posted Jan 13th, 2026 - The Dutch team Out Of The Blue has represented the Netherlands for many years as the national 4-way Open Class team. OOTB was founded in 2017 by Mechie Voermans, Mandy Feijen, Danny Dorfel, and Leon van Leeuwen, with Bart Daenen serving as cameraflyer. While the lineup has changed several times over the years, original members Mechie Voermans and Leon van Leeuwen—now flying camera for the team—continue to represent the Netherlands in the same event.

At the FAI Outdoor World Cup 2025, Mechie Voermans competed with Roald de Leest, Paul Hofstee, and Ralf Pijnenburg, with Leon van Leeuwen once again on camera. This lineup had trained and competed together throughout 2024 and 2025. A further change to the lineup was planned for 2026, as reported by the NSL News from Skydive Teuge on 1 September 2025.

That September update also included NSL Live Talk with the Ibens family, announcing that young Siem Ibens—the son of original NMP PCH HayaBusa member Sven Ibens—would join Out Of The Blue, replacing Ralf Pijnenburg. Siem Ibens made his competition debut with the Dutch national team just a few weeks after the Outdoor World Cup at the BENELUX Championship 2025, which also served as the Dutch national outdoor championship. He flew the point slot in the front piece, with his piece partner Paul Hofstee as outside center.

FAI Outdoor World Cup 2025			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open		B,Q,19,F		G,13,K,A		12,7,8		16,E,6		1,J,9		10,15,21		5,18,L		M,20,11		C,17,2		22,O,P,3		Total	Avg
1	Aethers Lille	FR	36	-2	36		20	-1	25		29		20		24	-1	24		24	-1	25		263	26.3
2	Golden Knights	US	33		31	-2	20		24	-1	27	-1	16	-2	23		24		24		24		246	24.6
3	NMP PCH HayaBusa	BE	33		28	-3	19		24		30		18	-1	19	-2	22		21	-1	23		237	23.7
4	SDC Rhythm XP	US	27	-1	22	-5	17		22		21	-3	14	-2	20	-1	18	-1	20		19		200	20.0
5	U.S. Team	US	24	-2	21	-2	17		20		24		15	-1	18		19		21	-1	19		198	19.8
6	Skywalkers Junior	CZ	28		22	-2	16	-1	20		23		15	-1	18		18	-1	17	-2	19		196	19.6
7	Echochamber	SE	26		25		16	-1	20		24		12	-1	16	-1	19		18	-1	19		195	19.5
8	Agera	NO	27	-1	23	-1	17		18	-2	23	-1	16		17		17	-1	17	-2	19		194	19.4
9	RhEvolution XP	US	27		22		15		18	-1	21		15		13	-2	17		17		17		182	18.2
10	Out Of The Blue	NL	21	-2	22		13	-2	17		21		14		16		17	-1	17		17		175	17.5
11	AYRO	BE	24		22		13		18		21		12	-1	13	-2	17		17		15		172	17.2
12	Papea	ES	21	-3	22		17		18		18	-3	14		13	-1	15	-2	16	-2	16	-1	170	17.0
13	Chop Chop!	AU	18		16		11		12		16		9		10	-1	14		12	-1	13		131	13.1
14	Les Hermines	FR	17	-2	16	-1	10	-1	12		15		8	-1	10		14		13		13		128	12.8
15	British Army Volt4ge	UK	16		12		10		12		14	-2	11		9	-1	11	-1	10	-1	11		116	11.6
16	Axis	UK	13	-1	10	-2	10		10		14		9		8		11		10	-1	9	-2	104	10.4

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Out Of The Blue at the FAI Outdoor World Cup 2025 - NSL Live Talk with the Ibens family

The new lineup completed all four rounds at the BENELUX Championship before Paul Hofstee was also forced to step back. He was facing surgery that required a longer recovery period than initially expected, and Out Of The Blue had to recruit a new team member, at least for the near future.

Mechie Voermans (Inside Center) and Roald de Leest (Tail) were able to continue together in the same rear piece they had flown for the past two years, while the front piece required a complete rebuild with Siem Ibens and a new team member. Siem Ibens had already gained his first Out Of The Blue outside center experience as Paul Hofstee’s front piece partner whenever slot switchers required him to fly the B-slot. He had also gained his very first outside center experience with his previous 4-way team, Falco, where he replaced Paul Hofstee in the outside center slot after Hofstee joined the Dutch national team in 2024.

Timmy De Smet is the new Out Of The Blue member and Siem Ibens’ piece partner in the point slot. He has accumulated his AAA Class experience with Trance Ition since 2023 and has known the Ibens family and Out Of The Blue for many years. He accepted the invitation to join OOTB without hesitation.

BENELUX Championship 2025			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Total	Avg
Rank	AAA Class		22,19,10	20,3,O	8,16,2	21,M,5	E,K,6,F	D,1,G,14	7,13,4	17,J,9	H,Q,12,18	L,15,11	C,B,P,A,N	Total	Avg
1	NMP PCH HayaBusa	BE	17	21	17	24	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	79	19.8
2	Qatar Cheetahs	QA	14	15	14	19	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	62	15.5
3	AYRO	BE	13	15	13	18	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	59	14.8
4	Out Of The Blue	NL	11	14	12	16	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	53	13.3
5	D'Z Nuts		11	11	11	16	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	49	12.3
6	Full Flow	BE	8	10	11	12	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	41	10.3
7	Hybris	BE	9	9	9	12	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	39	9.8
7	Garudas	BE	11	8	10	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	39	9.8
9	Funky Falcon	NL	9	9	9	9	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	36	9.0
10	Spare Rib Masters	NL	5	8	8	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	31	7.8

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Out Of The Blue (NL) at the national outdoor championship in 2025 and in January 2026

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Out Of The Blue’s new lineup recently completed its first training camp, marking an exciting new chapter for the team. New members Siem Ibens and Timmy De Smet joined Mechie Voermans and Roald de Leest, who returned to their established slots from previous seasons. This was the first training for the new lineup, and the team was very satisfied with how quickly everything came together. Communication, rhythm, and overall team dynamics felt strong, providing a high level of confidence moving forward.

OOTB is now fully focused on the upcoming competitions: the Dutch National Indoor Championship in March and the FAI Indoor World Cup in April. The team told the NSL News that they are “motivated and excited to continue building on this solid start as they prepare for the international and national stages ahead.”

Out Of The Blue has already qualified for the FAI World Championship in October, which will be the first major international competition for both Siem Ibens and Timmy De Smet. Mechie Voermans, Roald de Leest, Siem Ibens, and videographer Leon van Leeuwen secured the Dutch national outdoor championship title after the outdoor world cup, facing no serious opposition from other Dutch 4-way AAA Class teams. Voermans, de Leest, and van Leeuwen successfully defended their 2024 title with Siem Ibens and will represent the Netherlands at Skydive Arizona.