agreed to another re-jump for France when the video of the re-jump looked like the first attempt. As far as the NSL Newes remembers, it was the first time that a team received two re-jumps at a world meet.

The French veterans used the opportunity this time and improved the score for round four from 19 to 21 with an outstanding performance. The "pickup team" warms up jump by jump, has passed Italy's Sinapsi PD after round five and currently holds the silver medal position by one point. Russia is one point behind Italy in 4th place.

Airspeed and Germany got closer to France and Italy in round six of the 8-way competition. Unfortunately, both teams are running out of time and rounds to still challenge the rivals and make the competition more intersting. The weather plays to the advantage of the leaders. Chances are little that the weather will allow enough rounds for the teams in pursuit to catch up. Both duels currently have a difference of four points.

The situation in the 4-way competition of the female teams is similar compared to the Open Class. Perris Airkix' incredible 22-pointer in round five left the French team in the dust and created a 6-point lead. The British team won each round except the meet opener and controls the competition. There is no doubt any longer that Claire "Sparky" Scott will win her second gold medal after the V-Max success in 2003.

It is still raining in Germany at 10:00 am.

Teams prepare for semi-final round

It is a fact now, the "selection rounds" are history. Meet Director Dr. Rainer "Exi" Hoenle announced at 1:00 pm that the teams have to prepare for the semi-final, which brings the sequence of round nine into the game plan. The competitors went back to the creeper pad and began with new preparations.

It did not take too long until the first call for load number one followed the semi-final announcement. The ceiling of clouds has broken up, and the meet director did not hesitate to resume the competition.

The call for the semi-final round also brings the first cut. Only the best ten teams will board the Twinotters for the sequence of round nine. Spain and Canada are tied in 9th position with 84 points and closed the door for Great Britain and Sweden who are tied in 11th place with 81 points.

Spain and South Africa have been eliminated after the selection rounds in the female 4-way category with 47 and 46 points. Australia made the cut with 62 points. All nine 8-way teams will continue. Six teams will move forward into the final round in each event.

The sequence for the 4-way teams (9-O-8) is on the faster side. The 8-way teams have its own competition draw with different sequences. G-M-N-2 was drawn for the semi-final round in 8-way. The engines are running, and participants of all events have been called to the boarding area at 1:30 pm.

8-way race for slot in the finals

The scoring tables on the event pages have become smaller due to the last announcement. However, there was still a change of plans. Spain and South Africa are back in the game of the 4-way Women's Class competition. Both teams will still do round six since the meet management decided to complete one more round in this category before the first cut.

The 4-way Open Class teams will not make round six, they will go straight to the semi-finals with the best ten teams. There is no change for the 8-way teams. The first cut will come after the semi-final round, and it will be a good fight. Belgium and South Africa will be out of the competition after the next round, but two teams have an open race at the moment.

The British 8-way team Connextion is currently holding the precious 6th place with 68 points. Australia is only two points behind with 66 points and has a realistic chance to win a round by that margin. If teams are tied at cut time both teams move on. The NSL News will pay more attention to this competition for the final 8-way slot in the finals.

Update at 3:30 pm

The 6th round of the 4-way competition in the female category had just started with the first teams already on the screen when the weather window closed, and the plans needed to be changed once again.

There is not enough time left to complete the 6th round, and only the best ten teams of the Women's Class will be called for the semi-finals next.