posted Jun 9th, 2021 - The next restart of Formation Skydiving competition at the apparent tail end of the pandemic took place in Great Britain, where UK Parachuting Sibson hosted the season opener of the United Kingdom Skydiving League (UKSL).

It seems to be difficult to realize that the last 4-way competition in Great Britain was the national championship in August 2019. A total of 40 teams competed at the event and completed all meet rounds. That was the end of 4-way and 8-way competition in the country until last weekend.

Chimera and Pajama Pumas both still added one more meet in 2019 and traveled to Arizona for the FAI Outdoor World Cup 2019 in October. Then they were at the end of their training and competition activities, as well.

Both teams have come back with their new lineups. The NSL News reported the details of Chimera's personnel change on 12 April 2020, and the new lineup has one more opportunity for competition practice at the UKSL July meet before Round 1 of the FAI Tanay Mondial 2020. The UK Nationals 2021 are scheduled after the world meet at the end of August. British Skydiving Judges Coordinator Lucy Westgarth kindly provided more details of last weekend's 4-way season opener.

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FAI Outdoor World Cup 2019			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open		13,11,16		P,22,4		O,7,21		9,20,G		18,15,L		K,10,3		6,14,C		1,M,A,17		F,D,Q,8		2,5,E		Total	Avg
1	Arizona Airspeed	US	20	-1	22		28		29		21		21	-1	21	-2	29		31	-2	24	-2	246	24.6
2	SDC Rhythm XP	US	19	-1	22		25		21	-2	20	-1	20		23		25		29	-1	24	-2	228	22.8
3	Airspeed Odyssey	US	14	-2	17	-2	22	-2	21	-2	18	-1	16	-3	21		23		26	-3	17	-2	195	19.5
4	Defiance	US	17		17		21	-1	22		16	-2	15	-2	21		20	-2	26		16	-2	191	19.1
5	Aerodyne Cypres Lille-Bondues	FR	15	-1	16		19		21		16	-1	17		18		22		25		21		190	19.0
6	Echochamber	SE	17		14	-3	22		20	-3	17		16	-1	19		20		23	-1	21		189	18.9
7	Chimera	UK	14	-1	16	-1	21		19	-1	17		16	-1	18	-1	22		26	-1	18	-1	187	18.7
8	Pro Team	FI	15	-1	18		20		17	-1	17		15		18		21		26		18	-1	185	18.5
9	Kinetix	AU	14	-1	17		19		19		15	-1	17		18		19		23	-1	16		177	17.7
10	China	CN	12	-1	17		19		17	-1	14	-1	13	-1	16		20		24		15	-1	167	16.7
11	Eros	UK	12	-2	16		20		18		15	-1	13	-2	12	-4	17	-1	22		16	-1	161	16.1
12	eX3MO	IT	13		13	-2	17	-2	13	-4	12	-1	14		13		16	-1	22	-2	14		147	14.7
13	Pajama Pumas	UK	10	-2	12		17		14	-1	13		12		15		16		15	-2	13		137	13.7

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Chimera and Pajama Pumas at the FAI Outdoor World Cup 2019

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UKSL 2021 June Meet - Written by British Skydiving Judges Coordinator Lucy Westgarth

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The 5th of June saw the first official FS competition in the UK since 2019 and the weather certainly delivered. UK Parachuting Sibson played host to seven teams for the first instalment of the 2021 UK Skydiving League.

In AAA, Chimera and the Pumas opted to use the meet to dust off the cobwebs and use an opportunity for some competition experience with new team members ahead of the British Nationals in August. As previously covered by the NSL News, Chimera's lineup now includes Will Cook (previously of ACM) in the tail slot and Pete Harries on camera.

Similarly, the Pumas have a new inside centre in the form of Derek Cornelius (previously of team Vantage). Neither team have competed with these lineups, plus they had to contend with a lack of currency following the pandemic. Despite these challenges, the Pumas had one of their cleanest meets, and Chimera were still able to throw a wide range of solid exits out of the Sibson Grand Caravan, finishing with a 12.2 and 16.0 average respectively. These are lower averages than what we've seen in the past, but they have nevertheless set a solid baseline for the rest of the season.

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United Kingdom Skydiving League June 2021		1		2		3		4		5		6		Total	Avg
Rank	AAA Class	A,P,7,10		20,K,15		J,1,C,13		14,6,3		12,D,17		O,M,G,11		Total	Avg
1	Chimera	19	-2	15	-1	13	-4	14	-1	15		20	-2	96	16.0
2	Pajama Pumas	15		11	-1	13	-1	9		11		14	-3	73	12.2
Rank	AA Class	A,P,7		20,K,15		J,1,C		14,6		D,13,L		O,M,G,11		Total	Avg
1	Volt4ge	13	-1	5	-1	9	-1	6	-1	7	-2	9	-1	49	8.2
Rank	A Class	A,P,7		K,8		J,C,H		6,N		D,L,19		O,M,G		Total	Avg
1	Sons of Zeus	5	-3	4		7	-2	5		1	-3	7	-1	29	4.8
Rank	Rookie	A,P,M		K,G,B		J,C,H		F,N,E		D,L,Q		O,M,G		Total	Avg
1	Antigravity	4		3		4		0	-1	3		5		19	3.2
2	Team Tilstock	2	-2	1		4		2	-2	1	-2	3	-2	13	2.2
3	Learning Curve	2		0	-2	0	-1	3	-1	0	-1	3		8	1.3

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AA and A only had one team in each, both of which were from the British Armed Forces. In AA, British Army Volt4ge competed with an alternate (Amii Calway), but were still able to show some solid block technique for their first full season in this category.

Similarly, the British Army Formation Skydiving Team "Sons of Zeus" were the sole representatives in the A category. Their team colours (navy and yellow) led to some visibility issues for the judges due to the spring crops of the English landscape below, but we hope to see them at meets later in the season.

The Rookie category is where the competition started heating up with three teams entered. Ordinarily in Rookie, we expect to see some spectacular funnels, severe issues staying on level and the occasional team/videographer collision, but the teams were refreshingly "safe" at this meet. I enjoy a comical funnel as much as the next person, but it was equally fun to watch new teams making steady progress throughout the rounds.

All three teams (camera included) took the opportunity to learn from more experienced flyers and sought advice when needed. Antigravity won gold with a 3.2 average, Team Tilstock took silver with a 2.2 average, with Learning Curve (perhaps the most improved team of the meet) picking up bronze with a 1.3 average.