Ski Jumping

There is no room in ski jumping for one gram of fear. These young athletes come closer than any other humans to truly flying. They travel further than a football field and then land on snow as if they are stepping off a bus. It is a tricky blend of nerves, sheer power (at take off) and a nearly scientific application of basic flight properties.

Since its introduction to the Olympic Games program, the ski jumping competition has been dominated by the Scandinavian countries.

Ski jumping has been on the program of every Winter Games with the individual large hill being contested since Chamonix 1924. The longest jump on that occasion was 49 metres.
In 1964 the event was split into small hill and large hill competitions, called K70 and K90 respectively – the distances denoting the critical landing point (K). These were changed to K90 and K120 at Albertville 1992. A team contest was added at Nagano 1998

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Since 1992, the three events included on the program have been the Individual Normal Hill, the Individual Large Hill and the Team Large Hill. Women were hoping to have events added for Vancouver but they will need to wait until future Games.

Australia and Ski Jumping

No Australian has ever competed at the Olympic Games in ski jumping however in 1960, Hal Nerdal took part in the 60m jump as part of the Nordic Combined event.

Competition Format / Events

Jumpers glide down the in-run in a tucked position and at the end of the jump they launch their body further forward so they appear almost parallel to the ground in flight. They do not have ski poles to assist with acceleration. The skis are held in a ‘V-position’ during the flight, which is proven to be the most aerodynamic position.

After about five seconds in the air, skiers land in a telemark position, where one ski is placed in front of the other, the knees are bent, the body pressed forward and the movement smooth and precise. A jumper holds this position on the early part of the outrun but relaxes once he crosses the fall line, a marker on the outrun which signals the jump has ended.

Jumping competitions are decided by a combination of points for distance and style. Points for distance are determined by the length reached in relation to the jump’s critical (K) point. Five judges award each jumper up to 20 points for style. Each competitor jumps twice, with the gold medal going to the jumper with the greatest aggregate points.

Normal Hill Individual
This is the only ski jumping event from the normal hill, which has a K-point between 75 and 99 metres. All athletes participate in a qualification round and 50 athletes advance through to the first round. After the first round the field is reduced to 30 athletes for the final round. From this round the athlete with the highest total score from these two jumps is declared the winner.

Large Hill Individual
This event is contested on the large hill, which has a K-point larger than 100 metres. Like the individual normal hill there is a qualification round and 50 athletes advance to the first round. In the final round the field is reduced to 30 athletes. There are two jumps (first and final round), and the athlete with the highest total score is declared the winner.

Large Hill Team
This event is usually contested on the large hill. There are four members on each team, and there are two jumps (first and final round). In the first round all teams start. In the final round the field is reduced to the eight best teams. The team with the highest total score over the eight jumps is declared the winner.