posted Sep 30th, 2026 - The outcome of the 4-way Open Class competition at the USPA Nationals 2026 has created a very unusual situation for the U.S. delegation at the FAI Outdoor World Championship 2026. The U.S. national team that will represent the United States at the upcoming event is not, at the same time, the reigning 4-way Open Class champion. This situation has occurred only once before, and even then the circumstances were somewhat different. It had never happened prior to this year—or before the FAI Outdoor World Championship 2021, at least as far back as 1995 in U.S. 4-way history.

Even the previous occasion was not exactly the same. SDC Rhythm XP had won the USPA Nationals 2019 after a jump-off with Arizona Airspeed to break a tie following Round 10. However, the next outdoor world championship in Tanay, Russia, had to be postponed because of the corona virus pandemic and ultimately took place three years after the qualification event at Skydive Paraclete XP in 2019. By October 2019, Arizona Airspeed had already regained the top spot in the U.S. rankings by winning the FAI Outdoor World Cup 2019. They then won the USPA Nationals 2021 by 12 points (252–240), after SDC Rhythm XP had returned from Russia with FAI silver medals.

Holding the USPA qualification competition a year before the next world championship makes a lot of sense, and most countries around the world use the same or a similar qualification format. The history of U.S. 4-way Open competition also provides more than enough evidence that the system works well, with only a very small number of upsets occurring in the past.

USPA Nationals 2026		1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open	A,9,B,D		5,C,L,15		F,7,8		E,H,13,N		16,P,M,20		Q,G,11,21		4,12,17		22,O,2		19,6,J		18,1,K		Total	Avg
1	Arizona Airspeed	47		25	-2	26		31	-1	26	-1	18		20	-1	20		23		18	-2	254	25.4
2	Golden Knights	38	-4	27	-1	25		30	-2	27	-1	19	-4	20		21		25	-1	19	-2	251	25.1
3	SDC Rhythm XP	31	-4	19	-3	20	-2	24	-3	21		17	-3	16	-1	19		20	-1	17	-1	204	20.4
4	Elsinore Elevate	35		19		21		22	-2	18		17	-1	15		16		16	-2	15	-1	194	19.4
5	Hammertime 2.0	27	-1	19		19		21	-2	19		16	-2	13	-1	16		17		14	-3	181	18.1
6	Four Warned XP	26	-4	15	-1	20	-1	21	-2	18	-1	16	-1	12	-3	16		18		13	-2	175	17.5
7	Ranch TNT SDAZ	28	-2	16	-1	19		21		17		13	-2	12		15		15	-1	14		170	17.0
8	Redline XP	24	-1	16		17		17		17		15	-1	11	-2	11	-1	16	-1	13		157	15.7
9	SDC Rhedux	24	-1	14		16	-2	16	-3	15	-1	14	-2	10		14		15	-1	13		151	15.1
10	Girls Will Be Girls	24	-1	13		15	-3	17	-1	14		14	-1	13		14		13	-2	13		150	15.0
11	Adorable AF	20	-2	14		15	-1	19		11		13		11		11	-2	14		10	-3	138	13.8
12	Chicken Bolts	16	-5	13	-2	15	-2	12	-4	12		13	-2	13	-1	12		10	-5	13	-1	129	12.9
13	Mercenaries	21		12		13	-2	17		12	-1	14		9	-1	11		9	-4	10	-1	128	12.8
14	Air Raid XP	21		10	-1	15	-2	10	-8	13	-1	14		7	-4	11		13	-1	10	-3	124	12.4
15	AeroGiRhls	12		8	-1	11	-1	14		9		8	-1	7		10		8		8	-1	95	9.5
16	Perris 3 D & Dan	13		9	-1	11	-1	5	-3	8		8		8	-1	8	-1	8	-1	8		86	8.6

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Arizona Airspeed - Golden Knights at the USPA Nationals 2026

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By coincidence, the previous upset before this year and 2021 was much more closely comparable to this year's situation and also involved the Golden Knights and Arizona Airspeed. The U.S. Army team had won the USPA Nationals 2002 ahead of Airspeed and DeLand Majik, qualifying them to represent the United States in 4-way Open at the next world championship in Gap 2003.

The Golden Knights also returned from France with silver medals and then faced Airspeed Vertical and DeLand Majik again at the USPA Nationals 2003 a month later. DeLand Majik won this time and became the new U.S. national team in 4-way Open. The Golden Knights lost this U.S. trial a month after the world championship, while the Golden Knights of 2026 still have to compete for the U.S. delegation in Eloy.

The situation in 2006 does not count as an additional comparable occasion. DeLand Fire had won the USPA Nationals 2005 and followed up with FAI gold medals in Gera 2006. DeLand Groove then won the USPA Nationals 2006. However, the lineups of the two teams were almost identical. The only change was that the new and first female 4-way Open Class world champion, Natasha Montgomery, did not continue and was replaced by Silvanus (Solly) Williams.

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Four Warned XP - Ranch TNT SDAZ at the USPA Nationals 2026

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This year is the first time that a U.S. national team in 4-way Open that has not won the championship title in the same year will compete at a world championship after the USPA Nationals. Like the Golden Knights in 2003, the current lineup is also facing a very strong French team, Aethers Lille, who are among the top contenders for FAI gold on Arizona Airspeed's home turf.

The 4-way Open Class situation is actually identical to the one in 4-way Women. Ranch TNT SDAZ will compete for the U.S. delegation in Eloy after qualifying as the strongest 4-way Women team at the USPA Nationals 2025. They then lost the 4-way Women duel against Four Warned XP at Skydive Perris by five points, despite a significant improvement in both performance and scoring level.

Jeana Billings, with Laura Galdamez, Jill Stephenson, Christina West, and Youngsup Lee on camera in her lineup, outscored Ranch TNT, who will likely win FAI silver medals in 4-way Women. Jeana Billings and Jill Stephenson will only be watching Ranch TNT compete on their way to 4-way Women FAI medals. They are teammates in the current XP8 lineup, which is facing a potential battle for the 8-way gold medals against the Qatar Falcons. Jeana Billings is the reigning and defending 8-way and 4-way Women world champion, while Jill Stephenson is one of the two official XP8 alternates.

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