posted Jan 24th, 2015 - The Wind Games 2015 are over after the completion of the second five rounds on Saturday, and NMP-PCH Hayabusa remains undefeated at indoor meets.

It was the second competition for new member Jeroen Nollet, who took the tail slot from Roy Janssen and had his first competition as a full member at the 5th Dubai International Parachuting Championship.

Hayabusa's new lineup had met Canada's bronze medalist of the World Meet 2014 in Prostejov, Evolution, at the 5th DIPC 2014 and had to accept the 2nd place behind the only team of the Top 3 in the world who continued with the same lineup. The new Hayabusa lineup now crossed swords with the silver medalists of Prostejov, as well, and finished ten points ahead of Arizona Airspeed.

World Meet 2014		Rd. 1	Rd. 2	Rd. 3	Rd. 4	Rd. 5	Rd. 6	Rd. 7	Rd. 8	Rd. 9	Rd. 10	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open	E,3,C,5	F,6,D,21	19,H,2	M,4,1	O,14,A,P	8,J,16	7,11,12	22,20,15	17,G,18	13,B,9	Total	Avg
1	NMP-PCH Hayabusa (BE)	32	29	25	25	33	25	22	18	26	29	264	26.4
2	Arizona Airspeed (US)	31	27	25	24	31	23	22	17	24	29	253	25.3
3	Evolution (CA)	31	28	24	22	28	23	20	21	25	27	249	24.9

The results of the two last events where NMP-PCH Hayabusa, Arizona Airspeed and Evolution competed with their current lineups indicate the starting point into the next 2-year cycle that concludes with the World Championship of Formation Skydiving 2016 at Skydive Chicago.

The assumption that it could become a horse race over the 2-year period does not seem to be far off, and the 4-way fans will probably be able to enjoy great competition and an exciting race for the gold medals in 2016.

It is a fact that the three top contenders have moved closer to each other just a few months after the world meet. Evolution in 3rd place had finished 15 points behind NMP-PCH Hayabusa in Prostejov. Both teams switched positions in Dubai, and Hayabusa was 11 points behind the Canadians.

5th DIPC 2014		Rd. 1	Rd. 2	Rd. 3	Rd. 4	Rd. 5	Rd. 6	Rd. 7	Rd. 8	Rd. 9	Rd. 10	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open	Q,5,6	F,22,18	19,8,21	4,16,K	14,A,H,17	B,12,E,3	O,J,15,L	C,20,N,G	M,9,P,7	11,1,10	Total	Avg
1	Evolution (CA)	27	21	18	22	27	24	33	27	34	19	252	25.2
2	NMP-PCH Hayabusa (BE)	26	22	18	22	19	24	32	27	32	19	241	24.1

The last piece of the puzzle was added to the 4-way equation today, when NMP-PCH Hayabusa outscored Arizona Airspeed by ten points at an indoor competition. The Belgians still maintained the upper hand over Airspeed at this point in time and keep the clean indoor record since 2011.

The Canadian team did not compete at the Wind Games and has not announced the plans for the next two years yet. However, the aftermath could result with the conclusion that Evolution is the top 4-way team in the world at the moment. Evolution defeated Hayabusa in Dubai - Hayabusa outscored Airspeed at the Wind Games = Evolution is the strongest of those three teams.

Of course, the formula is not that easy, even though it is probably close to the truth at this point in time. In fact, the same three teams might be closer to each other than the current numbers indicate.

Wind Games 2015		Rd. 1	Rd. 2	Rd. 3	Rd. 4	Rd. 5	Rd. 6	Rd. 7	Rd. 8	Rd. 9	Rd. 10	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open	C,17,6	3,4,M	F,11,15	D,2,5	J,13,N,K	Q,1,O,P	19,22,B	10,7,9	14,G,H,16	L,E,8,12	Total	Avg
1	NMP-PCH Hayabusa (BE)	33(-1)	28	31	32	32	36(-1)	28	29	29	26(-1)	304(-3)	30.4
2	Arizona Airspeed (US)	32(-1)	30	30	29	34	32(-5)	24(-3)	30	29	24(-3)	294(-12)	29.4

The scores at the Wind Games alone deserve some interpretation. The extended leaderboard, including the highscores for the ten rounds and the point deductions, provides a slightly different picture. Airspeed lost a total of 12 points in the judging room, while Hayabusa had only three point deductions.

Both teams are moving with the same pace, and the new Hayabusa lineup is a step ahead and more familiar with this speed. Airspeed has some cleanup to do before the judging at the next meets, the upcoming Paraclete XP Indoor and Outdoor Championships 2015. Thomas Hughes' broken hand must have had its own impact on the team performance and surely did not make it much easier for Airspeed.

At the same time, Evolution is sill on vacation, while Hayabusa and Airspeed have begun challenging each other. The Canadians cannot wait for too long if they want to maintain their potential head start. It has been an exciting start into the new 2-year cycle...