Midsummer and over 30 degrees: But there are no holidays for winter sports enthusiasts. Because it is perfect flying weather for ski jumpers. Not only for the professionals, but also for the youngsters. At the “Day of Talents” on the smallest ski jump in Degenfeld (near Schwäbisch Gmünd), four to 14-year-old kids experience a very special feeling of flying.
Some of the children still need help from mum or dad, because Clara or Kjell cannot climb the take-off board on their own. With mini alpine skis and ski boots, they then zoom down the inrun track and take off. It doesn’t matter whether it’s four meters, eight meters or an incredible 15 meters: all ski jumpers are enthusiastic, including Joa: “I think it’s cool to be in the air.” Or Noemi, who loves “that one can fly”.
Ski jumping suits: A must – even in summer
More than 50 ski jumping fans scurry around the various hills. The sun is shining for the 100th anniversary of SC Degenfeld. The “Kids Trophy” is particularly interesting, where the ambitious mini ski jumping freaks enjoy jumping in front of so many people and being cheered on loudly. Only one thing is really exhausting: walking up the stairs in warm ski jump suits and thick ski boots. Parents are particularly helpful as service personnel…
Ski Jumping Parents Need “Mental Training”
The Degenfeld trainers Markus Rohde and Richard Baur take care of the little talents who might one day become great talents, i.e. successful ski jumpers. Sometimes, however, according to Markus Rohde, the parents need special care, a kind of “mental training”: “We often have to distract the parents, calm them down. Some parents are sometimes more afraid than the children. They just want to go down there and enjoy this “controlled ” Adventure.”
In the beginning there was the taster course
Joa and Elias watched ski jumping on TV. The two have Markus Eisenbichler and Karl Geiger as role models and therefore decided to imitate them. After the first jump on a taster day, it was clear to them: they would become ski jumpers! Johann also took part in a taster course when he was 6 years old. He has now been flying for a year, has a personal distance record of 12 meters and knows what is important: “You really need strength in your legs. You need strength and that’s it.”
The little ones aim high
Newcomer Paul, 12 years old, only came to the hill two months ago because of his little sister Leonie. As a big brother, he naturally also wanted to try out this sport. And Paul immediately exchanged the football for the jump skis: “The cool thing is, you ski down there at a lot of speed and then you jump, you’re in the air. The feeling is cool.” Big feelings are one thing – everyone has big goals: Joa wants to fly off a 100-meter hill as quickly as possible, Elias and Jakob want to be part of a world championship one day and Johann even knows exactly what kind of trophy he will win wants: “The golden eagle! That’s an eagle that you win at the Four Hills Tournament.”
