Last winter, manipulated suits caused the biggest scandal to date in ski jumping. The FIS reacts with stricter controls. What’s different?
The ski jumpers started the new World Cup season last weekend in, of all places, Lillehammer, Norway. In the country that shocked the entire ski jumping world last winter. Marius Lindvik and Johan André Forfang competed in the World Championships jumping on the large hill with manipulated suits. The fraud was exposed, the athletes were punished, but credibility suffered.
FIS introduces strict controls
The International Ski Federation (FIS) had to act. The suit checks have been much more professional since this season. Before the opening competition in Lillehammer, all ski jumpers had to have their two competition suits checked. If the suits complied with the rules, they received an electronic chip and were allowed to jump in the World Cup. Only two suits are permitted per jumper until the Four Hills Tournament.
Matthias Hafele is responsible for accepting the suits. He is the first full-time equipment controller in ski jumping. The former Austrian ski jumper is a suit expert, having helped nations like Poland and Austria improve their suits for years.
FIS material controller Mathias Hafele
Three-stage control in the World Cup
The controls are not only stricter in advance, there are now also three-stage controls during the jumping: Number one is Matthias Hafele in the container in the finish area of the competition. Number two is step control before the jump. This existed before, but it was often not carefully looked at whether the jumper was standing correctly. This should change with specially hired inspectors.
The third control station is new. After landing, the jumpers are accompanied to the control container by helpers from the respective World Cups. They should check that the athlete does not, for example, make any noticeable movements or pull on the suit and change the material.
Yellow and red cards like in football
If a jumper fails one of the controls, he will see the newly introduced yellow card and will be banned from the current competition. The next yellow card is yellow-red and the athlete is also banned for the next two competitions. The decisions and the exact reason for the disqualification should be communicated directly and transparently to all spectators and teams. The starting position of the disqualified jumper may not be filled by other athletes from the nation.
“We hope that this will bring about a real change in mentality. We have to get away from the image that ski jumping is cheating and tricking in the back room“, explained Andreas Bauer, head of the materials commission in the International Ski Association, to the Augsburger Allgemeine.
New cut of the suits
Basically, the suits are cut tighter this winter – that also makes controls easier again. ARD ski jumping expert Sven Hannawald explains: “The crucial thing for me is that with the new cut of the suit there are now options to actually measure the measurements.” Last season the suits had such a “weird shape” that it was very difficult to measure, says Hannawald.
Change for the jumpers
Less material also means less wing space for the jumpers. They depend on sensitivity even more than usual. “The surface can no longer bulge in the air like a sail, which you can then blindly throw yourself forward on.” Many athletes are struggling with the changes, but the measures make ski jumping more honest again – at least in theory.
Whether the FIS’s measures are effective and the sport’s credibility can be restored will probably only become clear at the end of the season.