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Support the NSL News in 2025

Did You Know...

... that Gary Smith explained changes for Qatar Tigers, Lions and Cheetahs?

Gary Smith and Solly Williams with Optic Nerve in 2000
posted Jan 24th, 2025 - Gary Smith and Solly Williams are two of the most experienced participants in formation skydiving competition, first as world champion competitors, followed by successful coaching careers.

Both are still very active in the sport as coaches, while they also still jump from planes or fly in wind tunnel chambers if it becomes necessary. Together they invented the modern style of 4-way performance with the famous mantis position, which they applied when they trained and competed together with South Africa's national 4-way team almost 30 years ago.

Solly Williams commented the recent NSL News topic of potential changes in the dive pool live at Skydive DeLand on Wednesday this week, and it took only two days until Gary Smith followed up with his own insights and thoughts. Both have experienced almost the whole progression of formation skydiving competition since the new and current format was introduced in 1985. They agreed during their separate NSL Live Talk conversations that the need for changes and adjustments of rules and dive pools in the earlier years made sense, as it was a new beginning for the current format. They both have serious doubts about further dive pool changes without any good reasons for adjustments.



NSL Live Talk on Zoom with Gary Smith on 23 January 2025
Qatar Lions at the BENELUX Championships 2024
Solly Williams and Gary Smith are not alone with their opposition or doubts whether or not there is currently a need for more changes. In fact, Gary Smith pointed out that especially Blocks 8 (Canadian T - Canadian T) and Block 20 (Piver - Viper) are blocks which are easily judgeable and have been solid parts of the current dive pool. He suspected that 4-way indoor competition plays a major role in the controversial discussion, and he elaborated more on the topic during the conversation.

However, Gary Smith is recently busy enough with his coaching job, where he has to sort out more pressing issues than potential changes in the dive pool. There are significant changes in Qatar's formation skydiving delegation, which have an impact on his job with the Lions and Cheetahs, who he coaches together with Luc Verstrepen.

He reported from Spain that Qatar's national 4-way team, the Tigers, have to replace Rashid Al Kubisi who does not continue with the team any longer. The Qatar Tigers have been the longest standing 4-way team in the world with the same lineup over more than a decade. The same lineup, with Rashid Al Kubisi, won the first FAI world championship 4-way medals for the country with the 3rd place in Tanay 2021 and defended the position successfully in Eloy 2022, then again at Crystal Coast 2024. Gary Smith was coaching the Qatar Tigers to their first bronze medals in 2021 and 2022 before he was assigned to the job of developing a new generation of world-class 4-way competitors for Qatar. Former NMP PCH HayaBusa world champion Andy Grauwels continued the coaching job for the Qatar Tigers.

Wind Games 2025
1234567891011TotalAvg
RankAAA Class Power RankingsTBDTBDTBDTBDTBDTBDTBDTBDTBDTBDTBDTotalAvg
1Aethers Medjay FR -------------
2Golden Knights US -------------
2Tunnel Vision US -------------
2NMP PCH HayaBusa BE -------------
2Papea ES -------------
2Monaco F1 MC -------------
7Fly X Amnesya IT -------------
7Dynos NO -------------
9Qatar Lions QA -------------
10Yasuke MA -------------
11Qatar Cheetahs QA -------------
11Panthers CZ -------------
13Airdrops CH -------------
13Oblivion FR -------------
15Windabona Angels ES -------------
15Magyx ES -------------
17UK Team UK -------------
Qatar Tigers at the FAI Outdoor World Championship 2024
Rashid Al Kubisi's retirement gave Gary Smith's work even more purpose, as two Lions (Majed Al Salem, Ahmad Al kuwari) were prepared to step into the open slot. Gary Smith then had to fill the two open slots for the Lions, and he recruited naturally from the Cheetahs, who he and Luc Verstrepen have been coaching for a situation like that.

Gary Smith also reported that the new Tigers lineup will not represent Qatar any longer at FAI/ISC events. Their main assignment is the military CISM world championships, which will be hosted by Qatar this year. This brings the Lions into the position of the national team in 4-way Open at FAI/ISC events, and Gary Smith has to get the new lineup ready to compete at the indoor world championship at Paraclete XP in April.

The Cheetahs need at least one new team member, as well, and there is not much time until both teams will attend their first competition with the new lineups. Gary Smith is currently in Spain with both teams, where they will be on the 2025 leaderboard of the Wind Games. The Tigers will not be back in Empuriabrava to defend their 2nd place at the Wind Games 2024. The Lions have been on the way to the scoring and performance level where they could soon challenge the Tigers. The Wind Games are now a new beginning for the new lineups of Lions and Cheetahs and their coaches Gary Smith and Luc Verstrepen.

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