posted Aug 27th, 2013 - The drama of the female 4way competition at the World Cup 2013 and then at the UK Nationals 2013 will remain a hot topic for a while.

Even Kaizen coach Pete Allum still seemed to be mentally and emotionally engaged a few days after the conclusion of the event: "It was an amazing competition, the stuff of legends..." It is even more nerve wrecking for a coach to watch the action once the work is done and the team is on its own in the plane.

The team members and competitors have their own destiny in their hands once they exit the plane, while the coach is completely helpless on the ground. Pete Allum has seen and felt it on both ends for many years, however, a competition drama like last weekend is special.
Click on the score for a round with a link to see the teams' videos

World Cup 2013		Rd. 1	Rd. 2	Rd. 3	Rd. 4	Rd. 5	Rd. 6	Rd. 7	Rd. 8	Rd. 9	Rd. 10	Rd. 11	T.	Avg
Rank	4way Women	O,4,H,3	9,17,P	L,1,G,12	7,10,21	16,E,A,15	8,2,B	18,5,Q	F,14,K,N	M,C,D,13	20,J,19	22,J,19	T.	Avg
1	Aerodyne French Girls (FR)	21	27	16(-2)	18	20(-1)	17	17(-2)	23	24(-1)	20	17	220	20.0
2	Golden Knights (US)	22	25	17(-2)	17	19(-1)	18	21	20(-3)	24(-1)	20	17	220	20.0
3	Bodyflight Isis (UK)	19	18	17	14(-1)	16(-1)	16	16	17	21	16	-	170	17.0
4	Kaizen (UK)	16(-1)	21	14(-1)	16	15(-2)	14	15	18	19	15	-	163	16.3

Kaizen Rd. 2	Kaizen Rd. 8

It was very impressive to see how Kaizen was dealing with the pressure that came with the early lead. Kaizen was the underdog not only after the results at the World Cup in Banja Luka just a few weeks before the UK Nationals. Bodyflight Isis was also 11 points ahead of Kaizen at the World Challenge 2013.

However, the last four rounds in Bedford were already showing more than only the potential that Kaizen had built up for the 2013 season. Isis won by 11 points after ten rounds, but Kaizen won the last four rounds by a total of two points. The momentum was building up for the underdog.

The results in Banja Luka were the next serious warning. Isis still won by seven points, but Kaizen was now surely in striking distance, even in the bigger picture of the whole meet. Pete Allum mentioned during the live coverage from Banja Luka that it would probably just take a top performance by Kaizen and an average performance by Isis to turn the table.

UK Nationals 2013		Rd. 1	Rd. 2	Rd. 3	Rd. 4	Rd. 5	Rd. 6	Rd. 7	Rd. 8	Rd. 9	Rd. 10	Total	Avg
Rank	AAA Class	19,4,1	15,J,7	C,Q,17,12	L,13,10	9,G,20	H,11,2	K,8,21	P,6,M,14	N,E,5,16	O,F,A,22	Total	Avg
3	Kaizen (UK)	15	20	18	12(-1)	19	17	17	20	19	22	179	17.9
4	Bodyflight Isis (UK)	14(-1)	19	14	14	19	17	15	20	17	25	174	17.4

That's what happened in Hibaldstow last weekend. Bodyflight Isis confirmed the performance and scoring level of the World Cup (17.0 - 17.4) while Kaizen stepped up to a peak performance level (16.3 - 17.9) in Hibaldstow.

Kaizen had a perfect start into the meet while Isis had a point deduction in Round 1 and found themselves in 2nd place. Isis had a 3-point lead after Round 1 in Banja Luka. Kaizen followed up with two strong rounds and was six points ahead after Round 3. That was a serious upset at this point in time, and the pressure was now on Kaizen.

It was no big surprise that Isis seemed to have the start of a comeback in Round 4, and the pressure was even growing on Kaizen. Then came the most amazing part of the competition when Kaizen reacted like a champion and simply fended off each effort by Bodyflight Isis between Round 5 and Round 9. Kaizen could not lose the meet any longer after Round 9 and gave away Round 10 for a great Isis finish. UK has a new top team in the female 4way category, and it is not the one that might have been expected to be there...