posted Sep 27th, 2016 - It's a long way from Skydive Chicago to Skydive Tanay, where the Russian Nationals are taking place this week. The Sun Path Products NSL News followed the travel route of the Russian teams from the FAI Mondial 2016 almost exactly, which eventually took two days and two nights to complete it.

However, it was well worth the effort, as beautiful fall weather welcomed teams and visitors at the Tanay drop zone near Kemerovo in Siberia.

The 8-way teams had eight rounds on their meet agenda and completed six of them on Monday. The remaining two rounds followed on Tuesday morning before the official opening ceremony of the national championships. The 4-way teams received their competition draw after the noon break and then launched their competition with Round 1.

Russian Nationals 2016		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Open	C,10,P,E	L.M.Q.2	F,17,7	D,G,21,14	A,H,K,15	J,9,19	22,N,11	12,1,16	Total	Avg
1	Tanay	18	17	18	14	22	15	22	21	147	18.4
2	Pikhtoviy-Greben	9	12	12	9	12	9	10	10	83	10.4
3	Skyline	6	9	9	5	4	7	6	8	54	6.8

Home team Tanay, 8-way bronze medal winner at the Mondial 2016, finished slightly below the team's new 19.0 record average and had no serious competition, even though Pikhtoviy-Greben in 2nd place had a colorful and experienced lineup.

DZ owner and Tanay member Andrey Barabash shared a special occasion with team videographer Vadim Niyazov, who was filming Tanay and Black Cat both this year, including the 20 rounds at the Mondial 2016. Andrey Barabash and Vadim Niyazov had their birthdays together on Tuesday and celebrated with two 20+ scores for the last two rounds.

The home crowd was ready for the special day, as well, and had a special 8-way birthday cake ready for Andrey Barabash after Round 8.

The visit of the Sun Path Products NSL News at Skydive Tanay was planned last year and before Russia decided to bid for the hosting rights of the next World Championship of Formation Skydiving 2018.

Andrey Barabash was recently elected as the new President of the Russian skydiving federation, and he started the bidding process for the next world meet. The event site will not be in Tanay. Krasnojarsk would be the host in 2018, which is the capital city of Krasnoyarsk Krai, one of the largest districts of the Russian Republic.

Krasnoyarsk is also hosting the winter Universiade in 2019, which is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The World Championship of Formation Skydiving 2019 would be held in an aerodrome in Krasnoyarsk, and the Russian skydiving federation would manage the event. The Sun Path Products NSL News will follow up with more information as soon as possible.