posted Apr 9th, 2018 - NSL News coverage of Formation Skydiving competition in Finland has been focusing mostly on two teams in the past, the Pro Team in different variations, and also the Tigers, who both have represented Finland at international competitions.

Neither of the two teams competed at the World Challenge 2018, which is not the only reason why the NSL News is zooming in on other teams from the Scandinavian country.

Pro Team Extended and Heroes of the Arctic Circle won gold medals for Finland in the Rookie Class and the A Class in 2013, and the Pro Team Extended again in the A Class competition of 2016. Last weekend's competition featured another team from Finland on the top of the leaderboard, and it was neither Pro Team nor Tigers making the headlines. It was also a different category with a team from Finland winning in Bedford. Tempo took the 1st place in the AA Class competition for the Finnish delegation for the very first time.

The new AA Class winner in Bedford not only impresses with the top performance. It is also the progression of the team that is catching the special attention of the NSL News. Tempo began with three of the current team members (Saara Laakko, Otto Virkki, Antti Heinola) in the A Class of 2015 and posted an 8.4 average at the first competition in 2016.

World Challenge 2018			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	AA Class		H,F,13	20,6	1,11	4,M,G	9,B,P	N,C,8	K,7,L	18,19	Q,21,22	15,O,J	Total	Avg
1	Tempo	FI	22	17	16	21	28	19	23	15	16	21(-2)	198(-2)	19.8
2	Windobona Angels	ES	19	16	13(-1)	20	28	16	22(-3)	14	17	14(-5)	179(-9)	17.9
3	Ayro	BE	18(-1)	15	13(-2)	19	26(-2)	15(-4)	20	13	14	17(-3)	170(-12)	17.0
4	Tahma	FI	19	11	12	14(-1)	22(-3)	14(-3)	20	11	14	15(-2)	152(-9)	15.2
4	Alola	UK	13(-3)	13	10(-1)	16	25(-1)	15	20	12	13	15(-2)	152(-7)	15.2
6	Fantastic 4	HU	18	15	13	18	21	14	13	11	11	13	147	14.7
7	Hybris	DK	16	13	12	14	22	14	17	11	13	13	145	14.5
8	Intrudair	HU	14	12	11	15	22	15	17	9	13	13	141	14.1
9	Airbivores	FR	15	13	11	15	21	13	19	7	11	15	140	14.0
10	Free Burds	IE	14	11	11	14	23	14	17	10	11	12	137	13.7
11	Davidson	BE	16	14	11	14	15	11	19	10	13	13	136	13.6
12	Vertigo	UK	16	6	12	13	24	13	16	9	13	8	130	13.0
13	IISYIOCILY	UK	15	8	9	13	16	12	13	9	11	11	117	11.7
14	Flies4Cake	UK	12	10	9	14	17	11	16	8	9	10	116	11.6

Jorma Löfgren, one of the most experienced 4-way competitors in Finland, joined the lineup in 2017 as a player coach and mentor and filled the open tail slot.

He was an early member of Finland's national team Madway who finished in 4th place at the FAI World Meet 1993 in Eloy with a 14.9 average. Then he joined the Tigers in 2007 and eventually competed for Finland again at the FAI World Meet 2014 in Prostejov.

Jorma Löfgren has traveled to Bedford before, where he competed with different lineups, including a combination of Pro Team and Tigers members in 2016, the year when Pro Team Extended won the A Class competition.

He moved Tempo up into the AA Class competition at the end of the 2017 season, after the same lineup finished with a 20.7 average in the A Class at the national indoor championships.

Tempo started into the 2018 season with an 18.2 average on home turf in February and was aiming at the 20-average level at the World Challenge 2018. Player coach and mentor Jorma Löfgren said that his team was very happy with the 19.8 last weekend, even though it was two points short of the goal.

There was internal competition from Finland in Bedford, as Tahma competed at the team's third World Challenge, while the three original Tempo members visited Bedford for the first time. The AA Class duo from Finland combined for the best results of a national delegation in this category.

Jorma Löfgren goes way back in Finnish 4-way history together with Tahma member Ari "Zero" Laukkanen who was also a Madway member in the early 90's. Both have been competing in the AA Class recently, and Tempo's player coach is now moving back up into the AAA Class with the new generation of 4-way competitors. Tempo is done with the AA Class competition and will begin taking on the complete dive pool in the coming weeks.

There they will meet the Pro Team and another historic lineup from Finland. Blackjack, Finland's national team of 1997, had a comeback last year, as the NSL News reported on 2 April 2017. Blackjack moved up quickly from A to AA and AAA Class and plans to intensify indoor training.

A new wind tunnel in the center of Helsinki offers most of the skydivers in Finland efficient and convenient training options. Several different generations of Finnish 4-way teams and competitors will meet in the AAA Class this year, and the NSL News will follow up with the Blackjack plans soon...