With the Two Nights Tour, the ski jumpers had a kind of Four Hills Tournament light for the first time – but despite great hope, the road to equal opportunities and ski jumps is still a long way off.
When tractors were already driving into the stadium in Oberstdorf, cordless screwdrivers were noisily loosening screws and the first lights in the run-out had already been switched off, Eva Pinkelnig was still standing in front of the cameras and microphones, adjusting her white bobble hat and grinning. “The show was casual”said the Austrian.
That their conclusion is the Two Nights Tour With the victory in Oberstdorf and second place in the overall ranking, it was not surprising. After all, Pinkelnig is one of the most experienced ski jumpers in the World Cup and has been fighting for the sport’s recognition for almost longer than some of her young colleagues in the world.
Volunteers vs. fan interest
The fact that with the Two Nights Tour the female ski jumpers now have at least two stops on the Four Hills Tournament, which is firmly established for men, means a lot to her. “It’s just good that we are close to the gentlemen at the same time – thanks to the volunteers”said Pinkelnig, who knows that the competitions in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Oberstdorf would hardly have been possible without the many volunteers. “You can now analyze soberly what went well and what still has potential.”
The latter certainly applies to fan interest. At the jumps Two Nights Tour 3,500 fans came to Garmisch-Partenkirchen and 3,000 to Oberstdorf. “That’s something for us”said Katharina Schmid and teammate Selina Freitag is convinced: “It’s evolving just like us.” Linking the fans’ interest exclusively to the sporting development of the ski jumpers and their sport falls short, despite the weak performance of the German team.
Marketing with potential
Because the truth also includes marketing Two Nights Tour. Although there were many hard-working hands in Garmisch and Oberstdorf when it came to the jumping, what was particularly visible in the towns themselves was the already established Four Hills Tournament. Only a few advertising walls or small flags created little visibility for the ski jumping competitions. Ticket sales at the box office also fell far short of expectations.
Especially given the spacious stadium in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the jumpers’ conclusion could have been sobering, but instead many of the athletes used the term “Gratitude”. And Pinkelnig also expressly thanked the German Ski Association after her victory in Oberstdorf. The DSV managed to get the ski jumpers to use the format Two Nights Touras a kind of Four Hills Tournament light.
Hüttel: “The premiere was a success”
This is also why Horst Hüttel, the sports director of the DSV, drew a positive conclusion: “I think the premiere was a success.” His assessment of the sporting achievements is different – after all, the German ski jumpers fell short of expectations. “We are not satisfied and have other demands”says Hüttel. Schmid herself had already emphasized after her home game in Oberstdorf: “I wish I could have skied better.”
She wasn’t alone in that, Selina Freitag and Anna Rupprecht were also sometimes looking for form and composure – the anger over weak jumps was too great, but also their own mistakes and the search for the reasons. Luisa Görlich experienced two extreme competitions with tenth place in Garmisch as the best German and the elimination from the qualification in Oberstdorf.
Schmid is missing in Villach
Schmid, who recently left open whether and how things will continue after this season, will be at the upcoming World Cup in Villach (January 3, 2024, 11:30 a.m. in the live ticker, January 4, 2024, from 12:30 p.m. on Erste and on Sportschau.de). not be there. The coaching team around Coach Thomas Juffinger has that “in consultation with the athlete” decided, the DSV announced on Tuesday. Instead, Schmid will complete further training sessions, but should then be back at the World Cup in Japan. The world champion wanted to deliver at the Two Nights Tour and thus provide further arguments for expanding from two to four competitions. “Unfortunately it wasn’t there anymore”she stated after her home game in Oberstdorf.
The Austrian Pinkelnig also believes that strong sporting competitions are essential in the current discussion. “We make sure we do our job well”she said. “That we put on a good show.” Knockout duels would certainly help, but they existed at the Two Nights Tour not. Nevertheless, this is New Year’s jumping “Advertising our sport”said Pinkelnig. “Everything else is decided by the officials.”
When will the ÖSV follow suit?
And in Pinkelnig’s home country, the Austrian Ski Association (ÖSV), they are currently retreating behind the lack of floodlights in Innsbruck. That should come in 2026 – then the ÖSV would probably want to hold the stages in Innsbruck and Bischofshofen together with the men’s touring competitions and not like that Two Nights Tour alternately in Germany. However, that would mean that there would be no Four Hills Tournament for female ski jumpers next year either. Eva Pinkelnig would certainly like to say about four stations: “The show was casual.”