"Four Hills Tournament light" creates explosives
For years, female ski jumpers have been demanding to finally be allowed to compete in the Four Hills Tournament. But there is nothing more than a "Golden Owl", this time there is only half a tour. With the continuing unequal treatment, the sport is increasingly falling out of step with the times.
Katharina Schmid is annoyed. And seems a little resigned. "I can't hear myself complaining anymore," admits Germany's best female ski jumper. The frustration of the three-time world champion from Planica is all too understandable. Because while her male colleagues start the popular Four Hills Tournament on Friday with huge fanfare, Schmid and Co. are once again being fobbed off with a light product. Half a tour is better than none. So say the supporters. Half a tour is not a full tour. Say the campaigners for equality on the hills.
On Saturday in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and on Monday in Schmid's home town of Oberstdorf, the premiere of the "Two Nights Tournament", officially abbreviated to TNT, will take place. And the tour torso is indeed explosive. "It's bitter and slowly becoming disappointing that we still don't have a Four Hills Tournament," says Schmid. The women, who have long since reached top level in ski jumping, feel fobbed off.
Only "a small consolation" is "TNT" for Schmid, better known by her maiden name Althaus: "It's now a bit of a hassle that not all venues are included." A nod to the neighboring country. "We want to have this Four Hills Tournament. We very much hope that Austria will follow suit," says German sports director Horst Hüttel, almost imploringly. The German Ski Association moved ahead and is already at the start with its traditional tour venues Oberstdorf and Garmisch, albeit in reverse order.
Across the border, in Innsbruck and Bischofshofen, little is happening. Instead, the women will be jumping on the small hill in Villach on January 3-4. A small step forward: in 2022/23, the women spent the turn of the year on the mini-facility in Ljubno, Slovenia, instead of competing for the Golden Tournament Eagle, as the men did, they competed for the - seriously - Golden Owl.
Two of the frontrunners are no longer there
The marginalization of female ski jumpers is an anachronism, in almost all major winter sports there is balance. In biathlon, cross-country skiing, bobsleigh, skeleton, luge and speed skating, men and women are always competing at the same World Cup venues at the same time. In alpine skiing, the genders start separately for organizational reasons, with the exception of the World Cup final, but the programme is practically identical.
So why is ski jumping lagging behind? Schmid wonders the same thing, without a clear solution for the time being. "We can only put pressure on the public," she says. It is all the more bitter that two of the most important campaigners for the emancipation of women's ski jumping, Norway's Maren Lundby and Austria's Daniela Iraschko-Stolz, have now resigned.
Schmid, who also fights for better opportunities for girls in Africa, Asia and Latin America as an ambassador for the children's aid organization Plan International, also has to take care of her own sporting well-being, of course, as things have not been going well at all so far: eighth place as her best result of the season - that is taking its toll on the ambitious Allgäu native.
And that's why this part of the tour with the home match in Oberstdorf on January 1st is a ray of hope. "It's brilliant when all my friends and family can be at the hill," says Schmid: "Having a competition like this at home on New Year's Day is something very special."
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Katharina Schmid advocates for equal treatment in ski jumping, lamenting the fact that female jumpers are only participating in a half-tournament, the "Two Nights Tournament" (TNT), instead of the prestigious Four Hills Tournament. She expresses her disappointment and hopes that Austria will also include women in their tournaments.
Despite the progress with TNT, the marginalization of female ski jumpers continues to be a concern. Two significant advocates for gender equality in ski jumping, Maren Lundby and Daniela Iraschko-Stolz, have recently stepped down from their roles.
Source: www.ntv.de
