posted Jul 18th, 2011 - The CISM Military World Championship 2011 in Brazil offers very interesting information and great surprises in the 4-way Formation Skydiving events.

The six qualification rounds in the female 4-way competition have been completed, and the Golden Knights are winning with a 24.3 average.

The teams in both 4-way events have 8-round meets, and two rounds have been completed for the teams in the male event so far. The military CISM rules separate the male and female competitors more consequently, even in the Formation Skydiving events.

It is no surprise that NMP-PCH Hayabusa is in 1st place after two rounds. However, it is probably sensational that the Golden Knights are not in 2nd place and that the team that is currently in 2nd place even outscored the Belgians in Round 2.

Four German soldiers (Marius Weber, Stefan Wiesner, Sebastian Lutz, Josef Demmler) are stirring up the top of the leaderboard, and none of them is a member of the German national 4-way and 8-way teams. The NSL News will follow up later.

CISM 2011		Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Round 6	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Women	M,F,H,19	M,B,G,22	M,P,E,13	M,K,O,4	M,Cat,C,11	M,L,J,10	Total	Avg
1	USA Golden Knights	29	24	25	22	22	24	146	24.3
2	France	26	18	25	24	20	20	133	22.2
3	Brazil Fenix	17	18	20	19	19	19	112	18.7
4	China	19	16	18	21	19	18	111	18.5

The scores after the six qualification rounds in the female 4-way competition alone are interesting enough, as well. The 24.3 average of the Golden Knights is impressive and moves the team straight up into the position of a serious medal contender at the upcoming World Cup 2011 in Saarlouis, Germany.

Dive pool and rules are much easier for the CISM 4-way competition, which explains the incredible averages that Hayabusa has posted in the past years. Hayabusa currently stands in 1st place with a 36.0 average (43 - 29) after two rounds.

Each sequence begins with a Star as the exit formation, and the working time begins after 5 seconds or whenever the team breaks the Star. Two random formations follow, and one block finishes off each sequence.

These rules put the 24.3 average of the female Golden Knights more in perspective. However, the scores still reflect on the skills and the pace that a team can go.

The US Army team probably had a very curious observer in Rio. One Aerodyne Deep Blue Defender, Laurence Hervé, competed with the French military lineup at the CISM competition and is currently in the silver medal position. She will compete with her other lineup against the Golden Knights at the World Cup in a few weeks.

An extremely exciting battle is taking place for the bronze medals. Brazilian national CTR Optimum competitor André Ferraz has been working intensively with Fenix this year to prepare the Brazilian team for the competition on home turf.

The NSL News reported the Fenix progression after meeting the team at the Valentine's Meet 2011.

Fenix competed again at the April meet of the Arizona Skydiving League and completed the last test in Brazil at the beginning of July. The 3-meet competition practice had prepared Fenix well for the battle with China in Rio this week.

Coach André Ferraz and the Fenix members will proudly accept the bronze medals if they can maintain the 1-point lead over China.

Three other female 4-way teams (Morocco, Kazakhstan, Korea) competed at the CISM in Rio, as well, and ended up far behind the four top teams. The Golden Knights and Laurence Hervé now have a short break before they will meet each other again in Germany.