posted Jan 23rd, 2007 - The NSL News published the last update from Norway on September 2, 2006. It covered last year's national championship and wrapped up the 2006 skydiving season for the Scandinavian country, which has produced world class 4-way teams and competitors for decades.

The name of the current Norwegian national 4-way team, Arcteryx, is not new to the NSL News audience. The performance and progress of the team was covered on a regular basis ever since the new line-up was put together at the end of the 2003 season. Very attentive readers may already have detected the team name at the FSL Shamrock Showdown 2007 list, as well.

The Arcteryx progression was consistent and impressive. The line-up with Tore Buer (Center Inside), Oyvind Buer (Tail), Ole Petter Hjelle (Center Outside), Ditta Valsdottir (Point) and Mikjel Skurdal (Video) delivered a 21.0 average at the World Meet 2006 in Germany and finished in 5th position.

Arcteryx' Center Outside, Ole Petter Hjelle, mentioned already shortly after the end of the competition in Germany that this was not the end for his team: "We don't know exactly how we will continue, but we know that the team will be back even stronger."

The team's winter break is over now, and the winter/spring training in DeLand is already in full swing. However, the line-up has changed, which was obviously not a surprise for the team, according to Ole Petter Hjelle's comments after the World Meet 2006.

Oyvind Buer, who flew in the rear piece together with his younger brother Tore, did not come back after his three years with Arcteryx. The NSL News invited the Norwegian team recently to the NSL office for a live interview, and Tore Buer explained what his brother is doing these days. The video of the interview can be viewed by clicking here.

The personnel change brought new slots for Ole Petter Hjelle and Ditta Valsdottir. Only Tore Buer keeps his Center Inside position. Ole Petter Hjelle will join him in the rear piece as the Tail, while former Point Ditta Valsdottir has taken the Center Outside slot. She will fly the front piece with the new team member in the Point position.

Derek Broughton is the new Arctery member who made it successfully through thre last stages of the whole Norwegian selection process last year. He is from Oslo, 26 years of age and has a total of approx. 3,300 jumps. He had little 4-way experience when he decided to enter the selection process for the 4-way national team.

In fact, he was a world class competitor in Freeflying when he decided to go back to belly-flying. Derek Broughton was already a member of the same Norwegian delegation that represented the small Scandinavian country at the World Meet 2006 in Germany. His Freeflying team, Action Force, finished in 8th position of 16 teams in Germany.

His move from Freeflying to 4-way competition was obviously a surprise for many observers. It was also a surprise that Arcteryx selected a world class freeflyer for the open slot.

The Norwegian team was already competing on a performance level quite close to medal positions, and other Norwegian veteran 4-way competitors were available for the slot, as well.

Ditta Valsdottir, Ole Petter Hjelle and Tore Buer were impressed with Derek Broughton's outstanding individual skills and his positive and competitive attitude. They provide the background of their thought process for the selection of the new team member in the NSL-TV interview.

The new Acteryx line-up with Point Derek Broughton completed the first two weeks of the training camp before the interview, and the team had already a good idea of the potential after 120 training jumps. Coach Gary Smith and the team members all knew that it was no surprise that the performance and scoring level would not be right away where it was in August 2006.

The new line-up and the new slots needed time for adjustments and for a learning process. However, each team member and Gary Smith confirmed that it will not take very long at all until Arcteryx will be back to the same performance level. The scores at the FSL Shamrock Showdown 2007 might already be very similar to the ones of the 2006 season.

Derek Broughton is very excited about the perspectives and the new challenges. He liked his competition career in Freeflying, however, he feels much more challenged in many ways. The NSL News was very interested in his feedback after switching from Freeflying to 4-way competition, and he has no regrets at all, as the interview shows:

"4-way is the best", was his very first answer to the very basic question how he likes 4-way.

His Arctery team mates did not necessarily expect such an answer and showed their own excitement when Derek Broughton answered this NSL News question without hesitation. He had much more to say, and his feedback provides great insights of the basic ingredients that make 4-way competition so special:

"It is so much energy compared to Freeflying. For instance, it's what I really like mostly, that you can use all of the energy that you have, instead of holding back so much. It's just extremely fun and cool to get into a team where everyone is a pro, and I just learn so much."

His team mates enjoyed again to hear these positive comments. Derek Broughton is surely in a situation where the learning process can be much quicker compared to a more traditional approach. He confirmed that his Freeflying skills are now even beneficial for the 4-way training. He added that 4-way competition is also much more competitive than Freeflying:

"Yes, it is definitely more competitive, and it is also more hard work, I believe. To get to the top level, it takes more hard work. Maybe that is because of the dynamics in a team. Timing between each other and individual skills of all team members are very important."

The interview with Arcteryx also includes a brief discussion of the IPC rules, as the NSL News story on January 19 covered possible upcoming changes. The Norwegian team was in the middle of the challenging situation at the World Meet in Germany. The NSL News will follow up on the IPC meeting and the progress of the new Arcteryx line-up.