posted Aug 27th, 2014 - The three top teams in 4-way Open at the FAI World Championship of Formation Skydiving 2014 had a good reason to be happy with their performances after Round 1. It seems like they have already secured their medal positions and just don't know which one yet.

The only surprise might be the distance between NMP-PCH Hayabusa, Arizona Airspeed and Evolution to the other teams after only one round. Volt'R suffered two point deductions, however, even a 26-pointer would be too far away from a medal position. Russia's new Barkli lineup will also not be in the race for the medals.

The results of Round 1 are also showing how difficult it will be for Airspeed and Evolution to challenge Hayabusa. Both had good rounds, while the Belgians had a little hiccup on the first page. Hayabusa still posted the highest score for the round.

The Sun Path Products NSL News used the weather hold on Wednesday morning to invite coaches Shannon Pilcher and Solly Williams for the first session of the traditional Coaches Corner. They commented the situation after Round 1 and provided the insights.

Shannon Pilcher has been working with the Canadians for a long time and was not surprised that they are so close to the top spot. He said that the team was not surprised, as well. This also means that Hayabusa and Airspeed will have a serious challenger. The Evolution performance in Round 1 was not only a highlight.

Solly Williams said that the competition in 4-way Women will be just as close as expected. The Golden Knights won Round 1 by a point. However, the French Girls actually completed 23 points and had two point deductions. There will be another horse race.

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	AAA Class	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	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	32	32.0
2	Evolution (CA)	31	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	31	31.0
2	Arizona Airspeed (US)	31	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	31	31.0
4	VoltR (FR)	24	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	24	24.0
4	Barkli (RU)	24	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	24	24.0
6	Paratec-Saar (DE)	19	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	19	19.0
-------	-----------------------------------
7	Vision 99 (UK)	18	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	18	18.0
7	Ex3mo 4 (IT)	18	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	18	18.0
7	Dubai Asaar Black (AE)	18	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	18	18.0
10	Rotor Out (AU)	17	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	17	17.0

The Sun Path Products NSL News explained on 14 August 2014 that there will probably another good battle for the last slot in the finals, the 6th place.

This race is also in full swing after only one round. There are five teams (Paratec-Saar, Vision 99, Ex3mo, Rotor Out) separated by two points, and four of them were expected to be close to each other. Dubai Asaar Black, with Craig Girard in the lineup filling a slot, has joined the group in contention for the 6th place and the finals.

Several teams, including the VAF Warriors, are lurking the 10th place and are waiting for one team in the finals group to fall out of it. Only the best ten teams will make the first cut and compete in Round 9. The teams are still on a weather hold at noon.