Schriften zur Sportwissenschaft

Historicallly, the development of ski jumping hills has been in line with the development of ski jumping techniques. The development of ski jumping centers around the world has made great progress over the past decade, as new ones have been built and many existing centers have been modernized. This monograph presents the brief development of the world’s most recognized ski jumping centers. As a rule, their development has been associated with the organization of major sports events such as the Olympic Games, World Championships, and World Cup competitions. Most centers also have more smaller hills for training and competition of younger jumpers. Modern centers are equipped with hills for winter and summer training and competition. Ski jumping hills are ever more technologically advanced, which guarantees safe and efficient workouts and, above all, an attractive competition. This monograph also deals with ski flying venues that are homologated separately. The historical development of ski jumping hills around the world is related to their size, which has been increasing steadily. Today, ski jumping hills are differentiated from ski flying hills. The development of ski flying hills is a rather important field of interest among the sports community around the world, mainly due to the constant increase in world records.

This book presents the first study comparing the use of different shoes and, with a special measurement device, the change in inclination. We wanted to approach the situation on the ski jumping hill and find out the typical changes that can influence the training process of the jumpers. Top Slovenian jumpers who won medals at the last Olympic Games in Beijing 2022 participated in the study. Ski jumping is one of the most technically complex and difficult movements. A take-off is performed on a jumping hill at a high velocity of movement and under a strong action of external physical forces and torques.

In the take-off phase, the ski jumpers’ take-off power is very important. A high take-off power enables the jumper to raise the curve of the flight in the take-off phase and effectively transition into an optimal position for the flight. The study and diagnostics of the take-off power components can be conducted on a hill or a laboratory, where the ski jumpers perform the take-off routine using imitation exercises. The modern measuring technology, which is becoming increasingly important in monitoring and determining the composition of the take-off power, is now a necessary component of expert monitoring, planning, and programming of the process of developing the special take-off power in ski jumpers.