posted Apr 6th, 2017 - Training for the World Challenge 2017 was in full swing on Thursday. Even the top teams used the last day before the competition to get familiar with the flying chamber at Twinwood Adventures/Bodyflight Bedford.

The NSL-TV camera recorded parts of NMP PCH HayaBusa and Weembi Lille training sessions, which were followed by training of the national teams of the French delegation (French Weembi Girls, RealFly-Sion).

Ireland's national team H2O was in the flying chamber at the same time, and Steve Hamilton was coaching them. He had sad news for the Sun Path Products NSL News. Not only that XL will once again not have a lineup at this year's World Challenge after missing the 2015 and 2016 meets.

Steve Hamilton still competed with other teams the last two years in Bedford, and he will now be missing his first World Challenge. However, there is hope that XL might have a comeback in the coming years.

Jeremie Rollett, French 4-way and 8-way world champion of 2006, 2008 and 2010, national coach for the French delegations in 2012 and 2014, could not work with the Qatar Tigers who are still on a hold with a new military management.

He is in Bedford to compete once again with his former 8-way team mates of Gavroche, who also attended the French Indoor Nationals 2017.

Jeremie Rollett and Gary Smith, who is coaching the Qatar Falcons, were exchanging experiences when the Sun Path Products NSL News found both of them near the flying chamber.

They had good news too, as there seems to be a realistic chance that Tigers and Falcons will soon be back in action at international Formation Skydiving competitions.

The schedule for Thursday has test flying sessions on the agenda at the end of the day, where all teams have two minutes to determine the air speed for the competition rounds.

The competition draw for the 10-round meet will be posted later tonight when the teams are done with their speed tests.

Six rounds are scheduled for Friday, and the World Challenge 2017 will be completed on Saturday.

Host Paul Mayer has once again set up a professional TV production, and the show will be streamed live on Bodyflight Bedford's Facebook page. The Sun Path Products NSL News will support the TV production and keep updating the leaderboard as usual on a regular basis. Round 1 is scheduled for 9:00 AM on Friday morning.