Ski jumping facts for kids

"Ski jump" redirects here. For the aircraft takeoff ramp, see Ski-jump (aviation).

Quick facts for kids
Ski jumping
Characteristics
Peter Prevc in Titisee-Neustadt, March 2016
Highest governing body	International Ski Federation (FIS)
First played	22 November 1808 Olaf Rye, Eidsberg church, Eidsberg, Norway
Team members	M Individual (50) L Individual (40) Team event (4) Super Team event (2)
Type	Nordic skiing
Equipment	Skis
Venue	Ski jumping hill
Presence
Olympic	1924 (men) 2014 (women) 2022 (mixed team)
World Championships	1925 (men's nordic) 1972 (ski flying) 2009 (women's nordic)

Pictogram for Ski jumping at the Winter Olympics

Ski jumping is an exciting winter sport where athletes slide down a special ramp on their skis. Their goal is to jump as far as possible! But it's not just about distance; how gracefully they fly and land also counts. This thrilling sport started in Norway a long time ago, in the late 1800s. Soon, it became popular across Europe and North America.

A ski jumping area is called a hill. It has a long slope to gain speed (the in-run), a take-off spot, and a landing area. Judges give points for both how far a jumper goes and how good their style is. A special spot on the landing area, called the K-point, helps measure the distance. Judges can give up to 20 points for style, looking at things like balance and body position.

Over time, the way jumpers fly has changed a lot. Today, most use the "V-style" with skis spread apart. Ski jumping has been a part of the Winter Olympics since 1924. Girls and women started competing in the 1990s, and their first Olympic event was in 2014. The International Ski Federation helps organize all the big competitions.

Did you know ski jumping can happen in summer too? Special hills use smooth tracks to let jumpers practice even without snow! The FIS Ski Jumping Grand Prix is a big summer competition.

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The Exciting History of Ski Jumping

Herman Paus jumping in Hyttlibakken at Tryvannshøgda around 1919.

Ski jumping began in Norway, just like many other Nordic skiing sports. The very first recorded jump was in 1808 by Olaf Rye, who jumped about 9.5 meters. Later, in 1866, Sondre Norheim won the first ski jumping competition with prizes. Many people call him the "father" of modern ski jumping.

The first big competition happened in Oslo, Norway, in 1875. It later moved to Holmenkollen in 1892, which is still a famous place for ski jumping today. Norwegians like Sondre Norheim also helped bring the sport to other countries, including the United States and Canada. A Canadian hill called Mount Revelstoke even held world records for jumps!

Ski jumping became an Olympic sport at the first Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France, in 1924. It has been a part of every Winter Olympics since then. A new type of jumping, called ski flying, started in 1935 in Planica, Slovenia. Here, Josef Bradl was the first to jump over 100 meters! Much later, in 1994, Toni Nieminen made the first official jump over 200 meters at the same place. Over the years, new events like the normal hill and team competitions were added to the Olympics and World Championships.

How Ski Jumping Hills Work

A diagram showing the parts of a ski jumping hill.

Ski jumping hills are usually built on natural slopes. They have three main parts: the in-run (where jumpers gain speed), the take-off table (where they jump), and the landing hill. Jumpers slide down the in-run very fast. Then, they launch themselves into the air, trying to keep their body and skis in a super aerodynamic shape. This helps them fly as far as possible!

The landing slope is designed to make landings as smooth and safe as possible. After landing, there's a flat area called the out-run where skiers can slow down safely. These hills are different sizes, and each has a special spot called the construction point (or K-point). This K-point is like a target for jumpers to aim for.

Here's how hills are generally classified by size:

Class	K-point (target distance)	Hill Size (total length)
Small hill	up to 45 meters	up to 49 meters
Medium hill	45–74 meters	50–84 meters
Normal hill	75–99 meters	85–109 meters
Large hill	100–130 meters	110–149 meters
Giant hill	131–169 meters	150–184 meters
Ski flying hill	over 170 meters	over 185 meters

Understanding the Scoring in Ski Jumping

A jumper performing a Telemark landing.

To win in ski jumping, athletes need a high score. This score comes from several things: how far they jump, how good their style is, and even the wind and starting gate conditions. In individual events, the scores from two jumps are added together to find the winner.

The distance score depends on the hill's K-point. Jumpers get 60 points (for normal and large hills) or 120 points (for flying hills) if they land exactly on the K-point. For every meter they jump past or before the K-point, points are added or taken away. Jumps are measured very precisely, down to half a meter.

