posted Jul 28th, 2010 - The NSL News mentioned earlier today that a Satori update would follow very soon. The UK national team in the Open Class arrived a day after Team Bodyflight made it to Russia coming from the United Kingdom. The UK delegation is now complete.

Team Bodyflight's reigning and defending 4-way world champion in the female 4-way category, Sarah Smith-Cannon, brought the IPC Trophy for this category in her luggage and allowed the NSL News to take a look at it upon arrival at the airport. She also brought up the question where the Fun Flag is recently hidden, and it is about time to investigate this crucial subject.

The NSL News reported earlier that Arizona Airspeed has been working on fast random sequences ever since the results at the World Challenge 2010. Airspeed was not the only team with the same agenda. Satori provided the NSL News with a video where the team scores a 71-pointer for an easy sequence of random formations. While the World Meet teams started their long and complicated journeys to Russia, NSL News correspondent Jo Hawley spoke to Satori member Julia Foxwell to find out the hopes and dreams of her team.

Satori's Road to Russia

Written by Joanne Hawley

Satori intends to show that the United Kingdom can make an impact in the 4-way Open Class once again. Whilst they know there's no such thing as a perfect 10-round meet, Satori's aim is to fly consistently and to the full team potential on every round.

Training has been going well with improvements every training camp. Currently performing at around a 22-point average, Satori has broken all British records on their way to qualifying for the World Meet - very impressive for a part-time team.

The team members have been together for three seasons now, although they have suffered some line-up changes. Former Center Inside Liz Matthews will be competing at the same meet in the female 4-way category after returning from pregnancy and qualifying for the meet with a near scratch team at last year's UK Nationals.

After a few false starts at finding a replacement, Satori managed to attract John McIver, a member of UK's former top team XL, to join them a year and a half ago. It has been full throttle ever since.

Julia (otherwise known as Foxy) reflects that the team hasn't had it easy this year though: "The weather hasn’t been too kind to us, so it has meant long days with very few days off, but when we are in the air we make sure we make the most of it."

They are no strangers to injury either. "I think when you have been doing the sport for as long as us, there is no such thing as being fixed." But thankfully the team hasn't recently had any injuries stopping them from training. "That’s providing there are some good anti-inflammatories to hand!" jokes Foxy.

Julia can’t wait to perform on the world stage again. Having been to world meets with both 4-way female and 8-way teams, she stood on the top of the ladies’ podium eight years ago. Now in the Open Class, she can’t wait to be competing with the best in the world once again:

"You get a taste of competing against the best in the world at Bodyflight's World Challenge, but having it spread over an entire week gives you an opportunity to soak up the atmosphere with greater intensity."

She loves the thrill of competition: "There are not enough competitions around, so when one comes up, I like to lap up the experience as much as I can."

So what tips does Foxy have for up and coming teams? Julia believes it’s all about being a good team player and complimenting your team mates on what they do well. She also believes that there is a place for chilling out and not taking yourself too seriously, and there is an art of balancing success and celebration.

Whatever Russia holds for the UK team, they have already earned their place in the hearts of the UK skydiving community. Their extensive coaching program as part of the "Satori Academy" has been developing individuals and teams in the UK – a fantastic legacy for any team - and an army of fans that will be cheering them next week.