Rio or Dubai?

FIS boss wants to revolutionize the Ski Jumping World Cup

(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

The ski jumpers are the talk of the town thanks to their success at the Four Hills Tournament. FIS Race Director Sandro Pertile used the opportunity in Bischofshofen to reveal his plans for the future of the sport. Numerous World Cup venues could be in for the chop.

Sandro Pertile, Ski Jumping Race Director for the International Ski Federation, presented his plans for the future of ski jumping at the Four Hills Tournament final in Bischofshofen. He spoke about ...

... the women's prize money:
We are aware of the gap between women and men and are working on closing it. However, it is currently not easy to finance women's competitions. We want to improve this further.

... the development of the ladies:
Since last spring, the FIS has opted for a new strategy. The clear goal is to connect the women's and men's events as quickly as possible. Things are always easier to fix on paper, sometimes it takes time. The current season has been planned for a long time, we are now working on the next season. Our plan is to bring both genders together from 2026/27.

... Consequences of the merger:
A significant increase in women's competitions is desirable. A new format is also possible. The world is turning faster and faster. Now is probably the time and we have a great opportunity to think about the evolution of our formats. The normal jumps are a hot topic. When we combine men and women, the focus is on large hills. It will be difficult to keep normal hills in the calendar. However, we are aware that these are necessary for the younger generations. We therefore want to come up with something innovative for the juniors and support the organizations.

... the globalization of sport:
We want to become more global. If we want to grow at this level, we need to be in the big markets like the USA and China. Hopefully we will be back in Russia soon.

... the disappearance of ski jumps if they no longer host World Cup events:
This is an important issue for us. We want to offer something new for normal ski jumps. But if you ask ladies and gentlemen whether they prefer to jump on the flying or the K100 hill, I expect 90 percent of the athletes to say that they want to fly. Larger hills are more attractive. My wish would be a world league for our juniors on normal hills.

... the feedback from the organizers of World Cups on small hills such as Villach or Hinzenbach:
My colleague Chika Yoshida has spoken to all the organizing committees, the info has arrived there that we are merging ladies and men. If I lose a World Cup, of course I'm not happy. But we have to look at the international picture. Sometimes you have to make decisions.

... more entertainment at World Cup events:
We are often a night event. We could plan laser shows in the future. Music is an important team. We had a lot of young spectators at this tour, ski jumping remains attractive. This is a key factor for the future of our sport.

... competitions in Rio or Dubai:
Pertile shows a three-minute video in which you can see how a mobile ski jump could be set up. Then he says: "What you see is a dream. It takes a long time to realize a dream. We should evaluate a structure like this to travel around the world with the sport. We are so attractive that I think we can be represented anywhere in the world with our beautiful sport.