posted Sep 6th, 2006 - The Italian Nationals 2006 did not only feature Sinapsi PD. The most successful Italian 4-way team of the past years received the most attention when the NSL News reported of the event last week. However, Italy has several other good 4-way teams, and the general scoring level of all AAA Class teams was quite impressive.

Only one of the ten AAA Class teams did not get to the 2-digit meet average. The Spin Team in second place finished with a 16.6 average, while the bronze medals went to Felix Poseidon with a 15.6 average.

Additional 14 teams competed in Italy's Intermediate Class, which is neither identical with the AA Class nor the A Class of the NSL/ESL network. FAI Judge Sara Sacchet explained that the Italian Intermediate Class uses the complete dive pool. Only the sequences are shorter and complete after three or four points.

She said that there are other small competitions around the country with A Class and Rookie Class categories included in the meets. Sara Sacchet and the NSL/ESL management will now begin to discuss the possibility of including the Ialian teams in next year's international competition network, as well.

The best three Italian Intermediate Class teams won their medals with averages above the 10.0 benchmark. Raiders Tortuga took the first place with an 11.8 average, Bastardo e Bonazze placed second with an 11.1 average, and Evolution won the bronze medals with a 10.8 average.

Five teams competed in the Italian 8-way event, and the Italian national team of the past years, Ex3mo, was just as dominating as Sinapsi PD in 4-way. This was no surprise since Ex3mo is one of the best 8-way teams in the world and just finished in 4th position at the World Meet 2006 in Germany.

The 15.8 average is the highest 10-round result for any Italian 8-way team in history, and it includes a new record score for a single round with the 21-pointer in round one. This jump has been posted on the Italian website of the national championship and can be viewed by clicking here.

Ex3mo successfully battled once again with the German 8-way team FSC Remscheid at the World Meet 2006 in August. It was the 3rd direct confrontation between the two teams, this time on Germany's home turf, and it was another good race. FSC Remscheid had won the 4th place over Ex3mo at the World Meet 2004 in Croatia, and the Italian team beat Germany at the Malevsky Cup 2005.

Ex3mo was four points ahead of FSC Remscheid after six rounds in Germany. The 8-way teams completed one more round than the 4-way teams at the World Meet 2006. The German team had just won back two points in round six when the meet was stopped by the bad weather, and Ex3mo won the 4th place once again.

The 2006 season is not over yet for the German 8-way team, as well. Ex3mo alrady defended the Italian title easily. The situation will be different for FSC Remscheid at this year's major German competition, the DFV-Cup. There is a serious 8-way challenger with the EADS/Next Generation combination of the best two German 4-way teams. The NSL News will follow up with more information from Germany very soon.