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Ski Jumping Four Hills Tournament: Dates and Venues

Besides the World Championships, the renowned Four Hills Tournament, which takes place between Christmas and Epiphany, is one of the highlights of the ski jumping season. It includes four jumps to compete on in Germany and Austria – for 70 years now. We present the schedule, the venues and rules as well as the overall winners and records of the Four Hills Tournament.

Timetable for the 2023/2024 Tournament

 QualificationRound 1 + 2
Oberstdorf
 
28 Dec 2023
Start: 16:30
29 Dec 2023
Start: 17:15
Garmisch31 Dec 2023
Start: 13:45
01 Jan 2024
Start: 14:00
Innsbruck02 Jan 2024
Start: 13:30
03 Jan 2024
Start: 13:30
Bischofshofen05 Jan 2024
Start: 16:30
06 Jan 2024
Start: 16:30

(Changes possible!)

>> Ski Jumping World Cup: Dates and Venues

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How Is It Different From Regular World Cup Competitions?

Only those who prevail in a 1:1 duel are guaranteed a place in the second round of the competition.
Only those who prevail in a 1:1 duel are guaranteed a place in the second round of the competition. © Brigitte Waltl-Jensen, OK Vierschanzentournee

The tour is the absolute highlight of the long ski jumping season for fans as well as for the athletes, and differs significantly from the usual World Cup jumping events. The 50 qualified ski jumpers compete against each other in one on one duels in the first round. The scores of the remaining jumpers are not taken into account.

The winner of each duel qualifies for the second round as do the five best losers (lucky loser rule). The duels are not drawn by lot, but result from the qualification held the day before. The last placed competes against the first in a knockout event, the last but one against the second, and so on. In the second round, the athletes jump one after the other. The jumper on 30th rank goes first, the leading jumper of the first round goes last. 

Although the rules for the Four Hills Tournament differ significantly from those for the other jumps in the season, the results of the Four Hills Tournament normally count as part of the overall World Cup.

More starters for the home nations

Another special rule is the number of domestic starters. In the German jumps, the German team can bring considerably more starters to the table than the other nations. In Innsbruck and Bischofshofen, the advantage is for the Austrian eagles. This way, jumpers from the so-called B squad get the chance to prove themselves and participate in the coveted World Cup jumping competitions.

The overall winner of the Four Hills Tournament is derived from the results of all four jumps. If a ski jumper does not reach the second round in one of the four competitions, he is basically out of race for the title. An adrenaline rush is guaranteed - on the jump as well as in front of the tv.

The Four Jumps in Detail

The opening competition in Oberstdorf takes place under floodlights.
The opening competition in Oberstdorf takes place under floodlights. © Brigitte Waltl-Jensen, OK Vierschanzentournee

Kick-off in the Jumping Arena in Oberstdorf

The start of the Four Hills Tournament will be at Schattenbergschanze in Oberstdorf on 28/29 December. The ski jumping Arena will be completely modernised for the Nordic Ski World Championships 2021. The ski jump on Schattenberg (hill size: 137 meters) belongs to Skisport- und Veranstaltungs GmbH and is the home jump of ski club Oberstdorf. The ski jump record is currently held by the Norwegian Sigurd Pettersen who jumped a whopping 143.5 meters in 2003. The stadium has capacity for 27,000 spectators.

-> Webcam Schattenbergschanze in Oberstdorf

Garmisch-Partenkirchen is located at the Zugspitze mountain.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen is located at the Zugspitze mountain. © Ingo Jensen, OK Vierschanzentournee

New Year's Jumping in Garmisch-Partenkirchen

The Olympiaschanze in Garmisch-Partenkirchen is the second stop of the Ski Jumping Four Hills Tournament and takes place every year on New Year's Day. The jump placed at the Gudiberg has its K-point at 125 meters, a hill size of 142 meters. The current record about 144m is held by the Dawid Kubacki (2021). The SC Partenkirchen arena has a spectator capacity of over 25,000 people.

