Still no tour for female ski jumpers – why?

Female ski jumpers have also been wanting a Four Hills Tournament for years. It has been clear for years: the tour for Katharina Althaus and her colleagues is coming. A first edition was actually planned for the coming winter. That won't happen again. Some jumpers are becoming increasingly annoyed. Why is it so difficult to organize the event?

There is no concrete, official reason yet - at least not publicly. There are currently “many factors that still need to be taken into account that do not allow for an earlier introduction,” said the President of the Austrian Ski Association (ÖSV), Roswitha Stadlober, recently. The event will not take place before the 2024/25 season.

The German team manager Horst Hüttel is annoyed about the renewed postponement. “The performance has increased steadily, the TV ratings, with a market share of over 20 percent in some cases, speak for themselves,” said Hüttel to “Bild” about women’s ski jumping. “Every year that doesn’t take place in the women’s Four Hills Tournament is a lost year.” He doesn’t criticize the ÖSV. Problem areas when planning tours The dates: The tour usually takes place four competitions in nine days around the turn of the year. The qualification also takes place the day before the actual competition. The calendar is already relatively full with ski jumping competitions. The logistics are complex. How the women's tour best fits into the calendar has been discussed for a long time. A suggestion that came up again and again: The women's competition could be held on the day of the men's qualification. However, this would result in a difficulty.

The shelter: Except for Innsbruck, the tour takes place in small towns with limited hotel capacities. Accommodation is already difficult during the holiday season with numerous tourists. In the event of additional competitions, jumpers may have to live quite far away from the competition venues. A conceivable solution that the German Ski Association (DSV) has in mind for the German stations: the women jump in Garmisch-Partenkirchen while the men are in Oberstdorf - and vice versa.

The Four Hills Tournament (pictured is Pole Dawid Kubacki at the 2021 New Year's competition) is always a highlight. © APA/afp / CHRISTOF STACHE

The venues: While Oberstdorf and Garmisch-Partenkirchen seem to have been decided as the venues, it is unclear what role the stations of the New Year's Eve tournament for women jumpers in Villach (Austria) and Ljubno (Slovenia) will play in the tour considerations. Many athletes would prefer the traditional ski jumps as venues. But it is not yet clear whether and, if so, when they will jump in Innsbruck and Bischofshofen.

The media and sponsors: These questions are also still unanswered: How and in what form would the event be received by spectators given the already existing jumping program with fixed routines? Which competition program would be most desirable for the fans and therefore also for the TV broadcasters? The organizers are also concerned with these questions and the associated attractiveness for sponsors.

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Still no tour for female ski jumpers – why?

Numerous fans will once again celebrate the ski jumpers at the New Year's jump in Garmisch. The jumpers will compete in front of a small crowd in Slovenia on January 1st. They still have to wait for their tour.

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