ski jumping
Almost a month and a half after the end of the 2021/22 season, the International Ski Federation (FIS) set the course for the coming winter on Tuesday evening and adapted its plans to the soccer World Cup, which is taking place at the same time. The start of the season is a month earlier than normal. The comeback of the World Cup in the USA was also fixed at the association’s virtual congress. In addition, after the chaos at the Olympics, there are adaptations to the measurement procedure for the suits.
In any case, the start of the competition for the big crystal ball will take place on November 5th and 6th in Wisla, Poland, and thus much earlier than usual. The reason is the World Cup in Qatar, which was held for the first time in winter. “We had to react. That’s why we’re starting the season so early,” said FIS Race Director Sandro Pertile after the virtual congress. The start was originally planned for early December.
The fear that due to the early date in Silesia there is not enough snow for ski jumping is not an issue in this case. Because World Cup title defender Ryoyu Kobayashi and the ÖSV-Adler around Stefan Kraft will land on mats at the start of the season. The two individual competitions in Wisla will be held in a hybrid version. An ice track awaits you on the run-up, and the artificial layer on the jump.
Iron Mountain returns
In addition, the World Cup entourage is celebrating a comeback in the USA after a 19-year break. On February 11th and 12th, 2023, two more competitions are to take place in Iron Mountain in the northwest of the US state of Michigan. The last competition on the “Pine Mountain Jump” was won in 2000 by the German Martin Schmitt ahead of the current ÖSV head coach Andreas Widholzl and ORF expert Andreas Goldberger. In the USA, the last time people jumped for World Cup points was in 2004 on the Olympic hill in Park City.
Speaking of the calendar: The football World Cup in Qatar not only ensures an early start to the season, but also some overlaps afterwards. The weekend in Ruka (November 26th and 27th) collides with the preliminary round, the weekend in Titisee-Neustadt (December 10th and 11th) with the quarter-final games and the tour dress rehearsal in Engelberg (December 17th and 18th). ) with the World Cup final.
Rule change after Olympic farce
After a commotion with the suits, the measuring procedure during the Olympic Games is new. In the future, body height will be determined with a laser device while lying down and sitting. The dimensions are decisive for the inseam length of the jumper suit, the FIS announced.
At the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing this February, the mixed team competition, which was held for the first time, had degenerated into a farce. A total of five women were disqualified because of non-compliant suits. Among those affected was Austria’s “Grand Dame” Daniela Iraschko-Stolz, which is why the ÖSV selection lost their chance of a medal after the first round.
Victory then went in a superior manner to the favorites from Slovenia, who got through without disqualification and prevailed over the team from Russia. Due to the strange course of events, bronze sensationally went to Canada, 156.9 points behind, who were able to celebrate their first Olympic medal in ski jumping.
