RASCHAU/HINZENBACH, June 2013 – Sunday, 16 June in Hinzenbach, Saturday, 22 June in Bischofshofen, Saturday, 14 September in Reit im Winkl, Saturday, 21 September in Berchtesgaden – dozens of ski jumpers aged between seven and eleven have already marked these dates in their calendars: on these days, the Children’s Four Hills Tournament 2013 will be held.
It takes place for the 15th time and, when reading the list of results, the competition could be considered as the “Who is Who” of international ski jumping. Thomas Morgenstern vied there, as well as patron Gregor Schlierenzauer and Michael Hayböck (all of them from Austria) or the Czech Roman Koudelka. And among the ladies, Jacqueline Seifriedsberger, world bronze medallist in 2013 in Val di Fiemme was also one of the jumpers.
The Austrian, German and International Ski Federations support the competition series, which is considered the world's largest event for children in ski jumping. There are five boys’ classes and two girls’ classes, with about 180 children taking part in competitions with different ski jump lengths just as in the last years. “Since this is not a talent cup or ‘Gugelhupf’ jump, we wanted to make the competition fair and accurate for all participants”, explains tournament coordinator Wolfgang Reutner. “Thus, we can rely on a video distance measurement system engineered by the company Ewoxx, which is essential for a timely evaluation. After all, the victory ceremony has to be held 15 minutes after the ski jumping.”
The importance of the Children’s Four Hills Tournament is highlighted by the fact that there are, admittedly, internal club competitions and also regional cups, but that’s about it. Who are the young jumpers supposed to compete with? In this series, they will have the opportunity to prove themselves in an international environment. Germany, Austria, Slovakia, and Romania have already submitted their entry, and maybe participants from Turkey and other countries will join the competition. “Currently we are able to manage 200 ski jumpers, but probably not more”, says Mr. Reutner who is also proud of the prices which will be given to the individual and the general club rankings: glass cups “manufactured by the company JOSKA which also produces the FIS World Cup crystal globes.”
It gets increasingly difficult to find sponsors for this junior’s event. The participating associations pay a service charge, but the funding by Peter Riedel GmbH, which acts as the main sponsor, is even more important. “Since I started to get involved in ski jumping, I have been focusing my attention on ski jumping for kids and teens”, Peter Riedel, the owner of the company, says. “This is why we built a mobile K4 and K6 ski jump which can be easily transported from one place to another. And therefore, we have been following the Children’s Four Hills Tournament for years. We are focusing on the future and we also want to contribute a little bit in order to prevent the ‘worst case’ scenario from happening. Namely: no more ski-jumping youth, no more world cup, no more Four Hills Tournament”.
The chairman of the UVB Hinzenbach explains the importance of the Children’s Four Hills Tournament to the associations: “It is not just about the jumpers themselves. The audience will also include many kids whose interest to try jumping might be attracted. Everybody, girl or boy, is welcome! By the way, we are providing the equipment to every interested child as a loan”.
