August 5, 2009 – Professional Ski Jumping in the last few decades can be described in one sentence: the best athlete in the field determines the in-run length. The philosophy behind this is the following: all athletes (in individual events) should use the same in-run length during any given round of competition. Exceptional athletes such as Matti Nykänen (FIN), Jens Weißflog (GER), Janne Ahonen (FIN) etc. have been particularly good at leaving other competitors behind thanks to this system – they were still able to keep flying when others had landed just after the knoll of the hill.

This will no longer be the case for at least for the immediate future. A new set of rules, designed to shake Ski Jumping’s foundations, will be tested during the Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Summer Grand Prix 2009, starting on the 8th August, 2009.

The background for this pilot phase is the rule requiring each jumper to have the same in-run length during any given competition round. This means that at the very beginning of a competition round, the jury has to decide on the starting gate for the in-run speed to be used for the round. According to the current rules, no gate change is allowed even though the external conditions can change. But now, thanks to the work of several experts, the influence of the two main factors (wind and in-run speed) can be evaluated and standardized. Using a new formula ,the jury can change the length of the in-run without a restart of the entire competition round being necessary.

Hans-Heini Gasser, member of the FIS Sub-Committee for Jumping Hills, developed the basic formula (“f value”) used for calculating the relationship between in-run length and distance jumped. The f value has to be calculated for each hill separately, as they are all constructed differently. The f value determines how many meters are jumped per 1m in-run on any particular hill.

Also the factor “wind” was included in the calculation. There will be no wind-corridor in these tests, the wind conditions will be calculated for each athlete individually and in real-time. The first jumper provides the basic value. If the following jumper then has better or worse conditions, his coefficient will be higher or lower. For detailed information of the calculation please click here.

Jouko Tormänen, Chairman of FIS Ski Jumping Committee said: “We are working towards greater security and fairness in our sport, but it is always difficult to say in advance what the outcome of changes in rules might be. For sure, the new rules have to bring big benefits to Ski Jumping to justify their possible use next winter. It is also important that a wide audience can understand what’s going on, and this could cause the biggest problem.”

Contributed by Egon Theiner & Horst Nilgen