Four Hills Tournament

In the Four Hills Tournament four Ski Jumping World Cup events are summarized, which take place annually since 1952 around the New Year in Germany and Austria. The tour is considered in addition to the Olympic Games and the Nordic World Ski Championships as the most prestigious competition of ski jumping.

• 5.1 all-in - system 5.1.1 Qualification
• 5.1.2 competition

• 6.1 The nations
• 6.2 overall winner
• 6.3 winner on every hill
• 6.4 Winners on several hills

• 7.1 History and current situation
• 7.2 commercialization

History

Idea

This competition has its antecedents in the since 1921/22 in Garmisch -Partenkirchen performed New Year's event - the first winner here jumped 76 meters. The idea for a jumping on four different hills on several days in quick succession was developed in 1949 by members of the Ski Club Partenkirchen and Innsbruck. Since the Second World War no participation of foreign Springer in Germany and German Springer abroad was possible, but the idea of ​​such a tour had to be postponed to 1952 and it could only German and Austrian ski jumps are included.

On May 17, 1952, based on the occasion of a night jumping on the Seegrube above Innsbruck, the " German - Austrian tour Springer "; Founding Fathers were Toni Glos, Emmerich Pepeunig (Innsbruck ), Beppi Hartl, Franz Rappenglück ( Partenkirchen ), Andi Mischitz, Fred Triebner ( Bischofshofen ) and Alfons Huber and Xavier Kaiser ( Oberstdorf).

The three stations Partenkirchen, Innsbruck and Bischofshofen were from the beginning as touring places fixed. As a second German place was desired in order to achieve parity between Germany and Austria, the SC Partenkirchen was commissioned by the tour agencies to find another German starting point. First, the SCP Berchtesgaden, Oberammergau feet and had taken into view. These cities or places had already experience with the staging of ski jumping competitions at the existing ski jumps. This meant that there were no new jumps necessary and that no Partenkirchener had to take care of the organization. However, there was also a large overlap of the audience catchment area with Partenkirchen and the SCP feared loss of revenue. Therefore it was decided to Oberstdorf as second German location.

The official founding of the " German - Austrian tour Springer ", in short, the tour took place on 14 December 1952 at the Post Hotel Partenkirchen.

The first tours

The first tour is so far the only one that was played in just one year. It started on 1 January 1953, the New Year's event in Partenkirchen. 20,000 spectators came to the first competition, in which a total of 50 jumpers took to the start, except for many Germans and Austrians, four jumpers from Yugoslavia, four from Sweden, three from Norway and three from Switzerland.

Winner of the New Year was jumping Asgeir Dølplads from Norway with jumps of 78.5 and 80 meters. On January 4, then took the second place in Oberstdorf (winner: Erling Kroken from Norway) before it then went on 6 January Epiphany Jump to Innsbruck; there won the Austrian Sepp Bradl. The last competition of the tour in 1953 was held on 11 January in Bischofshofen. Again with Halvor Naes won a Norwegian. Overall winner of the first German - Austrian tour was the Austrian Sepp Bradl before the Norwegians Halvor Naes and Asgeir Dølplads.

Despite the circumstances that did not participate in the entire world on top of the tour, so, for example lacking the strong Finns complete, the spectator interest revenue for the ski club -discharging the praise of the athletes on the organization were large, high and enormous. Many athletes raved at the following major events of the newly created tour, and so further Springer took notice of it. Only a short time after the end of the tour in 1953 began planning the next. The procedure should be changed but this time. The New Year's event in Partenkirchen should be preserved, but not more than the opening event, but as the second jump. The opening event was moved to Oberstdorf and was from then on always on the 29th or 30th December. Thus, the tour began and ended in the old in the new year. Jumping at Bergisel in Innsbruck was brought forward to January 3rd or 4th and the Epiphany jumping took place from now on as the end of the Tournament in Bischofshofen instead.

In the following years the importance of the tour rose as the main event in the ski calendar. The field became stronger and the spectators and media interest grew steadily. Now, even the New Year's event in the ARD was transferred in 1956. A year later transferred the ARD all jumping tour, which in turn further increased the level of awareness in Germany. A major contribution was also the first podium of a German knight in the Tournament 1956/1957 when Max Bolkart finished in third place.

