August 23, 2008 – The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Liberec (CZE) followed by the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver have been the goal for the Swedish Ski Jumping team since the Swedish Ski Association engaged the German trainer Wolfgang Hartmann. Hartmann is the former team manager for the German junior team who is now charged with the development of Swedish Ski Jumping.

Going from training the top level juniors on the German national team to Swedish Ski Jumping is a big change, especially from a financial perspective since significantly more limited resources are at the team’s disposal in Sweden. Since Hartmann took over, the team has continuously developed improving results both at the World and Continental Cup levels. The current team includes Andreas Arén, Johan Eriksson, Isak Grimholm and Carl Nordin along with head coach Wolfgang Hartmann and assistant coach/service man Kerst Rölz.

“The biggest change that came with me is probably that I have a lot of contacts in the Ski Jumping family in Germany and they have helped us much with material and hotels. These sponsors have been a significant help for us. It has also been important for the athletes to have one trainer for a longer period of time,” Hartmann commented.

In the earlier years, the team used to hold several summer training camps in Central Europe, but this summer most training has taken place at home in Sweden. The team has held fitness tests with the Swedish Olympic Committee and during four camps, intense material tests have been conducted on the hill in Örnsköldsvik in the north of Sweden. Since the team lacks money, two daily training sessions have often been combined with fund-raising activities.

Hartmann works hard to improve Swedish Ski Jumping, and the goal is to have one or two athletes continuously in top 30 in the World Cup, which guarantees certain media interest along with sponsors. Before this season, a new contract was signed with car company KIA Sweden, which represents a long-term investment in Swedish Ski Jumping and a major accomplishment. Now the team has a full-time service man and also a new sponsor manager based out of Germany who works to find other sponsors for the future.

The 2008 summer Continental Cup finals will take place on the team’s home turf in Falun, from 11th – 12th October. Yet with Falun’s likely candidacy for the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2015, there are even bigger plans for the future.

“Home championships will be very important for Swedish Ski Jumping. The hills in Falun do not currently comply with the latest FIS rules, and with a championship, a reconstruction will become necessary. This would give us a new training center with modern hills. Otherwise, too, championships in Sweden would give Swedish Ski Jumping a boost and increase the public interest which is one of our main goals,” Hartmann stated.