posted Apr 26th, 2007 - It is now a fact, the NSL News will cover the Malevsky Cup 2007, once again live from the event site in Stupino, Russia. The Malevsky Cup 2004 was the first of the annual high-profile events in Russia that the NSL News covered live. It is well worth for the NSL website visitor to review the information of the previous events in the NSL Archives. Scores, stories and videos are still available there.

The Malevsky Cup competitions have always attracted some of the best teams in the world to Russia. It is not only the biggest jackpot of prize money for the winners that makes the event so special. It is also the unique combination of professional meet management and entertainment that has not been matched yet in the history of high-profile skydiving competitions.

The related NSL News stories of the past years have already provided a lot of information about the event in Russia, and the tradition of NSL News coverage will continue at the Malevsky Cup 2007.

The first year of the Malevsky Cup in 2002 prepared the event to become a solid part of FAI sanctioned Category A competitions, as the bi-annual World Championship of Formation Skydiving and the annual FAI World Cup. The Malevsky Cup brought great value to the FAI quality level and was officially sanctioned for the first time in 2003.

The Malevsky Cup was an official FAI World Cup in 2003, 2004 and 2005. The same event was an FAI International Cup in 2006, even though timing was critical with the World Meet 2006 in Germany finishing just a week before the start of the Malevsky Cup 2006.

FAI Anton Malevsky Memorial International Cup 2007 4 - 6 July 2007, Stupino - Russia The NSL News coverage of the Malevsky Cup 2007 is brought to you with the help of:

This year, Russia is hosting two FAI Category A events in Stupino. The Malevsky Cup 2007 is scheduled for July 2 - 8, and the FAI World Cup 2007 follows on August 5 - 9. The FAI World Cup 2007 serves as the official European Championship 2007 at the same time.

The timing is critical once again, and some of the top teams in the world will have to choose one or the other of the two high-profile events. The three US top teams have already decided which event they will attend. Airspeed Odyssey, Team Fastrax and the Golden Knights have the Malevsky Cup 2007 on their event schedule, not the World Cup 2007.

This means that the NSL News will finally report the ultimate US showdown in Russia before the same three teams will fight it out for the one and only slot as the US national team for the World Meet 2008 in France. The USPA Nationals 2007 is the qualification event, and the three US teams have the same main focus on this event on September 8 - 10 at Skydive Chicago.

Timing was the main factor for Odyssey, Fastrax and Golden Knights. The World Cup 2007 is too close to the USPA Nationals 2007 and would not allow the top US teams enough time to recover from the trip to Russia, make adjustments and re-focus, as each team confirmed already earlier this year.

Each team wanted to attend another high-profile competition as a final test under realistic pressure at the right time. The Malevsky Cup 2007 offers the perfect opportunity this year.

The first FAI event in Russia will also be the second real showdown between the three US top contenders. Airspeed Odyssey, Team Fastrax and the Golden Knights already competed directly with each other at the FSL Shamrock Showdown 2007 in March. The results at the Malevsky Cup 2007 will provide the same three teams with the second set of data and information four months later. Then there will be the months of July and August to make the final adjustments before the main 2007 event for the US teams at the beginning of September.

However, the Malevsky Cup 2007 will not only be the next showdown for the three US top teams. The best Russian 4-way teams will surely make a great effort to defend the home turf successfully. Two Russian 4-way teams, Black Cat and Extreme.RU, are currently holding the official FAI world record for a single round after their 44-pointers last year. The NSL News reported the world record jumps live from the Malevsky Cup 2006.

Another Russian team is also holding the world record of the highest 10-round average at an FAI sanctioned event. The 24.1 average was posted by Sky Panthers Barkli at the Russian Nationals 2006. Extreme.RU and Black Cat were not even the Russian national team of 2006. Sky Panthers Barkli competed for Russia at the World Meet 2006 in Germany, and the same line-up was already back in action at the World Challenge 2007 this month.

It is very likely that the three US top teams might face very strong opposition by three Russian world-class teams at the Malevsky Cup 2007. This year's 4-way competition in Russia will be just as tight and fierce as it has been and will be in the USA. There is also only one slot for Russia at the World Meet 2008 in France.

The Malevsky Cup 2007 seems to offer three special athletic attractions at the same time: the Russian Showdown, the US Showdown and the battle of two 4-way powerhouses USA - Russia. In addition, there is the usual professional Malevsky Cup meet management and the entertaining show effects. The NSL News will be there for the on-line audience.