Ski Jumping: Women Continue to Fight for 'Hill Equality'

Originally published in Sport1 on November 20, 2024

Women Ski Jumpers Stand Firm

For the first time, men and women will jointly open the winter season in ski jumping with a mixed competition. However, the debate over salary disparities continues.

Despite not having a tour yet, there is at least a full calendar: When Katharina Schmid looks at the new ski jumping season, she sees small steps towards the long-desired "hill equality" with men. "It will be a long season. We have several long trips and are quite busy," said the 28-year-old before the season opener to SID.

A total of 26 individual competitions are scheduled for the upcoming World Cup winter, just down from last season's count of 28. The kickoff in Lillehammer demonstrates the enhanced status that female jumpers now enjoy: for the first time, on Friday (16:15/ARD and Eurosport), men and women will jointly open the winter in a mixed competition.

DSV Boss Hüttel: "We are in constant discussion"

After the kickoff, Schmid and her colleagues will return to their individual paths: following two weekends without competition, they will head to the World Cup premiere at the Olympic jumps in Beijing. Events at the same locations as the men, like in biathlon, remain the exception, and women still lag behind in terms of prize money.

Also still awaited is the women’s first Four Hills Tournament. "We are in constant discussion about this," said DSV sports director Horst Hüttel recently to SID. At least, a "half" tournament will take place in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (December 31) and Oberstdorf (January 1), while a continuation in Austria depends on the installation of floodlights in Innsbruck.

Sportingly, Schmid hopes for a better season than last, when she only ranked tenth in the overall World Cup. "I would be quite happy to be competing at the top again," says the winner of 15 individual World Cups.

After the winter, Schmid will reconsider when the right time to end her career will be. "I am planning for the winter now, and I will probably sit down again in the spring and think about what comes next," she says.