Questions remain unanswered about the Four Hills Tournament for women

Since the World Cup premiere in Liberec in 2009, the jumpers have only conquered the Olympics (2014) and the ski flying hills in 2023, only the Four Hills Tournament has remained a place of longing.

Now the time is ripe for the premiere, the basic prerequisite for this is the installation of the floodlight system on Bergisel, which will give the organizers in Innsbruck more planning security from now on. This finally seems to have cleared the last major hurdle.

The women’s competitions should take place on the day of the men’s qualification. It is hoped that this will provide a worthy backdrop for the ski jumpers, who rarely attract crowds in the World Cup.

Open questions remain

Of course, some unanswered questions remain: Are the female ski jumpers in danger of being completely sidelined alongside the men in the Four Hills Tournament? Which competition has higher priority when the weather is crazy? And is there equality when it comes to prize money?

Last winter there was already a first foretaste of the future women’s Four Hills Tournament. On the so-called Two-Nights Tour there were also two women’s competitions in Garmisch and Oberstdorf during the tour. The event was an embarrassment: not only were there no spectators, but in Garmisch the winner of the qualification, Selina Friday (GER), fobbed off with shampoo and towels while Jan Hörl received 3,000 francs in prize money as the men’s winner.

The organizers are no longer making such a fuss this year. When the two-night tour – with four ÖSV jumpers – begins today in Garmisch, the qualifying winner will receive the same bonus as the best man.