posted Apr 12th, 2024 - Arizona Airspeed's Niklas Hemlin explained during the NSL Live Talk conversation yesterday that his team traveled to China early to accommodate, train and be ready for the much anticipated indoor duel with the French challengers, the Aethers.

He expected just as much as French national coach Mathieu Bernier and his national 4-way team that Aethers would be able to compete with their complete lineup, after a successful recovery of the team's outside center Tom Mattoni from his injury during the training camp before the Shamrock Showdown 2024. Tom Mattoni needed more time for the recovery, and Aethers announced a few hours after the NSL Live Talk with Niklas Hemlin that he would not be able to compete at the indoor world cup in Macau.

Mathieu Bernier himself was able to continue with Aethers in Tom Mattoni's slot at Skydive DeLand, and the French national team in 4-way Open completed all ten competition rounds in the expected 2nd place behind Arizona Airspeed. Mathieu Bernier is not stepping in again for the indoor competition in China, which Aethers will still attend despite the unfortunate incident. He has a different solution for the situation in China, which may turn out even better than his own emergency substitution at the Shamrock Showdown outdoor competition. Nephtys member Pamela Lissajoux is taking Tom Mattoni's outside center slot and has already completed some indoor training with Aethers.

FAI European Indoor Championship 2018	1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
4-way Women	G,12,20		F,16,22		N,E,D,21		17,L,4		18,14,O		19,2,5		7,15,Q		6,B,M,P		K,11,9		8,H,J,C		Total	Avg
Aerodyne Weembi Girls	25		30		39		29	-3	25	-1	27		33		45		32	-1	38		323	32.3
FAI European Indoor Championship 2018: Pamela Lissajoux (Outside Center), Christine Malnis (Point), Clementine Le Bohec (Inside Center), Sophia Pecout (Tail)
France Indoor Nationals 2018	1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
4-way Open	7,Q,13		L,H,O,1		3,19,F		15,A,8		N,K,17,18		6,M,B,4		C,E,12,11		J,2,20		P,9,16		10,D,G,21		Total	Avg
Aerodyne Weembi Girls	29	-2	37		31		28		33		33		29		26	-1	35		29		310	31.0
France Indoor Nationals 2018: Pamela Lissajoux (Outside Center), Christine Malnis (Point), Clementine Le Bohec (Inside Center), Sophia Pecout (Tail)

---

French Girls at the FAI European Indoor Championship 2018

---

Pamela Lissajoux was in the same Twin Otter morning load at Skydive DeLand that ended with an off-landing for both teams and Tom Mattoni's injury. She competed with her 4-way Women team at the Shamrock Showdown, while Nephtys had no plans for the indoor world cup in China. She was able to step in for Tom Mattoni after returning from Florida and when it became clear that Aethers' outside center could not be ready early enough for indoor training and competition.

Outdoor substitute Mathieu Bernier is the current French national coach and not a trained 4-way competitor at this point in time any longer, after his unique career as a 4-way and 8-way competitor and world champion. This is very different compared to Aethers' new substitute, Pamela Lissajoux, a professional musician and world class 4-way competitor of many years.

Nephtys' outside center knows the open Aethers slot much better than the national coach who was in the point slot at his active time. She has also performed on a scoring level that only a small group of 4-way competitors in the world have been at. In fact, Pamela Lissajoux was in the French 4-way Women lineup that posted the highest scores and averages in the history of 4-way Women competition. The French Girls of 2018 (Pamela Lissajoux, Clementine Le Bohec, Christine Malnis, Sophia Pecout) set new standards in their event and matched the scoring and performance level of most of the 4-way Open Class teams in the world.

FAI European Indoor Championship 2018			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	AAA Class		G,12,20		F,16,22		N,E,D,21		17,L,4		18,14,O		19,2,5		7,15,Q		6,B,M,P		K,11,9		8,H,J,C		Total	Avg
1	Aerodyne Realfly	FR	25		29		39		31		26		26		32	-1	45	-1	33	-2	38	-2	324	32.4
2	Aerodyne Weembi Girls	FR	25		30		39		29	-3	25	-1	27		33		45		32	-1	38		323	32.3
3	Black Cat	RU	23		31		36		32		25	-2	26		32	-1	46		30	-2	35	-2	316	31.6
4	Echochamber	SE	21	-1	26		34		27		23		23	-1	29	-2	38	-1	27	-2	35	-1	283	28.3
5	Airheads	CH	21	-2	26		35		26	-1	22	-2	23		29		40	-1	28	-2	32	-4	282	28.2
6	Amnesya	IT	21	-1	28		29	-2	22	-3	24		22		29	-1	39	-2	27	-2	38	-3	279	27.9
7	Volto	UK	21		24		32	-1	25		20	-1	20	-1	25	-3	40		30		28	-3	265	26.5
7	Bubble Trouble	RU	17	-3	25		30	-2	24		23		23		24	-2	39		26	-3	34		265	26.5
9	ACM Weembi	UK	19	-1	24		29		24	-1	20	-1	22		29		35	-2	25	-2	28	-3	255	25.5
10	Team X	SE	19	-1	24		29	-2	24	-1	19		22		26		31	-2	24	-2	27	-2	245	24.5
11	No Mercy	PL	18	-1	20	-2	24	-3	20	-1	19		19	-1	27		32		23		23	-2	225	22.5
12	Voss Vind Girls	NO	15		19		22		17		16		16		19	-2	26		22		25		197	19.7
13	FlySpot Sky4Four	PL	16	-1	18	-1	20	-3	19		17		16	-1	21		25	-2	21	-1	20	-4	193	19.3
14	Skydive University Slovakia	SK	14		18		21	-1	17		15	-1	14	-1	19	-1	27		21		25		191	19.1
15	Norway	NO	13		14	-1	19	-1	13	-2	14		15		16	-2	26		19		15	-3	164	16.4

---

France 4-way Open - France 4-way Women at the FAI European Indoor Championship 2018

---

Mathieu Bernier selected Pamela Lissajoux for the French national team in 4-way Women in 2015, and she has won numerous French and international indoor and outdoor titles sever since, including FAI world championships and world cups. The 2018 lineup of the French Weembi Girls performed on a 30+ indoor level that Aethers with Tom Mattoni have recently entered, even though it still does not match the 32.4 record average at the FAI European Indoor Championship 2018.

The 33.8 average of Aethers at the Wind Games 2024 in February was boosted by a 53-pointer for the fast sequence (G,E,9,Q) in Round 2, while the Weembi Girls of 2018 had no Super Sequence or anything similar when posting their 32.3 average in Norway.

Only one team outscored the French Weembi Girls at the same event, the French national team in 4-way Open, with current Aethers member Damien Gouriou in the point slot. The opponents on the combined AAA Class leaderboard of 2018 are now joining forces in the front piece for Aethers, outside center Pamela Lissajoux and point Damien Gouriou.

Arizona Airspeed may eventually face the same opposition and pressure that they had expected it at the indoor competition in China. Accommodation of a new team member can happen quicker at the indoor environment without exits and sub-terminal pages, and it seems like Aethers have a more than adequate substitute next week.