posted Nov 19th, 2014 - The results of the German Nationals 2014 did not really create any big waves. However, the live coverage by the Sun Path Products NSL News actually included a very significant shift of 4-way power in Germany that went by almost unnoticed.

The national 4-way team that competed for Germany at the FAI World Championship of Formation Skydiving 2014, Paratec-Saar, had dominated the 4-way competition since 2006 when Markus Bastuck, Dieter Schwarz and the Thiele brothers Joern and Max, with Alexander "Dude" Hau on camera, took away the national 4-way title from EADS (Thomas Spielvogel, Olaf Biedermann, Goeran Meyer, Jens Goennemann) who still competed for Germany at the world meet in 2006.

The Paratec-Saar decade came to an end at this year's national championships where the new EADS/Airbus lineup (Olaf Biedermann, Goeran Meyer, Thomas Mack, Christian Schaefer, with Arizone Airspeed videographer Justin Price on camera) took back the German 4-way title.

Sep 2nd, 2014		Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Total	Avg
Rank	AAA Class	16,A,12	F,20,13	19,G,1	3,L,O,2	P,8,18	Total	Avg
1	Airbus (DE)	20	18	19	22	17	96	19.2
2	AtomiX (DE)	14	14	15	14	12	69	13.8
3	Chicas (DE)	13	13	14	13	13	66	13.2
4	Usual Suspects (DE)	13	13	12	13	12	63	12.6

The Sun Path Products NSL News reported two years ago that there was a vacuum on Germany's 4-way top level when two Paratec-Saar members (Max Thiele, Dieter Schwarz) stepped back after the Mondial 2012. However, Markus Bastuck and Joern Thiele formed a new lineup with Petra van Overveld and Anne Heinrich to defend the top position.

Anne Heinrich could not continue in 2013, and Dieter Schwarz came back to help his team mates of many years to win the toughest battle at the German Nationals 2013 by one single point over the new EADS/Airbus lineup.

Markus Bastuck, Joern Thiele and Petra van Overveld still had to look for a new Center Outside, as Dieter Schwarz only filled the slot temporarily, and they integrated 2013 alternate Dennis Gottschalk as the new team member for 2014 and the following two years.
Click on the score for a round with a link to see the teams' videos

German Nationals 2013		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	B,7,11	P,C,4,5	J,D,O,21	6,18,15	1,L,2	M,9,K,13	19,N,Q,12	G,22,14	E,H,A,8	F,20,3	Total	Avg
1	Paratec-Saar	21	20(-1)	25	17	17	22(-1)	19	16	26	19	202	20.2
2	EADS	22	21	25	16(-1)	16	23	18	15	26	19	201	20.1

Paratec-Saar competed for Germany at the world meet in Prostejov, and the Sun Path Products NSL News story on 2 September 2014 covered the unfortunate ending for the team at Markus Bastuck's and Joern Thiele's 4th world meet.

The German national team of the past decade did not compete at the national championships a week later, due to lack of additional vacation time for some of the team members, and Airbus did not have to work very hard to win the national 4-way title.

However, the new German national team was ready for the confrontation after two years of training with the new lineup, and the 1-point deficit in 2013 would have most likely turned into a victory over Paratec-Saar this year. The two EADS members of 2006, Olaf Biedermann and Goeran Meyer, are back on the top, and they have plans to stay there for another while, together with their new front piece, Thomas Mack and Christian Schaefer.

German Nationals 2006		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	10 P 19	3 K A 14	17 5 6	J 16 M 20	9 13 8	F Q O D N	22 7 4	L 11 1	H 21 E G	B C 18 2	Total	Avg
1	FSC Eisenach	16	17	21	20	17	31	15	17	21	20	195	19.5
2	EADS	15	17	22	19	17	30	15	17	23	18	193	19.3

The 20.1 average after the 10-round thriller with Paratec-Saar at the German Nationals 2013 is still the highest meet average for Airbus. The 5-round competition under miserable weather conditions at this year's national championships did not offer any team the opportunity to show full potential on the scoreboard.

Airbus is not in a hurry to show their best, as the main goal is the next World Championship of Formation Skydiving 2016 at Skydive Chicago. However, the training efforts will increase next year, and the 20-average benchmark is not even a goal for the team, after the 20.1 last year.

The Airbus training will begin very soon with two indoor training camps this year in Bottrop. Outdoor training in Spain and a trip to Bodyflight Bedford will follow in January. Indoor training will continue in February and March in Germany, followed by a trip to DeLand in April. NMP-PCH Hayabusa world champion Roy Janssen works with the team in Europe, while Solly Williams continues his successful coaching job with Airbus, as well. It will be very difficult for any other German team to keep up with the expected progression, and the world's amateur top position might be in reach again for a German team...