posted Jul 18th, 2010 - Scores from Germany have been added to the new leaderboard. Final Four Remscheid posted new numbers and is currently holding the 2nd place in the AAA Class behind the Pro Team from Finland. The NSL News provided background information of the German team in the story on 5 June 2010 after a 16.5 average performance in June.

This weekend's numbers are not as impressive as the ones in June since Final Four did not compete with the original lineup. Chris Schaefer, 19-year old Tail who was introduced by the NSL News on 12 June 2010, recovers from a recent injury. The NSL News has no information at the moment who filled the Tail slot for this weekend's competition.

The host of the Mid-German Championships, Dädalus Fallschirmsport/FSC Eisenach, used to be the home of the German national 4-way team. Markus Bastuck, Dieter Schwarz, Jörn Thiele, Max Thiele and Alexander Hau (Camera) have a new home and a new name this year, Paratec-Saar, and are not competing this weekend.

Final Four Remscheid's Round 3 at the Mid-German Championships

The Road to Russia

The recent NSL News stories of "The Road to Russia" for the best amateur teams in the world did not mention the German team.

The NSL News had posted a more comprehensive update of Paratec-Saar, formerly known as FSC Eisenach, after the conclusion of the German Nationals 2009. The story on 9 August 2009 (Archives > 2009 > News > Search for "Eisenach") explained that Markus Bastuck, Dieter Schwarz, Jörn Thiele, Max Thiele and Alexander Hau (Camera) won in 4-way and in 8-way for the second time. The question was open at that time whether the German team would compete in both events at the World Championship of Formation Skydiving 2010 or not.

The same article recalled that the five Paratec-Saar members competed in both events at the World Meet 2008 in France and ended up with a mediocre 4-way performance, while their EADS 8-way lineup battled with Italy for the bronze medals and lost by 12 points after seven rounds.

The NSL News story on 4 June 2010 followed up on the topic and broke the news that the German national 4-way team will only compete in 4-way this year.

The downside of this decision is the fact that Germany will not have an 8-way team in Russia this year. The German skydiving federation decided against any other lineup that might not perform as strongly as the previous national teams, which finished 5th (2006 - 14.2) and 4th (2008 - 16.3) at the last two world meets.

The upside for the German 4-way fans is the fact that Paratec-Saar surely has the potential to win the unofficial title of the best amateur team in the world. The same lineup broke through the 20-point average benchmark in 2009, a year before Dynamic Fource and Bodyflight Voluntas did the same.

The focus only on the 4-way competition in Menzelinsk brings Paratec-Saar back to the position where Germany was with EADS at the World Meet 2006. The EADS 4-way lineup won the race for the unofficial amateur championship with an 18.8 average and a 7th place after five rounds.

World Meet 2008		Round1	Round2	Round3	Round4	Round5	Round6	Round7	Total	Avg
Rank	AAAClass	B,17,7	H,N,13,A	10,J,C,6	18,12,2	E,3,9	19,O,4	D,M,5,16	Total	Avg
7	Italy Spin Team	23	21	16	13	21	16	21	131	18.7
8	Netherlands Dynamic Fource	22	20	16	12	21	16	22	129	18.4
9	Switzerland VIVA	19	23	17	13	21	15	18	126	18.0
10	Germany FSC Eisenach	21	17	14	13	21	15	21	122	17.4

Paratec-Saar recently updated the NSL News with team information, including the new home and the new name. Jörn Thiele reported in June that his team finally started the 2010 season with some training at the new place in the "Saarland", a region in the southwest of Germany. Saarlouis is the same place where the "Fallschirmsportverband SAAR e.V." will host the World Cup of Formation Skydiving 2011.

Jörn Thiele said that his team had a successful camp and jumped from a "SuperVan", which is a Cessna Grand Caravan with a 900 PS engine. His team mate Markus Bastuck runs the dropzone and the plane operation in Saarlouis.

He said that the door is almost as big as the one of a Twin Otter and worked well to train for the exits from the LET at the upcoming World Meet.

The German national 4-way team has not posted any scores in 2010. The Nuggets Cup next weekend is probably too close to the trip to Russia. The score for Round 1 at the World Meet in Menzelinsk could be the first one this year.

The Paratec-Saar members are all seasoned 4-way competitors by now and will not be shaken easily by a new meet environment. The same lineup has been together since 2003. Even only little training will bring the team back to speed quickly.

However, the competition is tougher than ever before. EADS had to deal only with the DaneZ in 2006. Italy's Spin Team (18.7), Dynamic Fource (18.4) and the Swiss national team (18.0) made it much more challenging in 2008 and outscored Paratec-Saar. The upcoming World Meet will most likely require a 20-point average to win the unofficial amateur title. The German team will be in the mix.