A New Era in Ski Jumping: Dawid Kubacki Embraces the Change

A New Era in Ski Jumping

The recent Summer Grand Prix in Hinzenbach marked a significant turning point in ski jumping, as athletes begin to adapt to new regulations introduced by the International Ski Federation (FIS). Notably, Dawid Kubacki found himself under the scrutiny of equipment controller, Christian Kathol, who closely examined his suit using a mobile device. The reason for this rigorous inspection? The recent implementation of chip-testing for jumpers' suits.

Following one of his jumps on Saturday, Kubacki’s suit was thoroughly inspected, as Kathol sought to identify the placement of a chip embedded within the fabric. These chips are essential for the FIS to distinguish between different jumpers’ suits, and it seems this level of scrutiny will continue into the winter competitions.

Innovations in Suit Regulations

According to reports from Sport.pl, the FIS has made substantial updates to the rules governing jumpers’ suits. The main change involves the implementation of a chipping system. Athletes are now restricted to a maximum of four suits throughout the entire Summer Grand Prix cycle, and may use only two suits in a single weekend of competition, switching suits for different rounds has become a thing of the past—unless specific weather conditions prompt a different decision from the competition jury, as seen recently in Courchevel and Wisła.

How the Inspection Process Works

Once a suit is registered in the FIS system, controllers will measure it against the baseline specifications provided by the athlete. If everything checks out, the suit will be approved and recorded. To facilitate this process, indelible QR code stickers are affixed to both the front and back of the suit, as well as the pant legs; however, stickers are not placed on the sleeves. In the future, these codes will allow controllers to quickly verify registration status and confirm compliance with FIS regulations.

Upcoming Changes for Winter World Cup Competitions

Encouragingly, tests conducted during the Summer Grand Prix have yielded positive results, indicating that the chipping of suits will also be applied during the Winter World Cup.

Starting with the third period of the 2024/2025 season—which includes competitions in Lillehammer, Ruka, Wisła, Titisee-Neustadt, and Engelberg—jumpers will be allowed to use four suits, all of which must be registered in the FIS database. As the season progresses, the limit will increase by one additional suit for athletes.

Notably, during the upcoming World Championships in Trondheim in late February and early March, competitors will be permitted an additional two suits. This means athletes could potentially use up to ten suits throughout the winter season. Athletes will also have the option to utilize summer suits without them counting against this new limit. It's worth mentioning that if a competitor does not participate fully in the World Cup competitions, they will not gain access to the additional suits in the FIS database.

The first individual competition of this exciting new season is scheduled for November 23 in Lillehammer, Norway.

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