-> Webcam Olympic ski jump in Garmisch-Partenkirchen

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Nowhere is the old town as close as on the ski jump in Innsbruck.
Nowhere is the old town as close as on the ski jump in Innsbruck. © Brigitte Waltl-Jensen, OK Vierschanzentournee

Bergiselschanze in Innsbruck

Last year, the Slovenian Peter Prevc was the best jumper on historic Bergisel, paving his way to winning the Four Hills Tournament. The hill size of the jump is 128 meters, the K-point is fixed at 120 meters. Incidentally, it is an Austrian who holds the jump record here. Michael Hayböck secured the record on 4 January 2015, jumping 138 metres. The stadium of SV Innsbruck Bergisel and SC Bergisel offers space for 28,000 spectators and boasts an extremely good atmosphere every year.

-> Webcam Innsbruck

The final event takes place on Epiphany in Bischofshofen.
The final event takes place on Epiphany in Bischofshofen. © Ingo Jensen, OK Vierschanzentournee

Three Kings Jumping in Bischofshofen

Better known as "B'hofen" with ski jumping insiders, the so-called Dreikönigsspringen takes place here every year on 6 January. The discharge ramp is the Paul-Außerleitner Jumping Hill of SC Bischofshofen. With a hill size of 142 metres and a K-point of 125 metres, it is the largest facility of the entire Four Hills Tournament. The stadium has a capacity of 26,000 spectators. Pole Dawid Kubacki set a new ski jump record on 6 January 2019 when he soared to 145 metres.

>> Webcam Paul-Außerleitner-Hill in Bischofshofen

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Overall Winners of the Past Years

SeasonOverall winnerSecondThird
2023/2024Ryoyu Kobayashi (JPN)Andreas Wellinger (GER)Stefan Kraft (AUT)
2022/2023Halvord Granerud (NOR)Dawid Kubacki (POL)Anze Lanisek (SLO)
2021/2022Ryoyu Kobayashi (JPN)Marius Lindvik (NOR)Halvord Granerud (NOR)
2020/2021Kamil Stoch (POL)Karl Geiger (GER)Dawid Kubacki (POL)
2019/2020Dawid Kubacki (POL)Marius Lindvik (NOR)Karl Geiger (GER)
2018/2019Ryoyu Kobayashi (JPN)Markus Eisenbichler (GER)Stephan Leyhe (GER)
2017/2018Kamil Stoch (POL)Andreas Wellinger (GER)Anders Fannemel (NOR)
2016/2017Kamil Stoch (POL)Piotr Zyla (POL)Daniel-André Tande (NOR)
2015/2016Peter Prevc (SLO)Severin Freund (GER)

Michael Hayböck (AUT)

Former Four Hills Tournament Records

The Grand Slam: the win on all four hills

The jumps differ in such a way that so far only three athletes have managed to win all four jumps in one season: Sven Hannawald  achieved this for the first time in 2002, in the 50th year of the Four Jumps Tournament. Pole Kamil Stoch was the first to be able to repeat this record in the 2017/2018 tour. Just one year later, the exceptional jumper Ryoyu Kobayashi from Japan followed suit.

The most overall victories of the Four Hills Tournament

The Finn Janne Ahonen is the sole record holder in this respect. The old master has already achieved a total of 5 overall victories on the tour. Jens Weißflog follows with four overall victories.

Most single wins

German TV expert and former world-class ski jumper Jens Weißflog collected 10 individual Four Hills Tournament victories in his career, as did Norwegian Bjørn Wirkola. However, the German also boast 4 overall victories in the tournament, whereas the Norwegian counts 3 trophies.

Most successful nation in over 60 years 

The most fiercely contested title is that of the most successful nation in the Four Hills Tournament. The countries Germany, Finland and Austria come out on top with a total of 16 overall wins each, thus sharing first place in this ranking.

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As an editor at Snow-Online I turned my hobby into my profession. The mountains have always fascinated me. You can meet me on the downhill slopes, but also on the cross-country trails. If you have any questions, just contact me by mail . Read more
last update on 6 Jan 2024

Comments

Mark
3 months ago
LIVE Link: https://tvstreams4k.com/alpineskiing/
rob scharroo
on 2021. jan. 5.
good luck to the Polish jumpers, your nearly there one more to go, having the hill record with 145 meters my money is on Dawid Kubacki, good luck !!!
Per Svendstrup
on 2020. dec. 27.
Cant wait anymore....bring it on....greetings from Denmark
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