posted Jul 11th, 2005 - The fast round ten of the 4-way competition at the Malevsky Cup 2005 allowed all teams to raise the meet average for the whole meet. It was also an opportunity to go after national highscore records.

The NSL News could not keep track of all new official records that were posted in this round. However, the Canadian national team Stratosfear informed the NSL News that the team's score of 20 points in round ten would be a new Canadian 4-way record. The old and official Canadian highscore of 19 points was already posted in 1997.

Stratosfear's 20-pointer needs to be recognized by the FAI and the Canadian skydiving association to become the new official national 4-way record, and there might be one obstacle in the way. The Malevsky Cup 2005 is an official FAI event, which meets one of the requirements. However, the official rules for the 4-way competition in Russia included cuts after rounds eight and nine.

Only the best six national teams were officially allowed to jump round ten, the "finals" of the event. Canada's Stratosfear did not make the last cut after round nine and officially missed round ten. The same situation applied to the Russian Sky Panthers who lost the qualification for the final round to Extreme.RU after a tie breaker.

The event management allowed all teams to complete round ten, as the scores are posted in the NSL scoring table. However, the official scoreboard of the Malevsky Cup 2005 does not include the scores for round ten of the teams that did not officially qualify for the "finals".

Round ten of all not qualified teams was still judged by the five FAI judges, and the scores were posted on the official score sheets. Thus, Stratosfear might still have a chance to get official recognition of the new Canadian highscore.

Official highscore or not - Stratosfear had more surprises for the NSL News. There were rumors that the mysterious "Fun Flag" has been in Canadian possession since the World Championship of Formation Skydiving 2004 in Croatia. The NSL News took the opportunity of the Stratosfear visit in the NSL Malevsky office to ask for the truth.

The present Stratosfear members did not only confirm the rumors but also presented the evidence. The NSL News had the honor to witness the presence of the original Fun Flag in Stupino when Stratosfear member Tana Nash pulled the precious flag out of her backpack.

Stratosfear also generously provided the original footage of the secret Fun Flag rising at the Malevsky Cup. Thanks to the Canadian team, the valued NSL News audience now has the unique opportunity to view this special ceremony on NSL-TV.

Rising of the Fun Flag at the Malevsky Cup 2005 - see video

However, providing this footage was the end of Stratosfear's generosity. The atmosphere in the NSL Malevsky office changed dramatically when the NSL News kindly asked the team to leave the Fun Flag in the NSL office and make it accessible for the whole audience.

In fact, the Canadians quickly left the office and ran when the NSL News made a last and desperate physical effort to secure the Fun Flag. It is now unknown where the flag is currently hidden, and the NSL News asks all visitors to keep an eye on the Canadian team and its activities. The next Fun Flag appearance might occur at the Canadian national championship this month...