posted Oct 23rd, 2026 - The final day of the FAI Outdoor World Championship 2026 began with the 8-way competition. The final two rounds were scheduled to complete the meet, although no changes at the top of the leaderboard were realistically expected. The Qatar Falcons picked up the pace and actually won Friday’s 8-way competition by one point. However, it was too late to make a difference in the overall standings, as the 10-round competition had effectively been decided in the earlier rounds.

The Falcons were already six points behind after Round 3 when they won their first round, edging Paraclete XP8 by one point. They tied one more round (Round 6) before falling further behind. They had probably already begun trying to pick up the pace on Wednesday in Round 8, when they matched XP8’s total of 21 formations completed within working time. However, five point deductions reduced their score to 16.

With nothing to lose at that point, the Falcons continued at the same increased pace on Friday. The result was the highest score of the entire 8-way competition in Round 9, cutting the gap to first place from 13 points to 10. But Paraclete XP8 had nothing left to prove on Friday, having already secured the gold medal and knowing their position was safe.

The Falcons, meanwhile, were also beyond the reach of Operation Adler, Germany’s 8-way team, which finished 32 points ahead of Brazil’s Netunos. The Netunos had won nine of the ten rounds against Canada’s 8-way team and recorded the team’s first average above 10 points in a 10-round competition.

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NSL TV Unfiltered: 8-way Finish on 23 October 2026

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8-way Formation Skydiving world champions between 1985 and 2026

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The 8-way competition was also especially exciting for Paraclete XP8 for several other reasons. Jeana Billings and Kirk Verner accomplished their mission of introducing six new team members to the highest level of 8-way competition, alongside former 8-way world champions Jennifer Davidson, Matt Davidson and John D'Annunzio.

James Hall, Brandon Kashani and Carl Kallgren IV joined XP8's new lineup in 2025, along with Jill Stephenson, Ian Pedowitz and team videographer Kevin Penn. The lineup underwent a few changes along the way, but the same three-way core made it through a full year of XP8's demanding training process. Their efforts were now rewarded with the outdoor world championship title after they outscored the well-trained Qatar Falcons in Eloy.

Beyond this achievement for XP8's newest members, the team's former 8-way world champions also had reasons to celebrate. Matt Davidson is now the sole leader in 8-way with seven FAI gold medals. Kirk Verner is tied with Craig Girard and Scott Rhodes for second place. Verner has also drawn level with Craig Girard in the all-time tally of FAI gold medals across both 8-way and 4-way Open Class competition, putting them jointly at the top of that ranking. The combination of extensive 8-way experience and fresh talent proved to be a winning formula for XP8 this year.

FAI Outdoor World Championship 2026			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Open		11,16,10		9,17,4		J,D,E,19		1,14,H		K,M,2,O		B,18,6		A,N,7,8		P,L,C,12		F,3,13		20,G,22		Total	Avg
1	Paraclete XP8	US	22		19		17	-1	18	-1	20		19	-1	19		21		21	-1	20		196	19.6
2	Qatar Falcons	QA	18	-1	18		16	-2	19		19		19		17		16	-5	24		20		186	18.6
3	Operation Adler	DE	15	-1	14		13		14		11	-2	14		12		16		16		14		139	13.9
4	Netunos	BR	12		12	-1	11		11	-1	9	-2	11		10		10	-1	11	-2	10		107	10.7
5	Canada8	CA	10		9		7		9		7		11		9		8	-1	10		9		89	8.9

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