posted May 6th, 2023 - The aftermath of the FAI Indoor World Championship 2023 continues with the part of the 4-way Open Class leaderboard that was promising the tightest and most competitive situation before the event even began with Round 1.

Five teams battled round by round for the highest positions behind the four medal contenders, and also behind the Jochen Schweizer Arena Airfource from Germany, who distanced themselves from the same five teams and finished closer to the Qatar Tigers than expected.

There was only a 6-point difference between Echochamber (Sweden) in 6th place and Purple Maze (Finland) and Papea (Spain) who finished tied in 9th place. All five teams shared the ten highscores between each other, and Echochamber took the top position by one point over FLY X in Round 10.

The same five teams had eventually created enough distance to the next group of teams (Out Of The Blue, Agera, Meraki, INIT-Y) that all Top 10 positions were taken without a similar battle for the last Top 10 slots.

FAI Indoor World Championship 2023			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open		E,14,3		K,F,22,17		O,7,5		N,2,18		L,P,12,15		M,10,D,H		16,9,C		1,G,J,8		4,Q,21		6,20,A		Total	Avg
1	Arizona Airspeed	US	27		35		39		27	-2	31		38		38		29		28	-1	31		323	32.3
2	France 4-way Open	FR	27		33		38		26	-2	28		33	-3	35		28		30		30		308	30.8
3	NMP-PCH Hayabusa	BE	26	-1	30		33	-3	26	-3	28		37	-1	37		28		29		30	-1	304	30.4
4	Qatar Tigers	QA	24		29	-1	32	-1	26		25	-3	32		30	-2	26		25	-1	26	-1	275	27.5
5	Jochen Schweizer Arena Airfource	DE	22	-2	28	-1	33		22		25		30	-2	31		24		24	-1	25	-1	264	26.4
6	Echochamber Oceanside	SE	22		26	-1	30		17	-5	24		28	-3	27	-2	23		24		25	-1	246	24.6
7	FLY X	IT	19	-4	27		30	-1	20	-1	21	-1	29	-2	30	-1	23	-1	22	-2	24	-1	245	24.5
8	HF Flying Circus	CZ	20	-2	23	-1	29	-1	22		20	-2	30	-2	29		24		20	-3	25		242	24.2
9	Purple Maze	FI	22		26		29		19	-3	21		29		27		25		21	-3	21	-2	240	24.0
9	Papea	ES	23	-1	24	-2	29	-2	19	-5	21	-2	28	-2	28		25		21	-1	22	-2	240	24.0
11	Out of the Blue	NL	22		23	-2	27	-2	21	-1	21		26	-1	26	-1	22	-1	21		22		231	23.1
12	Agera	NO	22		24		29		19	-1	23		25	-2	26	-2	23		19	-2	19	-3	229	22.9
13	Meraki	UK	17	-4	24		26	-3	22		19	-2	27		28		22	-1	23		18	-5	226	22.6
14	INIT-Y	BR	19	-2	20	-3	29		15	-4	19	-1	27		27		23	-1	23		20	-2	222	22.2
15	Realfly Fire	CH	20	-1	21	-2	26	-1	17	-2	20		27		24	-2	23		20	-1	19	-3	217	21.7
16	Bronteroc	HU	20	-1	22	-1	24	-3	18	-1	20	-1	26	-1	25	-1	19	-1	21		18	-2	213	21.3
17	FlySpot Sky4Four	PL	21		21	-1	24	-3	16	-2	21		27		25		17	-6	20	-1	20	-1	212	21.2
18	Red Bull Aerodynamix	AT	20	-1	21	-2	21	-3	16	-2	23		26	-1	25	-1	16	-3	20	-1	20	-1	208	20.8
19	Magic 4	LT	17	-1	19	-2	23		15	-4	20		27		25	-1	18	-3	19		18	-2	201	20.1

---

Echochamber Oceanside - FLY X - HF Flying Circus at the FAI Indoor World Championship 2023, video footage courtesy of FAI/InTime

---

Four of the same five teams were expected to finish in the Top 10 positions after the last adjustments of the NSL Power Rankings on April 11th. Gary Smith and Kirk Verner had agreed to move up the Italian national team FLY X to the group of Top 5 contenders, and their thoughts were confirmed with the 7th place.

In fact, the last update of the NSL Power Rankings was showing the Top 10 positions in perfect order, with one exception.

Meraki, the British national team, did not finish where they were expected, and Purple Maze took the Top 10 position instead. Meraki ended up in 13th place, exactly where Finland's national team came from.

Sweden's Echochamber could have cleared themselves from the Italian challenger more than they did without six very unusual point deductions in Round 3 and Round 6. The InTime scoresheets are showing "camera angle/grip visibility" as the explanations for the six penalties.

