The upcoming 74th edition of ski jumping's Four Hills Tour could be the last one only for men, as the women are to join at long last from next year onwards. Organizers of the prestigious event in Germany and Austria have said that the women are to debut at the 75th anniversary of the Four Hills next year.
The upcoming 74th edition of ski jumping's Four Hills Tour could be the last one only for men, as the women are to join at long last from next year onwards.
Organizers of the prestigious event in Germany and Austria have said that the women are to debut at the 75th anniversary of the Four Hills next year.
But to make it happen the Innsbruck venue must get its floodlights and the competitions must be included into the World Cup calendar.
The women have a Two Nights Tour at the German Four Hills venues of Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Oberstdorf on December 31 and January 1 but that is not the real thing.
A long time coming
Calls for a joint Four Hills have been made for years, and German great Katharina Schmid said "I will only believe it when it happens."
Team-mate Selina Freitag said a women's Four Hills would be "a another huge step for women's ski jumping" and "a stepping" because the Four Hills are a very popular event from which the women would profit immensely.
The main stumbling blocks were logistics such as accommodation at the four stops, television broadcasts and the floodlight issue in Innsbruck.
Floodlight breakthrough
The plan is now to have the women's competitions on the same day as qualifying for the men. This works in Oberstdorf, Garmisch and Bischofshofen but would only also be possible in Innsbruck if the Bergisel venue can finally be lit.
In this respect there was a major breakthrough when the Austrian Ski Federation and the state of Tyrol, where Innsbruck is located, agreed on financing of floodlights to be installed next year.
"That is fantastic news and the signal we have been waiting for so long," Four Hills president Manfred Schützenhofer said.
German women's coach Heinz Kuttin, who is Austrian, added: "It is about time that it comes. We are ready."
Schmid undecided
Whether seven-time world champion and twice Olympic silver medallist Schmid will extend her career for another year to take part in a Four Hills debut remains to be seen.
"If I waited for competitions like this to keep going, I wouldn't stop for the next 10 years," she said.
Sven Hannwald, the last German man to win the Four Hills in 2002, dismissed the criticism from Schmid and others, saying the women's Four Hills was "developed in a healthy way over years."
He added: "At the end of the day the history of the tour is worth more than the career of one women."
Category: General Sports
