posted Jan 13th, 2012 - The NSL News announed on 3 January 2012 that the Shamrock Showdown 2012 will also include an 8way competition. There are not many 8way meets throughout the year, and Golden Knights and Sky Panthers Barkli both wanted more than only the usual national championships and a World Meet or a World Cup. The gold and bronze medal winners of the World Cup 2011 agreed to meet in DeLand in March and bring even more world class competition to the Shamrock Showdown.

The NSL News mentioned at that time that the Shamrock 8way Showdown does not only feature two of the three 8way powerhouses who have dominated 8way competition since Russia joined the international Formation Skydiving competition world in 1985. The 8way competition in March will also be the first time that two 8way teams from Arabia/Mideast enter an 8way competition together. Qatar, with the TTigers and TFalcons joining forces in 8way, and Dubai, with Craig Girard's TRed team and Eliana Rodriguez' TGold team, are also working on 8way projects for the near future.

USPA Nationals 2011		Rd. 1	Rd. 2	Rd. 3	Rd. 4	Rd. 5	Rd. 6	Rd. 7	Rd. 8	Rd. 9	Rd. 10	Total	Avg
Rank	8way Intermediate	7,P,13	6,19	B,D,6	1,F,3	L,C,E,21	17,10	N,2,M	J,G,A,4	K,18,O	8,14	Total	Avg
1	SPX 8	7	6	9	11	8	7	7	8	6	7	76	7.6
2	Rhythmic Khaos XP	8	4	7	9	9	7	7	9	7	7	74	7.4
3	Spaceland Lite Mamba	7	7	5	9	9	6	7	8	7	7	72	7.2
4	Qatar Knights	6	5	9	5	9	7	6	7	8	7	69	6.9
5	Fallouts Gone Havoc	6	6	8	6	5	4	8	8	7	5	63	6.3

Qatar is a step ahead of Dubai with the 8way project, as Qatar's 4way project was also launched earlier and put Tigers and Falcons in stronger positions at the moment. The two Qatar 4way lineups joined forces already at the USPA Nationals 2011, and the Qatar Knights made it straight to the top positions on the Intermediate Class leaderboard, close to the USPA medal positions.

The Shamrock Showdown 2012 will be the first 8way competition for Dubai's combination of the Red and Blue lineups, and it will be very interesting to see how both new 8way teams compare in this category. This year's World Championship of Formation Skydiving at the Mondial 2012 will be the final showdown between Qatar and Dubai in 4way and in 8way, and Dubai has obviously the home advantage.

The Dubai 8way team has another strong card to play in 8way. Coaches Eliana Rodriguez and Craig Girard have almost as much 8way experience as they have in 4way. DeLand Majik 4way world champion of 2004, Solly Williams, has drilled the Qatar 4way lineups to international competition level and will soon have them closer to the top of the world. However, the Dubai 8way team will surely benefit a lot from the Airspeed 8way knowledge and experiences.

The Qatar Knights will also have to replace Max Thiele who brought a lot of 8way skills and experience to the team at the USPA Nationals. He has been a Falcons member as a player coach in 2011, and he won 4way bronze medals with Paratec-Saar at the World Cup 2011 and finished in 4th place for Germany with a 14.8 average in 8way.

Dubai 8way coach Craig Girard won 8-way gold medals at three consecutive World Championships with the Golden Knights (1989, 1991, 1993) and added a few more with Airspeed (1999, 2004) - and this was only in 8way. Eliana Rodriguez was in Airspeed's 8way lineup of 2004 and knows more than enough herself to work together with Craig Girard. It's a very strong partnership for 4way and 8way coaching...

Solly Williams knows that Dubai has a wealth of knowledge and resources for the 8way project. He has to find a way how to copy the success that he had in 4way to defend the Arabian top position in 8way, as well. The Shamrock Showdown 2012 is not only a test for the new 8way teams from Qatar and Dubai, it is also a series challenge and a competition for the coaches.