That would be nice if the big dream came true. It would start at the kick-off in Oberstdorf, with the team presentation, on a stage, with a light show and in front of a large audience. Then the fever that only this one series sparked would rise on four jumps across the Alps, through snow and wind, always under tension: ten days, eight competitions, four decisions. An adventure.
The only question is whether it will come to that before the career ends.
Not only Daniela Iraschko-Stolz, 37 and ski jumping pioneer, but also Carina Vogt, the first Olympic champion of this sport, have now seen almost all the big events, but one remains closed to them. For now. They have to stay outside during the Four Hills Tournament. For many athletes this is the highlight of the season, despite world championships and world cup series.
It is an anachronism that is underlined by the fact that almost all events in winter sports are now organized for both sexes: biathletes, cross-country skiers, some alpine skiers, bobsleigh athletes, tobogganists, ice skaters – they all organize their World Cups together. Almost a month ago even the pioneering spirits of the combination finally prevailed and contested their first World Cup. Only the venerable tour is still male.
However, the attitude among female ski jumpers has definitely changed. Anger about the unequal treatment of previous years has turned into persistence. Everyone knows that sooner or later women will be integrated into the tour, even if it will be too late for some. Insiders estimate that it could still take two to four years. Women’s national coach Andreas Bauer has accompanied the jumpers on the long journey for nine years and says: “We will keep fighting.”
And that applies not only to the goal of an equal tour, but also to the second, lofty wish, which probably relates to the last purely male discipline in Olympic sport. It’s not a journey over four days, but over about seven seconds. A sailing tour on a magic carpet, as ski jumper Markus Eisenbichler described this exercise: namely, ski flying. The best 15 jumpers already dare to perform operations with widths of 230 meters and more, but for both, i.e. touring and flying, says Bauer, you still need a little patience.
The biggest problem is advertising marketing, says the national coach
Because the hurdles of sports administration can be as big as the tasks involved in developing a top team and an exciting competition. Whereby, as in the past, conservative thinking is no longer a decisive brake; after all, last season all the heads of organization at the four tour venues declared that they would like to include a women’s competition. The will is there, the implementation is difficult.
Changes are required, especially for the update of the Four Hills Tournament. Bauer considers the marketing of the series to be the biggest problem, because men and women still have different sponsors. “The perimeter advertising is of course tailored to the men,” says Bauer, the idea of having the women jump on the same day in the morning is hardly feasible: “It is not possible to just rebuild everything for two hours.” It will take some time until they are all marketed together. Bauer suggests holding both rounds of the women on the day of the men’s qualification. For the fans in the stadium, that has the pleasant effect that they experience three competitions, plus more excitement – and on the way home they don’t think a qualification, but that was a little bit less today.
In April the calendar committee of the World Federation FIS meets, it could set the first course to push the project of a contemporary tour. Because of the different World Cup locations, such as the women’s jumping in Japan in early January, the entire calendar would have to be changed. That too is often a tinkering, on the other hand, Bauer is optimistic because there is basically nothing to complain about. The path that the ski jumpers have already made is longer than the rest to the summit.
It all started with the search for talent and local competitions and continental series, followed by the introduction of the mixed team at world championships, then the green light came for the large hill in the World Cup, followed by the women’s team competition at the 2019 World Cup – and in six weeks , at the world championship in Oberstdorf, the last gap will be closed. With the large hill debut, women and men are equal for the first time in terms of medal yield.
Perhaps, however, the older female jumpers will also be able to enjoy both, touring and flying, in good time. If Bauer had its way, the second, namely the Monsterbakken experience, would soon be possible. Also this March, the Raw Air series in Norway is in the program for both genders. After the first competitions on the Norwegian large hills, says Bauer, the best jumped in and could compete like the men in Vikersund, albeit on a voluntary basis. In Vikersund, there is the largest ski jump in the world.
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