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Ski jumping

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Ski jumping is a sport or event in which competitors jump on skis for points or distance. Ski jumping may be performed on either water skis or snow skis, and jumpers in either case are judged by the distance they travel in the air. Competition winter (snow) ski jumpers are also judged on the style of each jump. Water ski jumpers are judged purely on the distance they travel in the air for a clean jump. A clean jump is a jump in which the jumper lands upright and maintains a grip on the rope until the judges deem the jump complete.

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Winter Ski Jumping

Ski jumping is a winter sport in which skiers go down an inrun with a take-off ramp (the jump), attempting to go as far as possible. In addition to the length that skiers jump, referees give points for style. The skis used for ski jumping are wide and long, and only attach to the skier's toes.

History

Ski jumping originates from Morgedal, Norway, but the first proper competition was held in Trysil in 1862. The first widely known ski jumping competition was held in Husebybakken, Oslo, in 1879. The yearly event was moved to Holmenkollen from 1892, and Holmenkollen has remained the Mecca of ski jumping ever since.

Competition

A ski jumper in Calgary, Canada.
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A ski jumper in Calgary, Canada.

Today, World Cup ski jumping competitions are held on two types of hills:

Individual Olympic competition consists of a training jump and two scored jumps. The team event consists of four members of the same nation who have two jumps each.

Ski jumping is one of the two elements in the Nordic combined sport.

Women ski jumping

Currently, women are allowed to ski jump internationally through the Continental cup. On May 26, 2006, FIS decided to allow women to ski jump at the 2009 Nordic World Ski Championships in Liberec, Czech Republic and then to have a team event for women at the 2011 world championships. FIS also decided to submit a proposal to the International Olympic Committee to alow women to compete at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. [link]

Scoring

The winner is decided on a scoring system based on distance and style.

Each hill has a target called the calculation point (or K point) which is a par distance to aim for. This point is marked by the K line on the landing strip. For K90 and K120 competitions, the K line is at 90m and 120m respectively. Skiers are awarded 60 points if they land on the K Line. For every metre short/beyond this average, jumpers receive fewer/more points than the par 60 (1.8 points per metre).

In addition, five judges are based in a tower that lies to the side of the expected landing point. They can award up to 20 points for style based on: keeping the skis steady during flight, balance, good body position and landing.

The final score consists of the distance score plus the middle three style scores from the judges (the highest and lowest scores are ignored). For the individual event, the jumper with the best combined total from his two jumps is the winner.

Technique

Using the modern V-technique, pioneered by Jan Boklöv of Sweden in 1985, world-level skiers are able to exceed the distance of the take-off hill by about 10 percent compared to the previous technique with parallel skis. Aerodynamics has become a factor of increasing importance in modern ski jumping, with recent rules addressing the regulation of ski jumping suits. This follows a period when loopholes in the rules seemed to favour skinny jumpers in stiff, "air foil"-like suits.

Previous techniques first included the Kongsberger technique, developed in Kongsberg, Norway by two ski jumpers, Jacob Tullin Thams and Sigmund Ruud following World War I. This technique had the upper body bent at the hip, a wide forward lean, and arms extended the front with the skis parallel to each other. It would lead to jumping length going from 45 meters to over 100 meters. In the 1950's, Andreas Daescher of Switzerland modified the Kongsberger technique by placing his arms backward toward his hips for a more closer lean. The Daescher technique would be standard for ski jumping from the 1950's until the V-technique was developed in 1985.

The skiers must touch the ground in the Telemark landing style. This involves the jumper landing with one foot in front of the other, mimicking the style of the Norwegian inventors of Telemark skiing.

Popularity

Ski jumping is popular among spectators and TV audiences in Scandinavia and Central Europe. Almost all world-class ski jumpers come from those regions or from Japan. Traditionally, the strongest countries (with consistently strong teams) are Finland, Norway, Germany (formerly both East and West), and Austria. However, there always have been successful ski jumpers from other countries as well (see list below). The Four Hills Tournament, held annually at four sites in Bavaria (Germany) and Austria around New Year, is very popular and draws huge crowds.

There have been attempts to spread the popularity of the sport by finding ways by which the construction and upkeep of practising and competition venues can be made easier. These include plastic "fake snow" to provide a slippery surface even during the summer time and in locations where snow is a rare occurrence, and the Ski jumping sling invented by Spede Pasanen which allows construction of an inexpensive and unobtrusive jumping tower.

So-called ski flying events are held on particularly large ramps (such as the one in Planica, Slovenia, or the Kulm, Austria). The current ski flying world record, set by Bjørn Einar Romøren on March 20, 2005 in Planica, stands at distance of 239 meters.

Notable ski jumpers

Former World Cup ski jumpers

Currently active

Notable unsuccessful ski jumpers

Important venues

Ski jumping World Cup

See also

External links

Water Ski Jumping

The ski jump is performed on two long skis similar to those a beginner uses, with a specialized tailfin that is somewhat shorter and much wider (so it will support the weight of the skiier when he is on the jump ramp.) Skiers towed behind a boat at fixed speed, manoever to achieve the maximum speed when hitting a ramp floating in the water, launching themselves into the air with the goal of travelling as far as possible before touching the water. Professional ski jumpers can travel up to 70 metres. The skier must successfully land and retain control of the ski rope to be awarded the distance.

See Also

 

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