posted May 7th, 2026 - The indoor competition season concluded this year with the FAI Indoor World Cup 2026 at Weembi Lille, and the next major FAI/ISC event will be the FAI Outdoor World Championship 2026. The national teams that attended the Indoor World Cup now have almost exactly six months to transition from Round 10 at Weembi Lille to Round 1 at Skydive Arizona in Eloy, Arizona.

The switch from the indoor to the outdoor environment is generally more challenging than the reverse transition. Indoor events are unaffected by weather conditions, while outdoor competition requires several critical skills that cannot be fully trained in a wind tunnel. Exits and sub-terminal phases require aircraft, and the equipment used in outdoor competition extends far beyond jumpsuits, helmets, and gloves. In particular, the additional weight of skydiving gear changes body balance and affects the execution of freefall maneuvers.

Even though the two environments have grown increasingly different over the years, most formation skydiving teams still compete in both disciplines. Indoor 4-way and 8-way originally began primarily as valuable training tools before developing their own momentum through dedicated indoor competition. FAI/ISC eventually adopted the discipline officially and now sanctions annual events, with World Championships and World Cups alternating each year. Now begins the part of the season when outdoor training becomes essential in preparation for the Outdoor World Championship in October, while indoor training is reduced mainly to periods of bad weather. Naturally, the situation is reversed in the Southern and Eastern Hemispheres, where seasonal conditions are different.

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 One	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 Oceanside	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

FAI/ISC Event Rotation since 1985

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The end of the indoor competition season and the aftermath of the Indoor World Cup also mark the beginning of NSL News coverage for the six-month run-up to the Outdoor World Championship. Although no list of registered teams is available yet, previous events already provide enough information to create preliminary leaderboards and speculative predictions for the NSL Power Rankings.

Last year’s outdoor season featured the FAI Outdoor World Cup 2025 at Skydive Teuge in the Netherlands as its premier event, and it now serves as the main reference point for the first previews of the Outdoor World Championship in October 2026. The 16 teams in the 4-way Open Class competition at Skydive Teuge represented ten different countries, as World Cup rules allow each delegation to register up to four teams per event. Those same ten nations are likely to send their top teams to the World Championship as well, where each delegation is limited to a single entry.

Eight of those ten countries will most likely be represented by the same 4-way Open Class teams that competed in Teuge. Only Australia and Great Britain are expected to field different national teams in Eloy. Havoc won the most recent Australian national championship, while SOAR claimed the title in Great Britain. There are also several national teams that did not compete at last year’s Outdoor World Cup. Airbus 4-way Illertissen from Germany and Agera Oceanside from Norway were among the most notable absentees from the Netherlands in August 2025. Both teams are expected to return to competition and contend once again for the unofficial amateur world championship title.

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	Skywalkers Junior	CZ	28		22	-2	16	-1	20		23		15	-1	18		18	-1	17	-2	19		196	19.6
5	Echochamber	SE	26		25		16	-1	20		24		12	-1	16	-1	19		18	-1	19		195	19.5
6	Agera Oceanside	NO	27	-1	23	-1	17		18	-2	23	-1	16		17		17	-1	17	-2	19		194	19.4
7	Out Of The Blue	NL	21	-2	22		13	-2	17		21		14		16		17	-1	17		17		175	17.5
8	Papea	ES	21	-3	22		17		18		18	-3	14		13	-1	15	-2	16	-2	16	-1	170	17.0
9	Chop Chop!	AU	18		16		11		12		16		9		10	-1	14		12	-1	13		131	13.1
10	British Army Volt4ge	UK	16		12		10		12		14	-2	11		9	-1	11	-1	10	-1	11		116	11.6

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Airbus 4-way Illertissen (DE) - Amnesya (IT) at the FAI Outdoor World Cup 2023

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One of the opponents for Airbus and Agera in the same group of teams would be Sweden’s Echochamber, who competed at last year’s Outdoor World Cup but missed the Indoor World Cup due to injury. Italy was represented neither at Crystal Coast 2024 nor at Teuge 2025, although an Amnesya indoor lineup, Fly X, competed at Weembi Lille. Amnesya also fields an outdoor lineup that won the Italian national championships in 2022, 2023, and 2024. The 2023 lineup battled Germany’s Airbus team for the FAI European Championship bronze medals at the FAI Outdoor World Cup 2023 in Norway. Amnesya could once again be a strong contender for 5th place.

South Africa’s national champions of recent years, Savolo, claimed another national title in March 2026 and could return for their next Outdoor World Championship appearance. Their last participation came at the FAI Outdoor World Championship in Ottawa 2016 , where they finished in the Top 10 with 9th place and a 17.9 average. There is also a possibility that Flyspot Sky4Four will once again represent Poland, as they did at Eloy 2022. Brazil was represented by a Netunos 4-way lineup in 2024, while Indonesia continues to expand its presence at FAI events, including participation in the outdoor competition at the FAI Tanay Mondial in August 2021.

The world’s top amateur teams in 4-way Open may once again find themselves battling for 5th place this year, even though the Qatar Tigers are unlikely to return with a team. Skywalkers Most posted a 19.6 average at their first FAI outdoor competition in Teuge last year and will most likely enter the Outdoor World Championship ranked in 4th place, right behind the three teams they hope to challenge for FAI medals in the near future.

FAI Outdoor World Championship 2026			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Total	Avg
Rank	NSL Power Rankings 4-way Open		TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	Total	Avg
1	Aethers	FR	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2	Golden Knights	US	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2	NMP PCH HayaBusa	BE	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
4	Skywalkers Most	CZ	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5	Airbus 4-way Illertissen	DE	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5	Agera Oceanside	NO	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5	Echochamber	SE	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5	SOAR	UK	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5	Out Of The Blue	NL	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5	Amnesya	IT	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5	Papea	ES	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
12	Savolo	ZA	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
12	Flyspot Sky4Four	PL	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
14	Netunos	BR	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
14	Havoc	AU	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
16	Indonesia	ID	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-