Another innovation was to tour 1956/1957. The Ski Association of the GDR was assured a jumping on the first Christmas Day in Oberhof. This should be the new opening event of the tour. However, at the first Christmas jumping occurred only German and Austrian. All other nations were due to transport and travel difficulties and due to unclear payment of transportation, not to Oberhof.

Also at the 6th tour 1957/1958 a competition in Oberhof was planned on December 26th. However, there was previously no snow in Oberhof and a good preparation of the jump with delivered snow, as it happened at the same time in Oberstdorf and Partenkirchen, was not possible. The jump should be transferred to the snow richer Oberwiesenthal. This would have been even higher but is associated with travel and transportation hardships for the onward journey to Oberstdorf. Thus was the renewed attempt to extend the tour with the GDR failed. Nevertheless, the ski jumpers of East Germany had something to celebrate in this tour. Helmut Recknagel Steinbach- Hallenberg won the tour, in the absence of strong Norwegian ( training problems in advance of the tour ) and Finns ( preparation for the Nordic World Ski Championships in Lahti in 1958 ) before two jumpers from the USSR. It was the first overall victory for a jumper from Germany. Recknagel repeated the victory in 1959 and 1961. 1960 was also the first German Federal celebrating an overall victory with Max Bolkart.

The flag dispute

At the 8th tour 1959/1960 there was the first major scandal in the young history of the tour. The Federal Republic of Germany and Austria recognized the GDR at that time not as an independent state at. Therefore, it was also forbidden to hoist the national flag of the GDR. The Springer and coaches of the national team of the GDR existed, nonetheless, that their national flag is raised during sporting events. Since this was not done, the entire East German team traveled again. All the other teams in the Eastern countries (Poland, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia) left the tour. Again, since the Norwegians and Finns, due to the preparation for the Olympic Winter Games in 1960 in Squaw Valley, were missing, this tour was quite sparse.

The dispute over the flag of the GDR continued in the summer of 1960. The organizers of the tour thought about how they can resolve the dispute, because they did not want to run another event without the strong jumpers from the GDR. Since it due to the political circumstances there was no way to allow the hoisting of the GDR flag, they came to the conclusion no longer the national flag, but only the flag of the Ski Club, for the Springer starts to hoist. With this compromise, the GDR team agreed, and so they traveled back to full strength for the tour. It again won Helmut Recknagel. That was the last time being German tour victory.

In the same year, there were in addition to a unique event in the tour. Since Innsbruck won the bid for the Olympic Winter Games in 1964, the Bergisel ski was rebuilt, even during the tour. The Springer wore their competition on a construction site.

The 1960s: Scandinavian dominance

There was a so-called " general blocking of the entire sports movement " between the Federal Republic and the GDR, the jumpers from the GDR could not 1962 travel to the first two tour jumping anniversary tour (tenth ) 1961 / and only came in Innsbruck again. The 10th tour ushered in a long series of successes jumper from Finland and Norway. Eight times in a row won Springer from these countries. Since the tour 1964/65 computers are used for results analysis.

The 1970s: dominance of the GDR and commercialization

Only Horst mercury from the DDR could interrupt with his victory in the Tournament 1969/1970 the dominance of the Scandinavians. This was followed by the years of the GDR. In nine years, winning five times East German Springer: 1969/70 Horst mercury; 1972/73 Rainer Schmidt; In 1973/74 Hans -Georg Aschenbach; 1975/76 and 1976/77 Jochen Dannenberg. In addition, the commercialization of the tour and the ski sport progressed general. With Intersport, the tour took the first main and title sponsor, and the previous Amateur Sports Ski Jumping developed more and more to professional sports.

The 1980s: Nykänen against Weißflog

The 1980s were marked by Matti Nykänen (FIN ) and Jens Weißflog (DDR ), which both reached five podium finishes in those ten years. Once it was the Austrian Hubert Neuper managed to win the tour in 1979/ 80 and 1980/81 twice in a row, won the 1981/82 Manfred Deckert from the GDR. In 1982/83, Matti Nykänen won for the first time the tour ahead of Jens Weißflog, then secured the win in each of the next two years, first in front of Klaus Ostwald ( DDR) and Matti Nykänen, then before Nykänen and Ostwald. In the years 1985/86 and 1986/87, the Austrian Ernst Vettori was able to secure the tour overall victory twice in a row. In the year 1987/88 again won Nykänen before Weißflog while later Finnish Risto Laakkonen at No. 2 and Weißflog displaced in at his victory Nykänen at No. 3.