This usually happens only at outdoor competition where the videographer is a full team member. The team cannot score a point if the videographer does not show the whole formation or block maneuver in frame. The situation is very different at an indoor competition.

FAI Indoor World Championship 2023			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open Power Rankings		TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	Total	Avg
1	Arizona Airspeed	US	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2	France 4-way Open	FR	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2	NMP-PCH Hayabusa	BE	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
4	Qatar Tigers	QA	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5	Jochen Schweizer Arena Airfource	DE	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5	Echochamber Oceanside	SE	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5	FLY X	IT	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5	HF Flying Circus	CZ	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5	Meraki	UK	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5	Papea	ES	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
11	INIT-Y	BR	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
11	Out of the Blue	NL	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
11	Purple Maze	FI	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
11	Realfly Fire	CH	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
15	Agera	NO	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
15	Bronteroc	HU	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
15	FlySpot Sky4Four	PL	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
18	Magic 4	LT	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
19	Red Bull Aerodynamix	AT	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Indoor teams don't have a team videographer, and the top camera provides the video footage for the judges, as defined in the FAI/ISC rules:

"Video equipment refers to the equipment installed in the wind tunnel by the organizer specifically for the competition. The video equipment will be placed in the wind tunnel in such a location as to ensure that all members of the team are visible. The location and field of vision must be approved by the Chief Judge and the FAI Controller."

Echochamber suffered the six point deductions for "camera angle/grip visibility" when the team floated up to a higher level within the working time, where the top camera did not show the complete formations/maneuvers within the frame that the judges are looking at. The video evidence had to be considered insufficient for judging purposes, which is defined in the rules as a reason for "re-performances":

"Where the video evidence is considered insufficient for judging purposes, a re-performance will be given unless the Video Review Panel determines that there has been an intentional abuse of the rules by the team, in which case no re-performance will be granted and the team will receive the minimum score for that performance."

The situation in the two Echochamber rounds is not really covered by the rules, and Echochamber did not get a re-flight, even though there surely was no intentional abuse of the rules. The teams are expected to perform at a level that allows the top camera to record the complete performance.

FAI Indoor World Championship 2023			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open		E,14,3		K,F,22,17		O,7,5		N,2,18		L,P,12,15		M,10,D,H		16,9,C		1,G,J,8		4,Q,21		6,20,A		Total	Avg
1	Arizona Airspeed	US	27		35		39		27	-2	31		38		38		29		28	-1	31		323	32.3
2	France 4-way Open	FR	27		33		38		26	-2	28		33	-3	35		28		30		30		308	30.8
3	NMP-PCH Hayabusa	BE	26	-1	30		33	-3	26	-3	28		37	-1	37		28		29		30	-1	304	30.4
4	Qatar Tigers	QA	24		29	-1	32	-1	26		25	-3	32		30	-2	26		25	-1	26	-1	275	27.5
5	Jochen Schweizer Arena Airfource	DE	22	-2	28	-1	33		22		25		30	-2	31		24		24	-1	25	-1	264	26.4
-	Highscores 6th to 10th	-	23		27		30		22		24		30		30		25		24		25		260	26.0
6	Echochamber Oceanside	SE	22		26	-1	30		17	-5	24		28	-3	27	-2	23		24		25	-1	246	24.6
7	FLY X	IT	19	-4	27		30	-1	20	-1	21	-1	29	-2	30	-1	23	-1	22	-2	24	-1	245	24.5
8	HF Flying Circus	CZ	20	-2	23	-1	29	-1	22		20	-2	30	-2	29		24		20	-3	25		242	24.2
9	Purple Maze	FI	22		26		29		19	-3	21		29		27		25		21	-3	21	-2	240	24.0
9	Papea	ES	23	-1	24	-2	29	-2	19	-5	21	-2	28	-2	28		25		21	-1	22	-2	240	24.0

The 6-point loss did not hurt Echochamber's positioning in the Top 10. They still finished one point ahead of FLY X, who had an even higher number of point deductions (14) than Echochamber (12) without any video problems.

The Swedes would have neither been able to threaten the German Airfource with the additional six points. The German national indoor team separated themselves early from the other Top 5 contenders and had their eyes more on the Qatar Tigers, as the NSL News reported on May 1st.

Even the combined forces of all other expected Top 5 contenders between 6th and 9th place would not have been enough to take away the 5th place from the Germans.

The total of the highest scores per round between Echochamber, FLY X, HF Flying Circus, Purple Maze and Papea would still only generate 260 points, compared to the 264 for Airfource, including their own seven point deductions. The German Airfource earned their 5th place and moved Germany from 9th place at Weembi Lille in 2019 to the well deserved 5th place in Slovakia.