Will there be a Four Hills Tournament for women for the first time next winter? The ski jumpers Katharina Schmid and Eva Pinkelnig have remaining doubts.
The Four Hills Tournament has been taking place since 1953 – but so far only for men. It is the highlight of every season for ski jumpers. More than 70 years later, women could now also jump on the ski jumps in Oberstdorf, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Innsbruck and Bischofshofen. The premiere of the women’s Four Hills Tournament is scheduled to take place next season, but Katharina Schmid and Eva Pinkelnig don’t quite trust the roast in “Blickpunkt Sport” yet.
Four Hills Tournament the women should come
A few weeks ago, the Austrian Ski Association (ÖSV) and the state of Tyrol reached an agreement on financing a floodlight system on Bergisel. The ski jump in Innsbruck was previously the only one of the four ski jumps without floodlights, which is why the jumping there could only take place in daylight. This led to appointment stress for the men. It was not possible for women to jump on the same day. Due to the renovations, the FIS and its director Sandro Pertile have now given the green light.
Women jump on Qualification day of men
According to current plans, the women’s competitions should always take place on the men’s qualification day. In Garmisch-Partenkirchen this has been done in the same way over the last two years as part of the two-night tour. This year too, the women will jump on New Year’s Eve at 1 p.m. and the men will complete the qualification from 4 p.m. The second stop for Schmid and Co. will be in Oberstdorf on January 1st.
Ski jump in Oberstdorf – This is where the women jump on January 1st.
Schmid’s last doubts: “We’ll only be sure when the time really comes”
The fact that women can now also jump in a Four Hills Tournament for the first time is “Long overdue,” says Schmid on BR television. “We’ve been waiting for this for years. I hope it really comes next year.” But the woman from Oberstdorf still has doubts. “We won’t be sure until it’s really that far.”Schmid doesn’t want to get excited too soon.
Pinkelnig: “Written contracts are still missing”
Her competitor Eva Pinkelnig from Austria may not yet really believe in this historic step either. Because so far there is only one “verbal commitment”says the overall World Cup winner from 2022/23. “Certain written contracts are still missing.” The situation is similar to that before the first women’s ski flying from the 2023/2024 season. “We only really cheer when starting number one is on the track. That was Yuki Ito back then. We knew then that we were flying now.”
They are happy about the verbal promise, which means additional motivation, but “we really get euphoric when it’s really black and white in the paper.”
Source: Blickpunkt Sport
December 7, 2025 – 9:45 p.m
