posted Oct 17th, 2026 - Saturday turned out to be the busiest day since the NSL News arrived at Skydive Arizona. The weather remained threatening throughout the day, but fortunately, it never disrupted skydiving operations. All teams had opportunities to warm up, thanks to the Skydive Arizona staff and Twin Otter fleet, which were ready to handle the busy schedule.

Only two of the 13 registered 4-way Open Class teams had yet to appear: Skywalkers Most from the Czech Republic and Flyspot Sky4Four from Poland. Both still have Sunday to arrive, with the final day of training jumps also available before the competition begins. The opening ceremony, including the team briefing and competition draw, is scheduled for 5 p.m., leaving plenty of time for jumping throughout Sunday. All registered 4-way Women and 8-way teams are now at the competition site.

John D’Annunzio has also arrived at Skydive Arizona and was training with Paraclete XP8 on Sunday. The U.S. 8-way world champions are preparing for the possibility that Jeana Billings may be unavailable for the competition. D’Annunzio is himself one of the reigning 8-way world champions, having been part of the winning U.S. lineups at Tanay 2021, Eloy 2022, and Crystal Coast 2024. At Crystal Coast in 2024, GKXP8 set a new world record with a 37-point single-round score and finished with a historic 23.9 average.

---

---

Saturday training action at Skydive Arizona

---

FAI Outdoor World Championship 2026			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Open Power Ranking		TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	Total	Avg
1	Qatar Falcons	QA	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1	Paraclete XP8	US	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
3	Operation Adler	DE	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
4	Netunos	BR	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5	Canada8	CA	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Qatar’s national 8-way coach, Jérémie Rollett, a former 4-way and 8-way world champion for France, is not spending much time evaluating the opposition. The only main competition for Qatar’s Falcons this year comes from U.S. team Paraclete XP8. Neither Germany’s Operation Adler, Brazil’s Netunos, nor Canada’s 8-way team is expected to challenge for the top positions on the 8-way leaderboard.

Rollett, who has been living in Qatar with his family for five years, explained that his primary focus is on preparing the Falcons to deliver their best possible performance. He is supported in this effort by former team member Abdulla Ahmad Al Hammadi. His approach makes sense, as predicting the performance and scoring level of XP8 is particularly difficult. The two teams could be closely matched, potentially delivering an 8-way thriller similar to the three-way battle expected in 4-way Open among France, Belgium, and the United States. Germany’s Operation Adler is not expected to interfere in that contest, while its successful defense of the 8-way bronze-medal position appears to be very realistic.

The 4-way Women competition, by contrast, does not appear likely to produce the same level of drama in the fight for medals or other leaderboard positions. Nephtys Maubeuge faces no serious opposition, while Thyra’s young lineup will probably struggle to challenge the strong U.S. team Ranch TNT SDAZ, which has returned to training after spending a week at home. For Thyra, the immediate goal is to outscore the Dutch team Funky Falcon and secure the bronze medals.

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	Nephtys	FR	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2	Ranch TNT SDAZ	US	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
3	Thyra	NO	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
4	Funky Falcon	NL	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Help the NSL News to Continue the Work - DONATE PLEASE