posted May 13th, 2026 - The run-up to the Outdoor World Championship in formation skydiving competition has now begun across all events. Following the conclusion of the indoor season at the FAI Indoor World Cup 2026, the NSL News is taking the same closer look at the current situation in 4-way Women as it did in its first preview of the 4-way Open Class.

The overview in 4-way Women is easier to assess than in 4-way Open, mainly because participation numbers have been significantly lower. Only five countries sent national teams in this category to the FAI Outdoor World Championship 2024, which is not unusual for the event. Since the category was introduced in 2001, average participation at FAI Outdoor World Championships has been 8.8 teams per event. However, attendance at the last three world championships has averaged fewer than five teams, with four teams competing in 2021, four in 2022, and five in 2024.

An evaluation of the most recent FAI events in 2025 and 2026 suggests that participation in 4-way Women could once again remain below the historical average established since 2001. Seven national teams currently form the basis of the first NSL Power Rankings, even though the official registration deadline is still far away.

FAI Indoor World Cup 2026			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Women		J,20,C,4		10,O,L,M		B,21,N,H		14,F,3		18,16,9		E,6,8		19,1,Q		G,5,12		P,D,17,22		15,11,2		Total	Avg
1	China Hubei 1	CN	31		35		37	-1	26	-1	30		29		29	-1	30		32		23	-2	302	30.2
-	Siberries	RU	30	-2	33		37		27	-2	28		28	-1	26	-2	29		31		24		293	29.3
2	Nephtys	FR	29		36		33	-4	25	-2	27		26	-1	28		29		29		21		283	28.3
3	China Hubei 2	CN	27	-2	28	-2	29	-2	24		25	-2	27		25		27	-3	26	-3	20	-2	258	25.8
4	NFTO	UK	24	-2	28	-1	32		23	-2	19	-4	18	-3	23		21	-1	25		20		233	23.3
5	Thyra	NO	25		26		27	-1	21		20		24		22	-1	20		25		19		229	22.9
6	XP Angels	US	26		23	-1	25	-2	23		20		22	-2	20	-3	20	-1	24		18	-1	221	22.1
7	Meltemi Oceanside Illertissen	DE	22		24		27		21		20		22		21		16	-3	21		16	-1	210	21.0
8	Airdrops	CH	19	-1	25		27		17	-3	18	-1	21		21	-2	16	-2	23		16		203	20.3
9	WingX	CH	21	-1	25		25	-2	21		19		17	-2	20	-1	19		21	-1	14	-2	202	20.2
10	Les Hermines	FR	22		22		23		20		15	-3	19		21		19		23		17		201	20.1
11	Indonesia Women	ID	20	-3	25		23	-4	19	-1	20	-1	19	-2	18	-2	20		19	-1	16	-1	199	19.9
-	Aura Nomads	RU	19	-1	20	-1	19		17	-2	18	-1	20		20		21		23		17	-1	194	19.4
12	Aeroxs	FI	20		21		24	-3	18	-1	16	-1	21		15	-3	17		18	-1	16		186	18.6
13	Valkyrie	IT	16	-3	23		24	-3	11	-5	17		18	-1	18	-2	18	-1	20		14	-2	179	17.9

---

AeroXS (FI) - Valkyrie (IT) at the FAI Indoor World Cup 2026

---

There were a total of 13 teams competing in 4-way Women at the FAI Indoor World Cup 2026 last month, while two additional teams from Russia posted scores for the same ten sequences at the EASA Online Cup 2026 in Moscow.

However, only six of the teams that competed at Weembi Lille can realistically be expected to register for the outdoor world championship. The remaining seven teams are primarily indoor teams with little or no outdoor competition experience, or additional 4-way Women teams from countries already represented by their national teams. Only one team per nation is eligible to compete at any FAI World Championship.

The Funky Falcons from the Netherlands, who competed at the FAI Outdoor World Cup 2025 but did not attend the FAI Indoor World Cup last month, are still unofficially listed among the potential participants for the FAI Outdoor World Championship 2026. Nephtys (France), Thyra (Norway), and XP Angels (United States) — the three medal-winning teams at Skydive Teuge last year — all returned for the FAI Indoor World Cup and can also be expected to compete for FAI medals at Skydive Arizona in October.

FAI Outdoor World Cup 2025			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Women		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	Nephtys Maubeuge	FR	28		27		17		19	-1	24		17		19		19		19		19		208	20.8
2	Thyra	NO	16	-3	17		13		14		16		10	-1	11	-1	12		14		14		137	13.7
3	XP Angels	US	9	-7	10	-3	9	-2	11		14		9		9		12		12		13		108	10.8
4	Perris 4ever	US	13		11		8	-1	9		11		8		8	-1	10		10		11		99	9.9
5	Funky Falcon	NL	11	-2	11	-1	7		9		14		8		8		10		9		11		98	9.8

---

China Hubei 1 - Nephtys Maubeuge at the FAI Outdoor World Championship 2024

---

The same three teams will compete with different lineups at this year’s outdoor event. Alexandra Petitjean will return to the Nephtys lineup for the outdoor season, while Gaelle Giesen replaces Elise Poindron. XP Angels had already introduced their new lineup before competing at Weembi Lille, and the NSL News reported Thyra’s updated lineup on May 10th.

China’s Hubei 1 team, which won silver medals at the FAI Outdoor World Championship 2024, followed up with a highly impressive indoor performance last month. If the lineup remains unchanged, the Chinese team will likely enter this year’s outdoor championship as the leading contender for the gold medals, with Nephtys appearing to be the strongest potential challenger.

The British delegation at Crystal Coast 2024 and Teuge 2025 did not include NFTO, the team that won FAI gold medals at Eloy 2022. However, a different NFTO lineup finished in 4th place at Weembi Lille this year, and a similarly strong British team could once again contend for medals at the same location where the delegation claimed gold four years ago. Germany’s Meltemi Oceanside Illertissen features a lineup of indoor and outdoor competitors, and the team is hoping to make the trip to Arizona in October. The leaderboard may be small, but it is shaping up to be highly competitive.

FAI Outdoor World Championship 2026			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Women Power Rankings		TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	Total	Avg
1	China Hubei 1	CN	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1	Nephtys	FR	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
3	XP Angels	US	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
3	NFTO	UK	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5	Thyra	NO	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5	Meltemi Oceanside Illertissen	DE	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
7	Funky Falcon	NL	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-