posted Jan 5th, 2017 - The end of the 2016 competition season settles the final Team World Rankings that the Sun Path Products NSL News has kept track of for a few years.

The 2016 review begins with the 4-way outdoor scores, and it includes all AAA Class teams, regardless the gender of the lineups. The annual ranking of the Top 4 teams is identical with the results of the FAI Mondial 2016. The four best national teams in the world also won the three sets of 4-way Open Class medals and finished in the same order.

Rank	Team		Meets	Av.
1	NMP PCH HayaBusa	BE	24.8 - 26.2	25.5
2	Arizona Airspeed	US	24.3 - 25.4 - 26.5	25.4
3	France 4-way Open	FR	23.7 - 23.4 - 23.8	23.6
4	Black Cat	RU	23.1 - 21.6	22.4
4	Golden Knights F4	US	22.4	22.4
6	Golden Knights Gold	US	22.3	22.3
7	France Women	FR	22.1 - 22.6 - 21.7	22.1
7	Qatar Tigers	QA	21.5 - 22.6	22.1
7	SDC Rhythm XP	US	20.4 - 23.8	22.1
10	Evolution	CA	21.4	21.4

NMP PCH HayaBusa and Arizona Airspeed are closer together in the annual rankings than they were at the world meet, which was the opposite between France and Black Cat.

The Qatar Tigers picked up the pace at the world meet and finished ahead of the two best teams in 4-way Women, Golden Knights and French Weembi Girls, who are slightly ahead of the Tigers in the world rankings.

The 22.3 average of the Golden Knights Gold team at the USPA Nationals 2016 added a fourth U.S. team to the Top 10 rankings. This gave Jennifer Davidson a second slot in the Top 10, as she also won the 4-way Women gold medals with the Golden Knights F4 team.

Rank	Team		Meets	Av.
11	Thunder ISR	BE	21.2	21.2
12	Satori XL	UK	20.2 - 20.3 - 20.4 - 21.0	20.6
13	AARSpeed	US	20.2	20.2
14	Airbus Illertissen	DE	20.8 - 19.4 - 19.9	20.0
15	Barguzin	RU	19.9	19.9
16	Mass Defiance	US	19.2	19.2
17	Arizona Alpha	US	19.0	19.0
18	Turbo 2.0	US	18.3	18.3
19	Artemis Saumur Flyzone	FR	17.8 - 18.3	18.1
19	Vision 99	UK	18.1	18.1
19	Gryttjom Volo	SE	18.1	18.1
22	4mula	UK	17.2 - 18.5	17.9
22	Ex3mo	IT	18.4 - 17.4	17.9
22	Final Fire	AT	18.0 - 17.8	17.9

JaNette Lefkowitz is in the same situation. SDC Rhythm XP's new inside center competed for the Golden Knights at the world meet in the outside center slot and secured her second Top 10 position.

Thunder ISR is leading the group of teams behind the full-time competitors in the Top 10 spots and is ahead of several other national 4-way teams, including Satori XL. Thunder finishes the team's competition career as the best unofficial amateur team in the world.

The U.S.A. have placed four more AAA Class teams in the Top 20 world rankings after the USPA Nationals 2016, which confirms the position as the 4-way powerhouse in the world. However, the U.S. delegation still has to win back the William H. Ottley Sword for Formation Skydiving Competition, also known as the Excalibur, which is still in Belgian possession.

Rank	Team		Meets	Av.
25	NFTO	UK	17.4 - 17.5	17.5
26	XO Team	RU	17.1	17.1
26	Montreal Fuzion	CA	17.1	17.1
26	DOSAAF	RU	17.1	17.1
26	Rotor Out	AU	17.6 - 16.6	17.1
26	610	IT	17.1	17.1
31	Eclipse	UK	16.3 - 17.4	16.9
31	Energy Cumiana	IT	16.9	16.9
33	Savolo	ZA	15.5 - 17.9	16.7
34	Perris Kiss	US	16.6	16.6
35	Echochamber	SE	16.5	16.5
36	AtomiX	DE	16.2 - 16.7 - 15.9	16.3
37	Pangaea	DK	13.7 - 16.3 - 14.9 - 16.4	15.9
38	Dallas 350	US	16.7 - 14.8	15.8
39	Alliance	US	15.7	15.7
40	Tanay Wolves	RU	15.6	15.6
40	Skydive Midwest Next	US	14.1 - 15.9 - 16.9	15.6
42	Chimera	UK	14.7 - 16.1	15.4
43	Pro Team	FI	15.2	15.2
43	Remscheid	DE	15.2	15.2
43	China	CH	15.2	15.2
46	Amnesya RW4 Team	IT	15.1	15.1
47	Ranch 2nd Generation	US	15.0	15.0
47	Les Stunts	BE	14.2 - 15.7	15.0
49	Spaceland Lite	US	14.8 - 15.0	14.9
50	Bellatrix	AU	14.5 - 15.0	14.8

Germany's national team Airbus is coming back with a new lineup this year, as the Sun Path Products NSL News reported on November 9th. Ex3mo competed for Italy and Final Fire for Austria at the FAI Mondial 2016 where the Austrians had the upper hand.

There was a total of 161 teams for the 2016 season, and the first 50 teams are shown here.

The third group of teams begins with a 4-way Women team on the top. NFTO won the bronze medals for Great Britain at the FAI Mondial 2016, after a tough battle with Canada's Parachute Montreal Fuzion team.

Five teams are tied with 17.1 averages, two of them from Russia after their national championships in Tanay at the end of September. Australia's national 4-way Open Class team Rotor Out is a part of the 17.1 group.

Savolo also picked up the pace at the end of the 2016 season and showed their best at the FAI Mondial. The South Africans are behind Ex3mo, Final Fire and Rotor Out in the world rankings and finished ahead of the three national teams from Italy, Austria and Australia in Ottawa.

Pangaea from Denmark was much closer to Rotor Out after the ten world meet rounds than the world ranking numbers are showing, and China's 4-way Open Class team completes the group of national teams in 43rd place.

Les Stunts (Belgium) and Bellatrix (Australia) are the last two 4-way Women teams in the Top 50 and are ranked in the same order as they finished in Ottawa.

M4trix (Netherlands), H4O (Ireland) and MeXtreme (Mexico) are the only 4-way Open Class teams who competed at the Mondial and did not make it to the Top 50 rankings.

The Sun Path Products NSL News will follow up soon with more 2016 world rankings.