While the ski jumpers competed in the traditional Four Hills Tournament between the years, their female colleagues were only active in the German tour locations. sport.de author and ski jumping expert Luis Holuch took a close look at the two-night tour in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Oberstdorf and drew a mixed conclusion.
For anyone who loves ski jumping, the word Four Hills Tournament triggers something. And that’s exactly how it is for many female ski jumpers, such as Germany’s model jumper and Katharina Schmid from Oberstdorf, who as a little girl stood in the run-out of the Schattenbergschanze and collected autographs from those jumpers she admired and wished: “I want to jump there too one day .”
20 years have passed since then, but there is still no women’s Four Hills Tournament. Instead, the two-night tour was organized for Schmid and her colleagues, during which the German tour stops Oberstdorf and Garmisch-Partenkirchen were visited, but in reverse order. sport.deAuthor and expert Luis Holuch was on site and illuminated all the important facets of the event.
1. Organization: Comparing tours is prohibited
With the introduction of the Two-Nights Tour, the German Ski Association (DSV) sent a clear signal in 2023 and underlined its desire to organize a Four Hills Tournament for women. It was just as clearly intended as a temporary solution from the start, which is why a direct comparison to the Four Hills Tournament, which is taking place for the 73rd time, is prohibited.
The right conclusions were drawn from the first edition the previous winter: After the premiere held qualification and competition in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on December 30th and qualification and competition in Oberstdorf on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, the tables were turned this year.
By moving the competition in Partenkirchen to New Year’s Eve, the local spectators were offered another event in addition to the men’s qualification. So if you wanted to see both genders there, you had the opportunity to do so.
The redesign of the Olympic ski stadium, which was necessary for marketing reasons, also worked extremely well in this first attempt, so that the planned time buffer between the men’s qualification and the women’s competition was significantly undercut.
2nd mode: Narrow ridge was missed
The competition mode has also been changed. After there were two classic competitions in the previous season with the 40 best jumpers from the qualification in the first round and the best 30 jumpers from the first round in the final, this time the knockout system known from the tour was used – but not in the way it is Spectators and also the ski jumpers knew.
Because on the New Year’s Eve Tour, which took place twice before the Two-Nights Tour, 50 jumpers were admitted to the competition according to the tour model, who competed against each other in 25 duels and whose winners and five losers with the best points made it to the second round .
This model was taken to the extreme on the Two-Nights Tour: Only 30 jumpers qualified for the competition, so there were only 15 duels instead of 25 and only the 15 winners and five lucky losers made it to the final.
The Austrian Eva Pinkelnig was able to share this in an interview sport.de gain a lot: “In that sense, the mode is attractive because you have to jump extremely well in qualifying to even be there. This creates a compact, easy-to-sell product and that’s what it’s all about.”
Anna Odine Strøm from Norway, who came second on the podium in Oberstdorf, also included this aspect in her assessment: “I understand that the difference between the best and the worst is still a bit too big. But that’s how sport is developed, this will soon no longer be a problem.”
DSV national coach Heinz Kuttin, on the other hand, did not spare his criticism: “If some nations cancel in advance because they see their chances as too small and are saving money for the trip, that is not right. Reducing a starting field from 60 to 30 jumpers is bad for the sport.”
Selina Freitag also felt for her competitors who didn’t make it into the competition: “I’m sorry to say it like that, but that’s not possible. So many jumpers did good jumps, including from our national group, and then that’s it It’s a shame if the system says only half of them get through.”
These statements alone show that the line between a product that is attractive to the public and fair, sporting competition is thin, but it has been missed. This stricter mode does not do justice to the training work of the teams, which is why it is understandable that the Poles to whom Kuttin was referring stayed away from the event.
That despite demand from sport.de The fact that no one admitted to having introduced or approved this proposal also speaks volumes. If neither the organizers nor the World Ski Association FIS or the German Ski Association want to take responsibility for it, the concept cannot be fully developed.
3. External impact: TV numbers are rising, but…
The internal perspective is one thing, the external effect is of course another. First of all, it should be noted that both the viewership numbers on site and on TV show a positive trend.
The number of visitors from the previous year was exceeded in both Garmisch-Partenkirchen (3,000) and Oberstdorf (3,200). And that despite the fact that the fans in Partenkirchen had to bridge a one and a half hour break and those in Oberstdorf were unable to watch the men’s New Year’s competition on TV due to the schedule.
Speaking of TV: fewer viewers were registered on ARD on New Year’s Eve than on December 30th of the previous year, which may also have something to do with the scheduling. The average market share rose by 0.35 percentage points from 12.15 to 12.5 percent. On New Year’s Day there was an increase of two percentage points to 15.8 and the average viewership also rose from 2.63 to 2.78 million.
Spectator interest grows with the event and there are still a lot of screws that the organizers should turn: Because there were no different colored bibs of starting numbers and only provisionally prepared positions for the jumpers to stand in after their duels. The professional touch that one is used to from the big tour was completely missing.
The same can also be said about the presentation of the prizes to qualification winner Selina Freitag in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, which made many headlines and became a topic of discussion. The organizers quickly realized that the contrast between 3,000 Swiss francs for the men and a wellness package for the women seemed extremely unfortunate to the outside world.
At the same time, one must also note: This gesture was more than what the World Ski Federation FIS envisages in the World Cup statutes that can be viewed online. Because while qualifying prize money is mandatory for men, it is not even mentioned in the regulations for the women’s World Cup. It is therefore an absolute exception when, like this year in Willingen, the qualifying winner receives 2,000 Swiss francs.
The comment by ARD expert Sven Hannawald, “If I had known this beforehand, I would have gone to the railway barrier in the morning with a bell bag and donated or had it donated” doesn’t make things any better. Apart from the fact that it’s no secret that the jumpers come away empty-handed in the qualification, none of them want to be put on an equal footing with really needy people who need real financial help.
Conclusion: That doesn’t do the jumpers justice
Ultimately, it remains to be said that this interim solution on the way to a real Four Hills Tournament for women definitely has its advantages for the Two-Nights Tour. The competitions were well timed, compact and attractive.
From the outside, however, this event looked like the unloved stepchild. The townscape of Garmisch-Partenkirchen was also emblematic of this: there were plenty of advertising posters for the New Year’s ski jump – the most famous pure ski jumping event of all – while the two-night tour, on the other hand, was simply invisible. Unlike in Oberstdorf, where you were greeted with a huge poster right at the entrance to the town.
But the fact that people are now at least jumping on the German tour ski jumps is a step forward. Also that the knockout mode has returned. The fact that these two positive developments were marred by the small starting field in the first round and failures in external representation once again fits into the history of women’s ski jumping.
The athletes know exactly where they stand in their sport, what steps still need to be taken and do not demand utopian things. And yet Selina Friday sums it up in conversation sport.de summed up admirably by saying: “It always feels like we get something, but at the same time we have to take something back. And I really hope that that changes soon.”