Ski jumping – the women’s Four Hills Tournament is scheduled to take place in 2026 at the latest

Another spectator world record for a qualification: 16,500 watched the dress rehearsal for the opening competition of the 73rd Four Hills Tournament in Oberstdorf on Saturday. However, at the Schattenbergschanze once again only the men’s flights around German overall World Cup leader Pius Paschke were celebrated. The women still have to wait for equality in the air, but after years of struggle, the premiere of their ski jumping Grand Slam in all four tour locations of Oberstdorf, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Innsbruck and Bischofshofen seems to be closer than ever before.

It should be ready by the 75th anniversary Four Hills Tournament in winter 2026/2027 at the latest; there is even “a small chance” for next winter. Horst Hüttel, sports director at the German Ski Association (DSV), who is familiar with the negotiations, reveals this: “All four tour locations are fundamentally open to the women’s Four Hills Tournament, that was the result of the last tour meeting. The basic idea is that the women’s competition should be integrated into the tour on the men’s quality day. In my opinion, that would be the breakthrough for the women’s Four Hills Tournament.”

“In my opinion, that would be the breakthrough for the women’s Four Hills Tournament.”

Horst HüttelSports director in the German Ski Association

Even though there is finally a fundamental agreement after years of discussions between the DSV, the Austrian Ski Association (ÖSV) and the World Ski Association (Fis), the devil is still in the details. The condition for the approval is that a floodlight system is finally installed in Innsbruck. The legendary Bergisel ski jump is the only tour bakken where it is still missing. The artificial light is the prerequisite for the women’s significantly extended program to be carried out on the men’s qualification day at convenient times for the broadcasting TV stations.

The floodlights on Innsbruck’s local mountain have been discussed for more than a decade, but residents have so far resisted successfully. But this problem seems to have been resolved, as Hüttel explains: “There is probably an agreement with the residents, but the financing still needs to be finally clarified. The ÖSV has signaled that there will be a decision on this at the end of January 2025. ÖSV sports director Mario Stecher, however, also demands that the other Austrian World Cup locations such as Villach or Hinzenbach continue to be included in the Fis calendar at a certain frequency.

That doesn’t seem to be an insurmountable obstacle either, but it’s also about money – after all, the Four Hills Tournament, with its millions in sales, is the most lucrative event in all of winter sports alongside the Alpine races in Kitzbühel. »The sponsorship rights, which are currently regulated differently for women and men, still need to be clarified – this topic is very complex. This will be discussed with the agencies Infront and IMG in spring 2025,” says Hüttel: “The discussions with DSV and ÖSV on this marketing topic were very constructive.” Also that the World Cup events in Germany will in future be managed by Fis via central marketing, Hüttel sees the ÖSV as continuing to sell its events through its agency as solvable.

So it sounds like the path to the women’s Four Hills Tournament has almost been cleared after many arguments. The whole thing is a complicated story that can be summarized briefly: four years ago, the German tour organizers were against their own women’s event and the Austrian ones were in favor. Austria then set up a kind of replacement tour with the New Year’s Eve tour in Villach and Ljubno, Slovenia, where there was a Golden Owl trophy. “The greatest mockery of women with a Golden Owl instead of an eagle as a prize – that was an insult to the women in terms of body shape,” complained the last German overall tour winner Sven Hannawald.

nd.Kompakt – our daily newsletter

Our daily newsletter nd.Compact brings order to the news madness. Every day you will receive an overview of the most exciting stories from the world Editorial team. Get your free subscription here.

After the negative reactions, the ÖSV put the brakes on and the German Ski Association pushed for the women’s premiere of the world’s largest annual mega event in ski jumping with its “Two Nights Tour”. They are also available these days with jumping in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (December 31st) and Oberstdorf (January 1st) – even for the first time in TV prime time after 4 p.m. However, the women’s competitions at the two German tour locations take place in the reverse order to the men’s – that is a thorn in the side of the ÖSV. “If we do it, then with a really good product and in the same order as for the men,” said ÖSV sports director Mario Stecher.

The flying women are of course happy that there is now light at the end of the tunnel – even if they only really believe in it once all the problems have been cleared up. “If necessary, we would jump early at seven so that there could be the women’s Four Hills Tournament,” says German jumper Selina Freitag. Hannawald is also happy that this will happen soon: “It just takes time for such a big topic to be implemented, it has to develop. The two-night tour in Germany is a good interim step because it generates more attention. And in two years the women’s Four Hills Tournament could celebrate its premiere.”