posted Oct 13th, 2011 - The 4way videos of Round 10 in the Open Class at the World Cup 2011 are now available for reviews, and they feature another thriller that took place before the 8way weather drama in Round 9 concluded the whole event.

The competition for the gold medals was decided earlier in the meet, and Aerodyne Aerokart carried a 6-point victory over the finish line after a safe and casual approach to the fastest sequence of the meet (N,F,A,7) in Round 10. It was no surprise that NMP-PCH Hayabusa had an opportunity to win this round since the French team would surely not take any chances at this point in time. The last round was in fact the first time in Germany that the Belgians won a round, after tying the French scores five times.

The drama in 4way was the race for the bronze medals that had its peak in the last round, and as in 8way the judges had a major part in this drama. The tension in the live audience, and especially on the German side, was tangible when the last 4way videos were shown for live judging on the large screen on the stage.

World Cup 2011		Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Round 6	Round 7	Round 8	Round 9	Round 10	Total	Avg
Rank	4way Open Class	C,22,19	E,M,1,2	12,9,16	O,8,10	Q,14,5	P,17,K,18	21,L,J,13	3,11,B	20,G,H,4	N,F,A,7	Total	Avg
1	Aerodyne Aerokart	22	27	23 (-1)	22	26	25 (-1)	25	24	24	37	255	25.5
2	NMP-PCH Hayabusa	22	27	23	21 (-1)	24	25 (-3)	21 (-4)	23	24 (-1)	39	249	24.9
3	Paratec-Saar	16 (-2)	23	19	15 (-2)	19	18 (-1)	16 (-2)	19	20	31 (-3)	196	19.6
4	Sky Panthers Barkli	18	21	19	16 (-2)	19 (-1)	16 (-3)	15 (-4)	19	19 (-3)	33 (-1)	195	19.5
5	Gradient Alpha	17	21	17 (-2)	13 (-2)	20	20 (-1)	19	18	17 (-2)	27 (-3)	189	18.9
6	EX3MO4	15 (-1)	19	17	17	17	16 (-1)	19	18	16 (-2)	28	182	18.2
7	Bardagi	15	20	17	15	16 (-1)	14 (-3)	19	15 (-1)	17	29	177	17.7
8	Dynamite	14	18	16	16	17	17	17	17	17	-	149	16.6

Paratec-Saar was two points ahead of Sky Panthers Barkli after Round 8. That was the time when Leonid Kazinets had to sit down on the bench due to neck troubles and alternate and 8way member Nikolay Vylegzhanin filled his Center Inside slot. Sky Panthers Barkli then completed two more points than the Germans in Round 9, which would have tied this game. However, the new Russian lineup was not in synch yet and lost three points in the judging room. Paratec-Saar was even up by three points going into Round 10.

Three points is not much in a fast round, especially not for the Russian speed experts. The NSL News explained on 16 September 2011 how well the Sky Panthers do with fast sequences. In fact, the same lineup that went into Round 10 in Germany missed the 4way world record only by two points a few weeks later at the Russian Nationals 2011 with a 54-pointer.

The Germans knew that the meet was far from over before the scores for Round 10 would be posted.

It was a dramatic finish. Sky Panthers Barkli completed 34 points within working time and lost the 11th point due to a questionable judging call when the Tail broke the complete formation (Crank) instead of the Center Inside. The official 33-pointer for the Russians now required Paratec-Saar to score 31 points to win the bronze medals, the first set of 4way medals for Germany in modern history of Formation Skydiving competition.

The Paratec-Saar members were far from being confident about the outcome after the judging. Of course, they had looked at their own video before the official judging, and they knew that they had completed enough points within working time. They still did not know whether the judges would like everything that they saw or not.

The judges were just as critical with the Germans as they were with the Russians and pushed the red button whenever they did not approve the performance. Three points were deducted, and the judges looked at the video a few times and very carefully. Finally, the 34 points in working time turned into a 31-pointer on the official scoreboard, and the German party began instantly. However, the meet was not over yet, Paratec-Saar and Sky Panthers Barkli both still had to compete in 8way where the final drama of the meet was in the works.