posted Feb 7th, 2020 - Round 10 at the Wind Games was a very interesting finale, and it was not really grande for all teams.

It surely was a grande finale for NMP PCH HayaBusa, who love fast sequences. The world champions from Belgium were one of only four teams who finished the last round with clean score sheets. The overall damage for the one single round was one of the biggest in the history of Formation Skydiving competition.

The combination of the slot-switching Block 3 with three random formations was the main component for the unusually high number of infringements and flaws in the flow of the sequence. HayaBusa were the biggest winner of the fast sequence and added eight points to the lead only in this last round.

The Dutch national team Out of the Blue was on the extreme other end of this situation in Round 10 and collected a total of seven point deductions, which brought the battle for the last Top 10 spot to an end. Out of the Blue's direct opponent in this race were Oceanside AtomiX who were one of the four teams with a clean score sheet.

Penalty situation for Round 10 at the Wind Games, provided by InTime

The national teams from Germany and Netherlands were battling from Round 1 for the 10th place on the AAA Class leaderboard, which includes the two 4-way Women teams, NFTO and Nephtys Weembi. They were separated by only three points to the advantage of Oceanside AtomiX going into the last round.

Then the best round of one team fell together with the worst round of the other, and the 3-point difference after Round 9 turned into 18 on the final leaderboard. Oceanside AtomiX won Round 10 by 15 points.

It could not have been more nightmarish from the Dutch perspective. A meltdown in a slower round does not cause that much damage, compared to a fast sequence. NMP PCH HayaBusa is the perfect example on the other side, where a perfect round for a fast sequence may allow a team to pull away from the field.

The Dutch-German psychology before Round 10 was probably even adding to the pressure. It was only a 3-point difference that separated both teams, and the fast sequence was the perfect opportunity to turn the table at the very end.

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Wind Games 2020			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	AAA Class		Q,F,6,14		1,13,4		8,J,15		O,9,D,5		21,A,P,H		N,C,20,12		7,G,K,19		10,16,22		17,E,11		M,B,3,L		Total	Avg
1	NMP-PCH Hayabusa	BE	32	-1	29		28	-1	44	-3	45		29		35		25		34		47		348	34.8
2	Arizona Airspeed	US	34		24	-1	29		45	-2	41		29		34	-1	23		34		39	-1	332	33.2
3	SDC Rhythm XP	US	33		25		27	-1	44	-1	41		26		30	-3	23		30	-2	41	-2	320	32.0
4	IFS-Moscow	RU	27	-3	20	-3	25	-2	45	-2	36	-1	25	-1	30	-1	23		29	-2	33	-5	293	29.3
5	ISR FireFlash	BE	30		23		26		39		36		22	-1	27	-2	20		29		29	-4	281	28.1
6	Weembi Unicorns	IN	28		23		26		42		36		23		29		20		22	-4	26	-3	275	27.5
7	NFTO	UK	28		21		22		38		36		21		27	-1	18		24	-3	32	-1	267	26.7
8	Echochamber	SE	28		21		22		37		35		21	-1	23	-2	19		26		29	-4	261	26.1
9	Nephtys Weembi	FR	26		19	-1	20	-1	35		32		22		26	-1	19		22	-2	32	-1	253	25.3
10	Oceanside AtomiX	DE	25	-2	21		19	-2	31	-1	31		19		27		17	-1	22	-1	31		243	24.3
11	Out of the Blue	NL	25		19		21		31	-2	29	-1	18		25		17	-1	24		16	-7	225	22.5

Oceanside AtomiX and Out of the Blue at the Wind Games 2020

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There was no reason for Out of the Blue to hold back, and it was neither that easy for the Germans. They could lose the three points in such a round by performing too conservatively, while the opponent is taking chances.

The result of this situation is recorded by the numbers on the leaderboard and by the video camera. Oceanside AtomiX, with the new team engine, former Dutch national competitor Paul Hofstee in the inside center slot, showed great nerves and their best in the last round. Out of the Blue took their chances and lost.

The performance in Spain must still be encouraging for the Dutch national indoor and outdoor team. They posted their highest 10-round average, despite the Round 10 disaster. The same counts for Oceanside AtomiX, who completed their first 10-round meet with the new lineup on the team's highest performance level.

Out of the Blue inched another little step closer to the German national team, and this duel will probably continue all the way through the FAI World Meet 2020. Airbus FSZ Saar finished 10th in 4-way Open for Germany in Australia 2018, and Oceanside AtomiX will have to defend this spot in August...