The 1990s: Development of the V- style

Since the "Introduction" of the V- style in the early 1990s were always greater the cracked lengths. The hills had in profile continued to expand, but also to be modernized with their equipment and adapted to the new conditions. Jens Weißflog, starting now for total Germany, the only jumper who won both competitions was in parallel and in the V- style and overall victories celebrated for two states. He was the first won the tour four times ( 1983/84, 1984/85, 1990/91, 1995 /96). This record was broken in 2008 by Janne Ahonen (Finland ) with five overall victories (1998/99, 2002/ 03, 2004 / 05, 2005/ 06, 2007/ 08). Since the Four Hills Tournament 1996/1997, the athletes have to qualify through a training jump on the eve of the beginning.

The 2000s

In the 50th Four Hills Tournament 2001/2002 succeeded Sven Hanna forest of Germany than was previously the only jumper to win all four competitions.

In 2006, there were two winners for the first time since they had the same score in the overall standings: Jakub Janda from the Czech Republic and Janne Ahonen of Finland.

First time in 2008 to jump in Innsbruck was due to a Föhnsturms completely canceled and rescheduled on January 5 in Bischofshofen in the history of the Four Hills Tournament. Since the tour was that only three jumps, albeit with four competitions, held, was jokingly already spoken of a Three Hills Tournament. It was the first time that the tour was not played on four hills, because as 1956, the Epiphany in Bischofshofen could not take place due to lack of snow, another jumping on January 11 was held on the zinc -Hills in nearby Hallein.

Recent Developments

For the first time in the history of the Four Hills Tournament succeeded a nation in six consecutive years to be charged to the overall win for themselves - the dominance of the Austrians began in 2009 with the victory of Wolfgang Loitzl, followed in 2010 Andreas Kofler, 2011 Thomas Morgenstern and 2012, Gregor Schlierenzauer, who at the subsequent tour 2012/2013 was able to defend his title. 2014 was again won by an Austrian Thomas Diethart.

The financial cost of the alignment of the tour is high, costs were in 2003/2004 it reported by 3.6 million euros.

For the winners, the FIS requires a (minimum) cash prize of 70,000 Swiss francs ( CHF ), which is divided as follows: 1st place = 30,000 CHF, 2 = 15,000 CHF, 3 = 10,000 CHF, 4 = 6000 CHF, 5 = 3000 CHF, 6 = 2000 CHF, 7th - 10th = 1,000 CHF. Frequently still valuable of sponsors, prizes will be provided, eg by Nissan ( 2004, a special X-trail car, 2005 Nissan Pathfinder ).

In the season 2010/2011 the Four Hills Tournament received a new logo, a new trophy and the first time a unified event layout in a new design.

Organization

The tour is organized by the Ski Club of the venues. These are the ski club in 1906 Oberstdorf, the organizing committee of the New Year ski jumping SC Partenkirchen, the sport club Bergisel and the ski club Bischofshofen. President of the Organizing Committee is Alfons Schranz from Innsbruck. The officers also belong to Josef Geiger ( Oberstdorf ), Michael Maurer ( Partenkirchen ) and Hermann Schütter ( Bischofshofen ). The organizers advised at the beginning of the 21st century about whether an extension to a fifth -Hills from Switzerland should be made. However, this was rejected.

Dates

The order of jumping, beginning in Oberstdorf, then the New Year's competition in Garmisch -Partenkirchen, followed by Innsbruck and the Three Kings in Bischofshofen, has been only five times not respected. In the first year touring the New Year's (1953 ) opened the event. In the years 1956, 1961 and 1962, the competition in Innsbruck was held in the old year as the second jump. 1971/72 the dates of Oberstdorf, Innsbruck were exchanged.

Since the tour 1972/73, the order of competition was not altered. The New Year's event was, with one exception ( weather-related shift to 2nd January 1979) always occur on New Year's Day. Jumping from Bischofshofen found from 1975 to 2006 always at Epiphany instead, at the request of television in 2007, but only on 7 January, because it was a Sunday. The dates of Oberstdorf, Innsbruck depend on the weekdays. Usually in Oberstdorf jumped at the 29th or 30th December (in the early days of touring frequently on New Years Eve ), in Innsbruck on 3rd or 4th of January.

