posted Oct 5th, 2007 - Another interesting 4-way competition is coming up before the NSL Championship 2007 begins on October 26.

Military delegations of 38 nations are currently getting ready to compete at the 4th CISM Military World Games in India. CISM stands for "Conseil International du Sport Militaire", and the organization manages the international military sports events, including the military parachuting competitions.

The 2007 event is on a much larger scale, as the Military World Games include many other sports, as well. 4-way Formation Skydiving competition is one of the military parachuting events, and two world-class 4-way teams will have a showdown in a duel for the gold medals in the 4-way category.

The Golden Knights line-up, with Kurt Isenbarger, Brian Krause, Matt Davidson, John Hoover and Larry Miller on camera, compete for the US Army in India. Hayabusa Defence, with the team's World Cup 2007 champion line-up (David Grauwels, Andy Grauwels, Roy Janssen, Luc Verstrepen and Danny Jacobs on camera), represents Belgium at the military event.

The three Hayabusa members of the original line-up (David Grauwels, Andy Grauwels, Roy Janssen) joined the Belgian military service at the end of the 2006 season when Sven Ibens stepped back. It was their opportunity to train and compete as professionals, and they asked Luc Verstrepen to take the Center Inside slot. Verstrepen was already a Belgian soldier by then.

The full-time training was already very successful for Hayabusa this year, as the new line-up won the FAI World Cup 2007 in August where they defeated all European top teams, including France Maubeuge in a jump-off round. The 4th CISM Military World Games in India will be the first opportunity for the new Hayabusa line-up to take on one of the best US 4-way teams.

The Golden Knights are traveling to India as the bronze medalist of the USPA Nationals 2007 and members of the new US 8-way team for the World Meet 2008 in France. The 4-way competition in India will probably be the last serious effort in 4-way for a while. The 8-way training with Knight Trax begins already in November.

Hayabusa Defence will continue in 4-way and aims at the gold medals at next year's World Championship of Formation Skydiving in France. The USA will be represented by Airspeed Odyssey next year, and Hayabusa Defence can use the scores of the competition with the Golden Knights in India only as in indicator of the current power balance in 4-way between Belgium and the USA.

The Belgian team won the FAI World Cup 2007 with a 22.9 average after 11 rounds. The Golden Knights won the bronze medals at the USPA Nationals with a 23.0 average after 10 rounds. Airspeed Odyssey posted a 25.3 average at the same event. Hayabusa Defence can use this data and the results in India to determine the team's position compared to the best US team.

However, the Indian scores will have to be evaluated and translated carefully. The rules of the military CISM competitions are very different compared to IPC's rules for the AAA/Open Class.

The IPC dive pool is reduced and includes all 16 random formations but only a total of eight blocks (4 - 7 - 10 - 11 - 13 - 19 - 21 - 22). Each sequence begins with a Star (M), and the working time begins at the moment of the first separation of a grip from the first exit Star, or five seconds after the exit, whichever comes first.

The reduced dive pool also reduces the number of competition rounds to eight. The draw of the sequences for each competition round is also pre-determined. Each round will be drawn to consist of five scoring formations, including the exit Star. The following two scoring points will be two random formations. One of the eight blocks completes each sequence.

The rules are obviously much lighter compared to the IPC rules for the AAA/Open Class. It would be no big surprise if the two top teams in India will even beat Airspeed Odyssey's meet averages this year and get close to the 30-average level.

The competition will be held from Mi8 helicopters with tailgates. The same aircraft was used at the World Meet 2004 in Croatia. Hayabusa Defence will be well prepared for the exits and for the different competition sequences. The Belgian team used the recent training camp in Spain to focus on the upcoming competition and will get some exit practice in Belgium before the departure to India. The competition in India begins on October 14. Golden Knights member Brian Krause will provide updates for the NSL News if time allows.