posted Feb 28th, 2026 - The 8-way competition at the Paraclete XP Indoor Championship 2026 offered plenty of compelling storylines. Once again, it marked the peak of the annual 8-way Hell Week, which effectively split the field of eleven Open Class teams in half. Five of the teams featured international visitors in their lineups and were therefore not eligible to compete for U.S. championship medals. An additional nine teams took part in the 8-way Intermediate Class.

The participants of 8-way Hell Week create a vibrant mix of enthusiasts who come together for one of two dedicated 8-way weeks each year — one at Weembi Lille and the other at Paraclete XP. The leaderboard reflects this diversity, ranging from pickup teams whose members often first meet during Hell Week, to highly dedicated world-class teams aiming for medals at indoor world cups and world championships.

XP8 (United States), Netunos (Brazil), and Canada’s 8-way teams competed at the FAI Indoor World Championship 2025. Members of XP8, in different lineups, are the reigning indoor and outdoor world champions for the United States. The scores and meet averages spanned a similarly wide range, highlighted by the 50-point opening round posted by the winning home team.

Paraclete XP Indoor Championship 2026			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Open		16,N,4		22,2,10		17,G,6		A,D,19,C		14,21,11		Q,12,P,13		8,L,H,F		15,J,3		B,E,K,7		18,20,0		Total	Avg
1	XP8	US	50		24		34		25	-1	22		28		28		43		32		23		309	30.9
G	Kuzbass Jr.	RU	37		20		28		19	-2	16	-3	22	-1	22		29	-1	22	-2	21	-1	236	23.6
2	Golden Knights	US	39	-2	18	-2	28	-1	19	-2	16	-3	19	-3	18	-4	32	-1	25		22	-1	236	23.6
G	Netunos	BR	29	-1	17		22	-1	17		12	-2	16	-1	18		26	-1	20		19		196	19.6
G	Better Late than Never	US	26		17		23		18		15		14	-2	19		26	-1	18	-1	19		195	19.5
G	Infinite Octane	US	24	-1	14	-1	20		13	-1	13		14		16		19	-1	16	-1	15		164	16.4
G	Canada8	CA	23		13		19		14		12		11	-2	15		20		17		13	-1	157	15.7
3	D Jen R*s	US	18		12		17		13		11		12	-1	9	-1	15	-1	14		13		134	13.4
4	Octrhivium	US	12	-4	12		17		12	-1	9	-1	13		15		17	-1	14		13		134	13.4
5	Spaceland 8	US	15	-2	10	-2	18		12		9		11		12		16	-1	14		12	-2	129	12.9
6	Platinum XP8	US	15	-2	11		14		8	-3	7	-2	10		10	-1	13		13		10	-1	111	11.1

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XP8 at the Paraclete XP Indoor Championship 2026

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One of the five guest teams was neither participating in 8-way Hell Week nor physically present at the competition site. Russia’s Kuzbass Jr. 8-way team performed the ten sequences simultaneously at their wind tunnel in Kemerovo. Their scores were posted on the event’s InTime leaderboard along with the competition videos.

The Russian team had competed at the same event that XP8 attended with its current lineup in January — the Air World Championships 2026 in Abu Dhabi. Russia’s senior 8-way team, Tanay 8, won that competition by three points over XP8 in the current lineup’s first meet. The Kuzbass juniors finished in third place at the same event and have since raised their scoring and overall performance level by two average points since January.

XP8 also improved significantly over the same period, increasing their average from 28.3 to 30.9. Both teams benefited from the 8-way Super Sequence in Round 1. However, XP8’s 50-point performance at the national indoor championship cannot be recognized as a new 8-way world record, as the required formalities for an official world record application were not completed.

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Golden Knights - Kuzbass Jr. at the Paraclete XP Indoor Championship 2026

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The Russian 8-way juniors were not able to keep pace with XP8 as the Tanay 8 seniors had done in January. However, they delivered a strong performance in their head-to-head battle with the Golden Knights alumni reunion lineup. The complete Golden Knights 4-way team joined forces with former team captains Sean Sweeney and Andrew Starr, along with their former world champion teammate Mike LaRoche. Team videographer Skyler Romberg completed the lineup.

Golden Knights and Kuzbass Jr. finished tied for second place — the Russian juniors as a guest team competing remotely, and the Golden Knights earning the 8-way U.S. silver medals to complement their 4-way gold.

Four additional guest teams competed live at Paraclete XP and secured the next ranking positions ahead of the remaining four U.S. 8-way teams. Within the U.S. competition, the battle for the official bronze medals was especially tight. Jennifer Davidson's 8-way team, D Jen R*s, claimed the bronze medals based on their Round 1 score, which proved decisive in their tied duel with Steve Lefkowitz and his Octrhivium lineup. Jennifer Davidson captured gold with XP8 and bronze with D Jen R*s at the same event, along with a bronze medal in 4-way Open. Her 4-way and 8-way teammate Jeana Billings went one step further, winning two gold medals in 8-way Open and 8-way Intermediate, plus a bronze medal in 4-way Open with XP4. The Golden Knights completed their campaign with 4-way gold and 8-way silver.

Paraclete XP Indoor Championship 2026		1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Intermediate	A,1,14		E,4,19		L,13,J		18,17		5,16		B,C,N,21		P,M,8		D,7,Q		10,6		O,G,3		Total	Avg
1	Savage Sirens XP	15		13		10		15		15		12		13		15		13		19		140	14.0
2	Foodoo	11		13		11		14		16		12		14		17		13		17		138	13.8
3	AF Ninety 8 Ball	9		14		12		14		16		10		12		14		13		16		130	13.0
4	Surf N Turf	12		10		10		12		16		13		12		13		10		14		122	12.2
5	Kramer's Krewmates	11		13		9		11		13		9		8		12		10		17		113	11.3
6	Northern Lights	8		10		9		11		8		9		9		9		9		12		94	9.4
7	Aerhoparty	9		11		8		7		13		9		9		6		7		11		90	9.0
8	Socks In The Dryer	7		7		7		11		8		10		10		9		7		13		89	8.9
9	We Did It	6		9		10		8		9		6		8		10		7		12		85	8.5