Mode

The Appreciation of the tour is determined by adding the results of the four competitions. It counts the score achieved ( width and attitude ), not the placement or the associated World Cup points.

The score is composed of:

• Jump distance - Jump to the K- point of the jump = 60 points. Each additional meter gives 1.8 plus points and minus points for landing in front of the K- point.
• Attitude - Of the 5 adjudicators are the three middle attitude scores added together. The highest and the lowest accounts.
• Wind factor - Depending on wind conditions can be debited or credited the athlete points (eg tailwind leads to additional points and updraft leading to withdrawal ).
• Gate - It is possible during the current competition to lengthen or shorten the start-up. If the start-up extended to get the following Springer points deducted or vice versa. This may be the case if the Springer can fly far on the landing hill down due to strong thermal. Here, there is an increased risk of falling due to the shallow slope of the landing area.

Wind factor and gate were first introduced in the Four Hills Tournament 2010/2011. This system results more objective results, although the external impact can never be completely compensated.

All-in - system

One of the peculiarities of the Four Hills Tournament is the controversial knockout system by which the Jumping Four Hills Tournament in contrast to the other World Cup competitions where the top 30 divers from the first pass coming in the second round discharged. The knockout mode is discharged only if the qualification will take place the day before jumping. Does the qualification weather conditions are discharged or eliminated on the day of jumping, is bound by the rules of normal World Cup. This was last January 6, 2012 in Bischofshofen the case.

Qualification

In the mode, first used in the 1996/97 season the eligible for jumping 50 Springer in 25 pairs are divided, so that always two jumpers jumping against each other. Here, the first qualifying jumps to the 50th, the 2nd to the 49th, etc. Therefore, the qualification is more important than other jumping because it not only decides to participate in the first round, but by the achieved placement also the corresponding duel sets.

However, the ten best in the overall World Cup rankings are (until 2006 / 07, the top 15 ) automatically qualified. For them, it goes in the qualification consequently not to participate in the competition, but to the enemy, against which they must compete in the knockout system.

Competition

The winner of each of the 25 duels Springer comes directly in the second pass. The five best point losers (so-called Lucky Loser ) come on, so that the number of participants for the second passage also consists of 30 jumpers. In the case of a tie the fifth- best loser with other jumpers, these are also qualified for the second round, so as well as more than 30 Springer have progressed.

In this mode it is possible, for example, that the 12th of the first passage retires ( if he loses his duel and there are five better " loser "), which progresses 49th of the first passage on the other hand ( if he wins his duel and his opponent worst is ). Therefore, it is often the case that jumpers who were excreted by the normal mode, to qualify for the second round, but excrete actually qualified jumpers.

If the weather conditions change significantly during a competition, the Knockout mode but can also lead to more justice. For thus will Athletes whose chances of reaching the second pass by external influences such as reduced eg back or side wind, given the opportunity, also through a direct duel against Springer, who in similar ( as timely ) Conditions has to jump to qualify for the second round. The other way round weather favored athletes must deny their direct duel usually also against weather favored a similar degree Springer, so that keeps her advantage within limits.

Winner

The nations

In the Nation's Cup Germany leads with 16 total successes (of which eleven for the GDR ), together with Finland (also 16 wins ) against Austria with 15 and Norway with ten successes. Twice Czechs could win the tour ( which once for Czechoslovakia ). The victory went to Japan, Slovenia, Poland and the Soviet Union.

Overall winner

Janne Ahonen (Finland ) with five overall victories the most successful participants in the Four Hills Tournament since 2008. It is followed with four wins Jens Weißflog ( DDR / Germany ). Behind are Helmut Recknagel (DDR ) and Bjørn Wirkola (Norway ) with three, and Jochen Dannenberg (DDR ), Matti Nykänen, Veikko Kankkonen (both Finland ), Hubert Neuper, Ernst Vettori, Andreas Goldberger and Gregor Schlierenzauer (all Austria ) with two overall success.

