posted Jul 23rd, 2025 - The relationship between 4-way and 8-way indoor scores is a very different one, compared to outdoor competition. It is also a very young one, as 4-way and 8-way competition happened to take place at the same indoor world championships only twice, due to the necessary additional space in the flying chamber. There are more than enough other factors that do not allow a direct comparison with the scoring numbers between 4-way and 8-way competition, indoors and outdoors. However, the records and statistics still tell a story in different areas than the actual scoring numbers.

The most basic difference is the size of the flying chamber, not only whether it is possible at all to run an 8-way competition at an indoor event. It requires at least a 16-foot flying chamber to accommodate an 8-way team, which even then still compares more to a 4-way competition in a 12-foot chamber. The height, or better: length, of the team members in formation skydiving competition, makes a difference and determines how much space is available for any maneuvers. 4-way indoor world championships have been held in 14-foot flying chambers since 2015, with two exceptions. Weembi Lille's and Paraclete XP's16-foot flying chambers accommodated 4-way and 8-way competition both at their respective indoor world championships, comfortably for the 4-way teams, more challenging for the 8-way teams, first at Weembi Lille in 2019, then at Paraclete XP earlier this year.

Clash of Champions 2015			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open		J,13,8	K,20,5	9,21,19	C,3,6	7,O,15	A,18,1	2,H,P,D	16,L,11	E,N,10,B	12,Q,F,22	Total	Avg
1	NMP-PCH Hayabusa	BE	26	32	30	28	33	29	41	28	37	29	313	31.3
2	Arizona Airspeed	US	28	30	29	30	34	27	39	28	34	26	305	30.5
3	Weembi Lille	FR	27	28	30	29	33	27	35	28	30	28	295	29.5
Rank	8-way Open		L,F,C,7	5,6,19	2,9,3	G,A,12,10	B,11,22	16,1,21	K,M,18,P	E,O,J,8	Q,17,15	N,H,4,D	Total	Avg
1	Golden Knights	US	34	26	30	30	37	34	35	25	31	42	324	32.4
2	Weembi	FR	29	22	25	26	30	30	28	27	28	34	279	27.9
3	Tanay	RU	29	22	20	22	31	30	27	23	25	38	267	26.7

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NMP PCH HayaBusa - Golden Knights at the Clash of Champions 2015

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There was one more indoor competition where the world's best 4-way and 8-way teams competed in the same flying chamber. It was the Clash of Champions at Inflight Dubai in 2015, which is included in the content of this evaluation.

Only one of these three events, this year's indoor world championship at Paraclete XP, actually applied the same competition draw for 4-way and 8-way both. FAI/ISC began to use the same numbers and letters for all ten sequences in the three horizontal formation skydiving events (4-way Open, 8-way Open, 4-way Women) first time in Prostejov 2014.

The indoor dive pools were still in motion at that time, and adjustments were made to synchronize the blocks and random formations for indoor and outdoor competition. However, at least there was already synchronicity in numbers and letters of the dive pools between 4-way and 8-way outdoor competition since 2014. The combination of numbers and letters was still different, after a separate 8-way competition draw, at the first two major 8-way indoor events in Dubai 2015 and Weembi Lille 2019. This year's indoor world championship became the first event where the same sequences were drawn for all four formation skydiving competition events, including 4-way VFS.

FAI Indoor World Championship 2019			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open		M,K,D,14	Q,4,5	P,E,9,15	3,N,G,2	6,1,8	F,12,11	13,22,J	H,L,B,18	O,20,A,17	21,7,19	Total	Avg
1	NMP-PCH Hayabusa	BE	39	36	42	35	27	32	29	42	38	31	351	35.1
2	Weembi High Rollers	FR	38	33	44	32	27	29	26	47	37	31	344	34.4
3	Arizona Airspeed	US	39	33	40	30	27	29	24	39	33	27	321	32.1
Rank	8-way Open		L,17,4	A,F,3,13	15,18,6	D,8,O,N	P,E,11,9	M,Q,J,16	C,K,19,22	10,1,7	5,G,B,2	H,21,12	Total	Avg
1	Paraclete XP8	US	38	34	33	27	29	43	29	27	28	28	316	31.6
2	France	FR	37	33	29	27	27	44	26	30	27	29	309	30.9
3	Tanay	RU	31	32	29	27	29	42	27	28	25	27	297	29.7

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NMP PCH HayaBusa - Paraclete XP8 at the FAI Indoor World Championship 2019

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The competition draws were still different between 4-way and 8-way for outdoor competition, as well, until the outdoor world championship in Spain 2001. This was the year of the introduction of the 4-way Women event at world championships, and the draw for this new event was identical with 4-way Open, while the numbers and letters in 8-way were still different.

The complete synchronization of the draws for the three horizontal events happened first time at Gap 2003, and it now also includes 4-way VFS, at indoor and outdoor competition. This year's indoor world championship at Paraclete XP became the first event where the draws for all four events were identical.

The records for the 8-way evaluation still include the first two indoor events, where the draws were not identical between 4-way and 8-way. In fact, the Clash of Champions was also not an official world championship, even though it was sanctioned by FAI/ISC, including the additional NSL categories, AA Class and A Class. The AA Class eventually became the FAI/ISC 4-way Junior event, and the A Class is now the Beginner Class at USPA Nationals. The few available scoring records of 8-way indoor competition at major events indicate that the best 8-way teams finish on the same average level as the 4-way teams under their specific conditions. In fact, the Golden Knights lineup at the Clash of Champions in 2015 beat the 4-way winner, NMP PCH HayaBusa, by over an average point.

FAI Indoor World Championship 2025			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open		D,4,17	C,22,10	5,P,Q,18	1,M,J,O	16,6,19	H,8,21	12,13,A	L,G,K,9	15,F,7	E,2,N,B	Total	Avg
1	Aethers Medjay	FR	32	23	35	41	28	27	29	45	32	37	329	32.9
2	Arizona Airspeed	US	27	24	31	34	26	26	27	49	34	36	314	31.4
3	NMP PCH HayaBusa	BE	29	22	33	40	24	23	26	43	28	38	306	30.6
Rank	8-way Open		D,4,17	C,22,10	5,P,Q,18	1,M,J,O	16,6,19	H,8,21	12,13,A	L,G,K,9	15,F,7	E,2,N,B	Total	Avg
1	GKXP8	US	39	30	31	40	29	24	28	32	37	35	325	32.5
2	D'Arc8	FR	38	26	26	34	24	22	22	27	29	27	275	27.5
3	Qatar Falcons	QA	37	22	26	30	25	20	22	26	24	25	257	25.7

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Aethers Medjay - GKXP8 at the FAI Indoor World Championship 2025

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