posted Jan 7th, 2026 - Rosters and lineups change naturally and regularly in all team sports. It is not unusual for both 4-way and 8-way teams to go through the same processes. Experience shows, however, that continuity in rosters and lineups significantly increases the chances of long-term success.

In 4-way teams, including videographers, teammates rely on and depend on each other far more than in most other sports. A 35-second freefall performance allows no time-outs and no substitutions if a team member is having an off day. The psychology and dynamics created by this level of performance pressure in 4-way competition are fascinating and extremely demanding.

As a result, selecting a new team member is a particularly delicate and critical aspect of formation skydiving competition, and its importance increases with performance level. Members of the few full-time teams in formation skydiving competition spend a great deal of time together and must be ready to deliver their best performance as soon as Round 1 of a competition begins.

Arizona Airspeed lineups between 1994 and 2026

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The selection process for new team members in formation skydiving competition varies from country to country. At the highest level, however, a certain degree of consistency remains. Recruitment and selection strategies range from replacing an entire national 4-way team to changing only a single team member, excluding the camera position.

French national coaches have replaced complete 4-way team rosters twice in the history of formation skydiving competition since 1985, in 1996 and 2007. This approach proved successful: the 2007 lineup (Julien Degen, Jérémie Rollett, Mathieu Bernier, and Guillaume Bernier) went on to win the 4-way gold medal at the 2010 World Championships in Menzelinsk. At that event, current national coach Mathieu Bernier became the first—and still the only—competitor to win both 4-way and 8-way gold medals at the same outdoor world championship.

In France, the national coach holds ultimate authority over the selection of national team lineups, following consultations with assistant coaches, subject-matter experts, and the French skydiving federation. Nevertheless, the most commonly used approach has been the so-called “2–2 option,” in which two members of the previous lineup continue alongside two newly selected team members appointed by the national coach.

France 4-way Open Class lineups between 1985 and 2026

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The United States present the opposite situation, as there is no national coach. Instead, the United States Parachute Association (USPA) provides the overall structure through its rules and regulations, while the winner of the national outdoor championship automatically qualifies as the national team for the next FAI/ISC event (World Championship or World Cup).

Arizona Airspeed best illustrates the U.S. system. Airspeed 4-way lineups from Skydive Arizona have represented the United States at more world championships than any other team franchise. These lineups also best reflect the nature of a free recruiting market. Since the Airspeed team franchise was launched in 1994, team captains have made use of all lineup options—from one to three returning team members—with roughly equal frequency. The current lineup follows a 3–1 option, even though Joey Marshall is the only returning member from the 2022–2024 world championship-winning team.

Since 2008, Belgium has been the third consistently medal-winning country in 4-way Open. NMP PCH HayaBusa is now a military team, with lineups that are carefully planned and highly structured. So far, the team captains and their teammates have applied only one approach: every lineup change has followed the 3–1 option. This consistency has also been rewarded with sustained competitive success.

NMP PCH HayaBusa lineups lineups between 2002 and 2026

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