In 17 tours there were jumpers who could win three of the four jumps. In the 50th Four Hills Tournament (2001/ 02) Sven Hanna Wald ( Germany ) won even all four individual events on tour and thus the so-called Grand Slam in Ski Jumping managed. He is the first and so far only jumper to have managed (as of 2014):

A total of 8 times (as of 2014) there was an overall winner, the winner of the day was to none of the jumps:

In the 54th tour (2005/ 06) saw the first two Tournament winner. After eight jumps had reached exactly with 1081.5 points, the same score Jakub Janda (Czech Republic) and Janne Ahonen. This score then set the record for points obtained a knight in the history of the Four Hills Tournament dar. This record was two years later by Ahonen at 1085.8 points in the Tournament 2008/ 09 by Wolfgang Loitzl ( Austria ) improved to 1123.7 points.

Winner on every hill

So far (as of January 6, 2013 ), it is nine jumpers managed to win at least once on all four jumps:

Notes:

• The names of still-active jumpers are set in bold in the list.

Sven Hanna forest is so far the only one in Oberstdorf and in January 2002 succeeded in December 2001 in Garmisch -Partenkirchen, Innsbruck and Bischofshofen to win all jumping within a tour. With the subsequent jump in Oberstdorf in December 2002, he was the only jumper to win all four competitions within one calendar year 2002, and is adjacent to Helmut Recknagel (Innsbruck 1958 Bischofshofen 1958 Oberstdorf 1958, Garmisch -Partenkirchen in 1959 and Innsbruck 1959), one of two jumpers, which reach five wins in a row.

Winner on several hills

Three still active Springer 've been successful on three touring ski jumps and lack only a victory to have any jumping won once: Thomas Morgenstern ( Austria ) in Garmisch -Partenkirchen, Wolfgang Loitzl ( Austria ) in Oberstdorf and Anders Jacobsen ( Norway) in Bischofshofen.

Thomas Morgenstern, Andreas Goldberger (both Austria ) and Kazuyoshi Funaki (Japan ) each have 5 tour - jumping, Jiří Raška (Czechoslovakia ), Toni Innauer, Andreas Widhölzl (both Austria ), Jochen Dannenberg, Dieter Thoma, Martin Schmitt (all Germany ) 4 per tour jumping won, but not on all touring ski jumps.

TV broadcasts

History and current situation

The television broadcasts were an important factor for the rapid popularity of the Four Hills Tournament. Already in 1956 transferred the Bayerische Rundfunk in the ARD, the New Year's event, from 1960, the other stations of the tour on television has been transferred. Up to 25 television stations broadcast the tour today.

By qualifying for the New Year Ski Jumping 2000 on 31 December 1999, the cooperation with the public service broadcasters in Germany ended. Since then, the private broadcaster RTL was the transmitting station in Germany. Shortly before the start of the season 2007/08 RTL withdrew from all winter sports events, then took over The First and the ZDF re- broadcast rights for Germany. In Austria, the tour is always transferred from the ORF.

Commercialization

In the last 20 years, an ever -increasing commercialization of the Four Hills Tournament set in, which brought partly drastic rule and process changes. 1996/97, for example, the previously cracked mode was replaced by the often criticized knockout system.

The acquisition of television rights by the private broadcaster RTL drew more serious changes with it: By and by two of the four -Hills-Tournament were held as floodlit jumping ( in Oberstdorf and Bischofshofen ), since the sender promised by broadcasting the evening higher rates.

Also a mandatory to jumping qualification for all Springer, even the best 10 of the World Cup, was thought to improve the odds for the qualifying jump. Consider this measure was named after the Four Hills Tournament 2001/ 02, as Sven Hanna forest as already qualified Springer left out all four skills and so this did not bring the hoped-for audience. Ultimately, these considerations but were rejected again.

The changes taking place runs were interrupted during the RTL - time again and again to carry advertising can. This was the case after the first 25 jumpers in the first round and after every ten jumpers in the second round. Although it was initially stressed, no jumpers would have to wait due to commercial breaks that do not weather-related interruptions were introduced only during the RTL - time, but later used among others by ORF and ZDF to carry advertising can. While jumping called split - screen advertising has also been shown again and again.

A break with tradition, there were 2007 with the relocation of 31 years on January 6 taking place and therefore " Epiphany jumping" said final jumping in Bischofshofen. Was Enforced this transfer, since both RTL qualification ( January 6 ) and Jumping ( January 7 ) was transferred over the weekend.

The first time an official song will be presented for the Four Hills Tournament 2013/2014. The title " To The Sky " interprets the German pop singer Juliette Schopp man.