The 2024/25 Ski Jumping World Cup season has started in earnest. There are already four competitions behind us, with some big surprises. One of them was the excellent form of Pius Paschke, who stood on the top step of the podium twice and leads the pack. However, the form of the Polish jumpers was not surprising, and if it was, it was rather negative.
Paweł Wąsek is currently the highest classified White and Red, but he is only in 21st place. After the competitions in Lillehammer and Ruka, there was a lot of talk not only about the sports results of individual competitors, but also about the outfits. There was to be no more so-called spouts or tents in the crotch area, and in several cases they were still visible. Such a suit should theoretically not pass equipment inspection.
Adam Małysz raised the topic of overalls. “In general, the idea of chips is cool”
There is also a lot of talk about new rules regarding microchipping and limiting suits. Jumpers have only eight kits available for the World Cup season. Moreover, they cannot change them, e.g. during the competition, unless they are damaged or it rains.
Adam Małysz spoke about this change. – In general, the idea with the chips is cool, because we know perfectly well that the competitors changed their suits for the second jump. Sometimes they even went crazy and the suits for the final series were changed to much larger ones, which allowed them to fly further – emphasized the president of the Polish Ski Association in an interview with Polsat Sport.
And that's where the advantages end. According to Adam Małysz, do the changes introduced by FIS bring any good to the competition? – I have doubts – he said. – The suits are microchipped. Those in which you take part in the qualifications must be sufficient for the competition. (…) I can say that it didn't go the way FIS wanted, he emphasized. And he quickly explained why he thought so.
Małysz appreciates the FIS idea
– FIS thought that if it limited the number of suits, thanks to chips, there would be fewer suits. But it didn't occur to them that the largest nations, the strongest countries in ski jumping, would test even more suits before the season and before competitions in order to choose the best ones for competitions. Therefore, this change does not affect large countries and does not help to stabilize the situation of smaller nations. In the end, it turns out to be the same, he concluded.
Changes regarding wetsuits cause quite a lot of controversy in the skiing community. FIS wants to increase competition and equalize opportunities, but it seems that not everything is going according to plan.
Now the competitors are facing the third weekend of the World Cup this season. They will move to Poland, specifically to Wisła. Two individual competitions will be held on December 7-8. The fans hope that the White and Reds will finally show their good side. Especially since they will be competing at home. As many as nine of our compatriots will take part in the qualifications, including Piotr Żyła, who will inaugurate the season in his home country. He had a longer break due to rehabilitation after knee surgery.