Ski jumpers ahead of premiere: "Alibi tour" or signal?

Winter sports - Ski jumpers ahead of premiere: "Alibi tour" or signal?

Katharina Schmid and her ski jumping colleagues are not really happy. "Unfortunately, we still don't have a whole tour like this. But it's a good start," says the triple world champion ahead of the World Cups in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Oberstdorf.

The women have been hoping for a Four Hills Tournament for years. Now they can at least jump on two of the traditional Tournament hills around the turn of the year. "In the end, we have to take what we get," says Schmid, who was called Althaus until she got married in the summer. Her understanding that it's not all four is limited.

"I'm not talking about the tour yet"

"Two Nights Tour" is the name of the format with the competitions on December 30 on the Great Olympic Hill and on New Year's Day in Oberstdorf. A total of around 6500 tickets for the two competitions had been sold by shortly before Christmas, but the organizers are expecting some sales at the box offices. Stops in Innsbruck and Bischofshofen are missing. So half a tour?

"I don't like half measures," says ski jumping legend Sven Hannawald to the German Press Agency. The last German winner to date of the great spectacle in four acts has a clear opinion. "I'm not talking about half a tour, but about jumping in Garmisch. I'm not talking about a tour just yet," says the 2002 champion. Oberstdorf has already hosted the women's World Cup at another point in the winter.

"If there is a women's tour, then it's the original one. It starts in Oberstdorf and ends in Bischofshofen. I don't think much of setting up an alibi tour and then doing things all over the place," added Hannawald.

Wide range of opinions

There are various reasons why the women are not currently jumping at the Austrian tour venues. For example, the famous Bergisel ski jump in Innsbruck still lacks floodlights. The time window for competitions on the already wind-prone facility is correspondingly narrow. In addition, the Austrian Ski Association (ÖSV) had already planned to use Villach as a World Cup venue for several years.

The range of expert opinions on the best way to host such a tour shows just how complicated the issue is. For Hannawald, the best option is: "The men jump at 4.30 pm, then you have the option of holding the women's event at midday or early afternoon at any venue."

Norwegian men's national coach Alexander Stöckl sees it differently: "If you say you do the same stages - the women in the morning, the men in the afternoon: nobody benefits from that." The Austrian argues: "What does the spectator do? They don't stand at the hill from morning to night, certainly not. It's a challenge for the organizers themselves. Who do you cancel first in bad weather? Yes, of course, the ladies. But you shouldn't do that."

Associations are in talks

Stöckl also points to the financial factor. "You shouldn't forget that the income from men's ski jumping is much higher, mainly due to the TV revenue," he says. "This means that women's ski jumping currently goes from zero to zero or even costs money. It's not that easy to do that. It's a huge burden for the association."

Everyone agrees that there should be a Four Hills Tournament for female ski jumpers. But how exactly and when - the German Ski Association and the ÖSV are still in talks on these questions.

Double world champion Selina Freitag remains confident. "We just need to tweak a few things so that we have a complete tour," she says and adds with a view to the upcoming premiere in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Oberstdorf: "We just want to have a cool competition so that it happens as quickly as possible, so that we can jump with the men."