posted Aug 17th, 2006 - The story of round ten and the new 4-way world record is long and exciting. It begins in 2002 when France scored 42 points at the Coupe de France de Vol Relatif in Pujaut, France, and took the record away from Airpeed. The 42-pointer stood for a long time. It took four years until it would be improved by two points.

Other teams had already scored higher before yesterday, as DeLand Fire and Spa Hayabusa this year, or tied the standing world record, as Sky Panthers Barkli at the Russian Nationals 2006. The higher scores did not count since the events were not sanctioned by the IPC rules, and a team has to score higher for a new world record.

In addition, the circumstances need to be right, the opportunity is not always there at the sanctioned events. It requires the best teams in the world to coincide at a sanctioned event with a sequence that is fast enough. The circumstances include the mental and physical condition of the top teams at the right time.

The Malevsky Cup 2006 was sanctioned by the FAI/IPC, and the sequence of round ten was fast enough to offer the right opportunity for the top teams. The outcome was still different than expected. Black Cat was ready for the challenge, but Fastrax and France missed the opportunity, while Extreme.RU peaked with perfect timing.

Adding to the drama, three members of the French team, Julien Losantos, Davide Moy and Erwan Pouliquen, had the chance to defend their own world record yesterday in Stupino. France Gap Nice Icarius Autrement was in good enough shape after winning the silver medals in Germany last week and getting even stronger round by round in Russia.

France was on the way to the world record scoring level in round ten, even after a troubled exit. However, a few little flaws interrupted the flow, added to the lost time after the exit and stopped the scoring too early for a new world record. The sequence was also slower in the air than it appeared to be on the ground, as Fastrax realized with a different engineering. In fact, each top team prepared a different way how to perform the fast sequence.

The NSL News story of the new world record begins with a short visit with the judges who were able to rest for a little while before the world meet sequence would appear on the screen. Event judge Gail Bradley, Judy Celaya, Rina "BWB" Gallo and Dr. Rainer "Exi" Hoenle were quite relaxed when they prepared for the job. Click here to see the video.

The story continues with an interview before round ten. Former DeLand Majik 4-way world champion Joey Jones was done jumping with Thunder when the team did not make into the final round. He took the time to visit with the NSL News and evaluate the situation before the teams boarded the plane for round ten.

Joey Jones expected the three top teams to post the highest scores. However, he saw only France and Black Cat as the challengers of the standing world record. Nobody had Extreme.RU on the list when it came to the potential world record candidates. The video of the interview with Joey Jones can be viewed by clicking here.

The NSL News then followed the teams around and observed their final preparations for the last round. Team Fastrax was filmed by Norman Kent and Steve Redinbo. Norman Kent was in Russia to collect footage for a Fastrax documentary soon to come on the Discovery Channel. Fastrax and Extreme.RU were together on the same load, while France and Black Cat boarded the next plane.

The French team members were very relaxed when they observed Black Cat and the unique Russian engineering on the creeper pad. Finally, France did the jump preparation on the creepers, as well, and then headed toward the boarding area. The video of the final jump preparations can be viewed by clicking here.

Next step for the NSL News coverage of round ten was similar to everybody else - waiting for the conclusion. The large screen in the public viewing area was the place to be after capturing the videos for NSL-TV. The audience had to wait for a while since the judges had to share the judging room with the CReW judges who were busy with their last round.

Finally, it was time for the showdown, and the hangar was packed. IPC's Chair of the FS Competition Committee, Fiona McEachern, and FAI Controller in Russia, Marylou Laughlin, were in the middle of the crowd, as well. This turned out to be very helpful for the NSL News when a question related to the rules for world records occured.

The six teams in the final round scored according to their previous standings - with one exception. Extreme.RU, with Vladimir Akopov, Maxim Tikhomirov, Alexander Tychinskiy, Nikolay Vylegshanin and Sergey Yalpaev in the line-up, jumped up to an unkown scoring level.

It was not new that Extreme.RU was able to break the 20.0 average level and post impressive scores. The Russian team had already completed the 10-round meet at the Russian Nationals 2006 with a 21.3 average. However, the fastest sequence in June (H-O-G-9), where Sky Panthers Barkli tied the world record with a 42-pointer, brought only a 33-point score for Extreme.RU and did not indicate that the team would perform so well in a fast sequence.

Thus, the new world record was all the more surprising, and Extreme.RU earned the credit from the audience that the team deserved for the cleanest performance of all teams. Fastrax was shocked and now threatened in the team's 3rd place and the $5,000 position. However, the 36-pointer was confirmed by the judges without point deductions, and the bronze medal position was secured.

France was next on the screen, and the Extreme.RU members watched with greatest interest and apprehension. Finally, and after France's 40-pointer, only Black Cat was left to score higher. It was a slow start for the best Russian team at the Malevsky Cup, but the scoring picked up at the second half of the jump. Black Cat did not get any further than Extreme.RU and wrapped up the Russian world record sweep.

The NSL News and the audience were not quite sure where to put two identical world record scores in the same round. According to the FAI/IPC rules, it is not possible for a team to tie a world record, and Extreme.RU was practically the first team that scored the 44-pointer.

Fortunately, the FAI/IPC officials were right there with the correct answer. It is possible to have two world record holders if they tied their scores at the same event and in the same round. It is now the first time in the history of modern Formation Skydiving competition that two teams are holding the new world record of 44 points.

The Russian crowd in the audience was surely excited when Extreme.RU and Black Cat succeeded, and it took quite a while for all cheers and congratulations. The defending world record holders from France were in the first row to congratulate their successors when the judging was completed. The video of the viewing on the large screen and the following scenes can be watched by clicking here.

The 2006 season has brought the Russian 4-way Formation Skydiving competition to one of the highest points in history. The Sky Panthers already won a bronze medal at the World Meet 2004 in Croatia. The World Meet 2006 in Germany did not bring a set of medals to Russia. However, two Russian teams now own the new world record of 44 points.

In addition to the 4-way world record, a third Russian team, Sky Panthers Barkli, posted the highest meet average in history with the 24.1 at the Russian Nationals 2006. Black Cat's 24.0 average at the Malevsky Cup 2006 is the second highest average in the history of Formation Skydiving competition.

Black Cat outscored France by eleven points, and it was the same French team that won the silver medals at the World Meet in Germany last week. Only one job remained undone for the world class Russian 4-way teams. The Excalibur sword remains in US possession.

Even though the Russian teams have brought their performance level to the very top of the world, DeLand Fire won the FAI World Championship of Formation Skydiving 2006, and the sword will rest in DeLand for two more years. The Russian teams will have the next opportunity to complete the job in two years.