posted Jan 15th, 2013 - The last NSL News contribution for Blue Skies Mag was published after the live coverage of the Mondial Dubai 2012 and was only indirectly related to the event. The main focus was on the 10-year anniversary of live event coverage by the NSL News. The Mondial 2012 was the perfect opportunity to celebrate the special occasion.

The athletic part of the event and little excursions to other topics here and there were covered comprehensively. Different Dubai stories are still making the news on a regular basis. However, there was another part of the same event that was not related to scores and perfomances, and the Blue Skies Mag gave it attention in the newest issue.

It is an attempt to see the impact of the Mondial 2012 from a broader perspective and look at the potential benefits for the sport in general. There has not been a host yet who brought to the event table what the Crown Prince of Dubai had to offer...

Turning Points: Mondial 2012 in Dubai - and a Golden Opportunity

It's all over now, and the 4-way teams are another step closer to the 30.0 average level. Arizona Airspeed carried the thinnest 4-way lead in the history of formation skydiving competition over the finish line, while NMP-PCH Haybusa won the first silver medals for Belgium. It was almost gold medals... France was left in the rain with bronze - after winning only gold or silver for the last 25 years.

The French 4-way and 8-way gamble turned out to be a losing proposition, as the Golden Knights also recaptured the 8-way Excalibur for the U.S. Both swords are now back in the States, while the final Fun Flag whereabouts are unknown.

The French delegation saved their grace with golds in the newer events, VFS, freefly, and freestyle. The Aerodyne Deep Blue Defenders lived up to their name and brought the gold medals back to France, and Philippe Schorno's French VFS world champions of 2010 put the competition from the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates once again in place.

France could not repeat their FS Sweep of 2010, nor was the U.S. delegation able to copy what France did two years ago. And yes, not to forget: Dubai Nexus won the first medals in history for the United Arab Emirates. And that brings us to the second most important topic of the Mondial 2012 in Dubai. The number one on my priority list will always be the athletes and the actual competition, which could not have been any more exciting than it was this year. However, other things are important too.

It was not only the extremely exciting and nerve wrecking thriller in 4-way open and in almost all other FS events that kept me on my toes all the time. Everybody who attended the Mondial 2012 experienced something that the sport has not seen in history.

I don't even want to begin with the cultural, architectural, and economical extravagances that each visitor could witness. There is too much to say and to digest for a column in a magazine. And I want to get to the point as quickly as possible. Here it is.

Think of what the U.S., the NFL specifically, is doing for an event like the Super Bowl. Or think of the show that the top golf tournaments, such as the Masters, put up for the events. Stanley Cup finals? No, too small to compare, or have you seen yet Katy Perry or Usher or any of their likes perform at any other event than at halftime of the Super Bowl?

How about an air show with formation flying of the best fighter jet or aerobatics pilots in the world? You got it. How about a big stadium built at the event site just for the opening ceremony? There it is. Need your own runway for the DZ and future events? It runs out into the ocean now, took half a year to build it.

Well, I have seen similar things before. Remember Abdulaziz Ojjeh? Member of the French national 8-way team in 1986 and 1987? His family was one of the richest in the world, and he poured his own resources into 8-way competition trying to become a skydiving world champion for France. Almost made it, just a point short in Brazil 1987. Then he disappeared.

Then there was the Malevsky Cup that the family of the wealthy Russian banker and industrialist launched for several years as a memorial for the passionate skydiver after he died in his element. That was probably the event that came closest to the Mondial 2012 in Dubai. It was amazing and impressive what the Russian hosts set up in Stupino year after year. Then it disappeared.

Now combine the resources of Abdulaziz Ojjeh and the Malevsky family and you get close to what's going on in Dubai.

Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is responsible for the booming shooting star of skydiving events in the Middle East. He is the Crown Prince of Dubai, and he is also a passionate skydiver. He is still a different story.

I was suspicious before visiting Dubai as an eyewitness for the first time. The past experiences that I pointed out above were the main reasons. It could be another hay fire. Then my eyebrows rose the first time a few years ago. It was quite convincing when Arizona Airspeed's 4-way world champions Eliana Rodriguez and Craig Girard moved to Dubai, joined or followed by several other high-profile skydivers whose job it was to build a real skydiving center and grow a solid local and regional foundation for it.

Eventually I saw it all with my own eyes, at the Mondial 2012. I had to let it sink in after talking to quite a few people, and here is my conclusion: The Crown Prince is serious, very serious - Skydive Dubai with all its implications is there to stay. For a long time.

So let's get ready for it. But how?

First of all, honor the efforts. Somebody is willing to let the whole skydiving world share the passion and the resources. Skydive Dubai was a great host of the biggest skydiving event that I have seen yet. There were complaints, and there is room for improvements, as there always is. However, be sure that the improvements will be made, as the Emiratis always seem to get done what they want to get done.

Here is what I would do if I had anything to say: Let Skydive Dubai always host the World Championship of Formation Skydiving, every two years. Same place, same logistics, same first-class show. Like in good old Muskogee for the USPA Nationals, like the Masters—always in Augusta. Then we know that it will be a great event, an event that we can present to the general public and to the media. By the way - I have never seen so much media coverage as in Dubai.

No other host will be able to keep up with the Dubai efforts anyway; everything from here on forward will be a disappointment after Dubai. Save other hosts the pain of trying to keep up. Use the motivation and the resources - it is a golden opportunity for the sport that we cannot afford to miss.

FAI/IPC can still move the World Cup around the planet every other year. That could be a great opportunity for other hosts to make the World Cup a first-class event as well. It's far from that at the moment. When was the last time that a top U.S. 4-way open class team attended a World Cup...?

Let's hope for the best, which means that our representatives, each country's IPC Delegates, make decisions that embrace a golden opportunity for the sport.