All you need to know about the Four Hills Tournament

Schedule, Broadcasts, Favorites: Everything You Need to Know about the Four Hills Tournament

Oberstdorf, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Innsbruck, Bischofshofen - the Four Hills Tournament is one of the highlights of the winter sports season. Schedule, TV broadcasts, favorites: Here’s all the information on this ski jumping classic.

Locations of the Four Hills Tournament

Unlike other sports, the organizers have resisted the temptation to tinker with the format and locations of the Four Hills Tournament. Since 1953, the tournament has been held with four jumps as a German-Austrian co-production.

Traditionally kicking off in Oberstdorf, followed by the New Year’s Jump in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the decisions take place at the concluding jumps in Innsbruck and Bischofshofen.

Schedule of Jumps and Qualifications

The tournament begins on December 28 with the qualification for the opening jump in Oberstdorf and ends on Epiphany with the fourth jump in Bischofshofen. Below are the dates:

• Saturday, December 28, 16:30: Qualification in Oberstdorf
• Sunday, December 29, 16:30: 1st Tournament Jump in Oberstdorf
• Tuesday, December 31, 13:30: Qualification in Garmisch-Partenkirchen
• Wednesday, January 1, 14:00: 2nd Tournament Jump in Garmisch-Partenkirchen
• Friday, January 3, 13:30: Qualification in Innsbruck
• Saturday, January 4, 13:30: 3rd Tournament Jump in Innsbruck
• Sunday, January 5, 16:30: Qualification in Bischofshofen
• Monday, January 6, 16:30: 4th Tournament Jump in Bischofshofen.

Broadcast Information for the Four Hills Tournament

ARD, ZDF, and Eurosport will broadcast the four jumps live on TV. The qualification and New Year’s Jump in Garmisch-Partenkirchen will be streamed online via the Sportschau’s channels and app.

Overview of the Tournament Hills

The Olympic hill in Garmisch-Partenkirchen has been the largest of the tournament hills since its renovation in 2007, measuring 140 meters in height and a total length of 395 meters. The largest number of fans attend every year in Oberstdorf, where the Schattenberg Arena seats more than 40,000 spectators. Here are the details of the four hills:

• Oberstdorf, Schattenberg Arena
  Total height: 140 meters
  Take-off length: 105.5 meters
  Hill record: Sigurd Pettersen/Norway, 143.5 meters.

• Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Olympic Hill
  Total height: 149 meters
  Take-off length: 103.5 meters
  Hill record: Dawid Kubacki, 144.0 meters.

• Innsbruck, Bergisel Stadium
  Total height: 130 meters
  Take-off length: 98 meters
  Hill record: Michael Hayböck, 138.0 meters.

• Bischofshofen, Paul-Außerleitner Hill
  Total height: 132.5 meters
  Take-off length: 125 meters
  Hill record: Dawid Kubacki, 145.0 meters.

German Ski Jumpers Participating

Pius Paschke from Kiefersfelden, a standout performer this season, leads the DSV team going into the Four Hills Tournament. Additionally, the German Ski Federation has nominated Andreas Wellinger, Karl Geiger, Stephan Leyhe, and Philipp Raimund as well as junior world champion Adrian Tittel.

Markus Eisenbichler will not compete in the tournament as the squad has been reduced from seven to six jumpers. He will participate only in the New Year Jump in Garmisch-Partenkirchen as part of the "National Group".

Determining the Tournament Winner

The format of the Four Hills Tournament features some unique aspects: The points from all eight competition rounds across the four jumps are summed, with the jumper having the highest total winning.

This year, the total prize money for overall victory is set at 100,000 Swiss francs (approximately 108,000 euros), while a single day's victory brings in the standard World Cup prize of 10,000 Swiss francs (approximately 10,800 euros). In total, 400,000 Swiss francs (approximately 432,000 euros) will be awarded.

Favorite Jumpers

One can't overlook the Austrians in the race for the overall title. From 30 podium finishes this season, 17 have gone to Austria. The leading candidate for first Austrian victory after ten years is Daniel Tschofenig. With a favorable momentum from winning in Engelberg, Jan Hörl is also among the main threats. Having a former tournament champion like Stefan Kraft means that Austria retains one of the best jumpers in history.

Expert Sven Hannawald, who celebrated the last German victory at the Four Hills Tournament, believes we should also keep Johann Andre Forfang on the radar. He expects a tight competition: "I have never felt this much excitement before the tournament.".