Five judges watch each jump closely. They give up to 20 points for style. They look at how steady the skis are, the jumper's balance, body position in the air, and how they land. The highest and lowest scores from the judges are removed, and the remaining three scores are added to the distance score.

New rules were added in 2009 to make scoring fairer, especially with changing weather. If the starting gate is moved up (giving more speed), points are subtracted. If it's moved down, points are added. Wind conditions also affect scores: points are added for tailwinds (wind from behind) and subtracted for headwind (wind from the front). This helps make sure everyone competes fairly, even if the weather changes.

Mastering Ski Jumping Techniques

The Kongsberger technique, used from the 1920s to 1950s.

Every ski jump has four main parts: the in-run, the take-off, the flight, and the landing. Over the years, jumping techniques have changed a lot. In the past, jumpers held their skis parallel and arms forward. But in the mid-1980s, Swedish jumper Jan Boklöv introduced the V-style. This is where skiers spread their skis apart in a "V" shape. This style helps them fly about 10% farther than older techniques!

When landing, skiers must use the Telemark landing style. This means landing with one foot slightly in front of the other, with knees bent. It's named after the Telemark region in Norway. If a jumper doesn't do a Telemark landing, judges will take away style points.

Big Competitions in Ski Jumping

All the major ski jumping competitions are organized by the International Ski Federation (FIS).

Ski jumping has been a part of the Winter Olympic Games since 1924. The normal hill event was added in 1964. Women's ski jumping made its Olympic debut in 2014.

The FIS Ski Jumping World Cup is a series of competitions held from November to March each year. Jumpers earn points at each event, and the one with the most points at the end of the season wins the overall title. There's also the FIS Ski Flying World Championships, which focuses on the longest jumps.

A ski jumper after landing on a hill equipped for summer events.

The Four Hills Tournament is a very famous competition held around New Year's Day. It takes place at four different hills in Germany and Austria. The winner is decided by adding up all the scores from every jump in these four events.

Other important competitions include the FIS Ski Jumping Grand Prix (held in summer), the Continental Cup, and the FIS Cup.

Girls and Women in Ski Jumping

Girls and women have been a part of ski jumping for a very long time! In 1863, a 16-year-old Norwegian girl named Ingrid Olsdatter Vestby became the first known female ski jumper in a competition.

Women started competing at a high level in the Continental Cup season. In 2009, women made their first appearance at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Liberec, where American jumper Lindsey Van became the first world champion.

Sara Takanashi is one of the most successful female ski jumpers, winning the World Cup title four times.

The 2011–12 season marked the first time women competed in the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup. The first winner was Sarah Hendrickson, who also became the first overall women's World Cup champion. A big moment happened in the 2022–23 season when women competed in ski flying for the first time ever. Slovenian jumper Ema Klinec won this historic event in Vikersund.

Olympic Games for Women

In 2006, there was a proposal for women to compete at the 2010 Winter Olympics, but it was not approved at that time. However, a big step forward was made when women's ski jumping was included in the 2014 Winter Olympics. The first Olympic champion in women's ski jumping was Carina Vogt.

Amazing Ski Jumping Records

The all-time longest jump was achieved in Planica in 2025.

Since 1936, when the first jump over 100 meters happened, all world records have been set in ski flying. On 30 March 2025, Domen Prevc set the official world record for the longest ski jump at 254.5 meters (835 feet) in Planica, Slovenia. This is the longest jump ever measured in an official competition.

In April 2024, Ryōyū Kobayashi made an unofficial jump of 291 meters (955 feet) in Iceland. This amazing jump is not counted as an official world record by the FIS.

Nika Prevc holds the women's world record at 236 meters (774 feet), set on 14 March 2025 in Vikersundbakken.

Sepp Bradl became the first ski jumper to surpass 100 meters in 1936.

In 2003, Daniela Iraschko became the first female ski jumper in history to reach 200 meters.

Perfect-Score Jumps

A "perfect jump" is incredibly rare! It means all five judges give the maximum style score of 20 points for a single jump. Only a few jumpers have achieved this amazing feat. Kazuyoshi Funaki is the only one to have done it more than once.

Here are some of the athletes who have achieved a perfect score:

No.	Date	Jumper	Rank	Hill	Location	Competition	Meters	Feet
1	1976-03-07	Anton Innauer	1st	Heini-Klopfer-Skiflugschanze K175	Oberstdorf	KOP International Ski Flying Week	176.0	577
2	1998-01-24	Kazuyoshi Funaki	2nd	Heini-Klopfer-Skiflugschanze K185	Oberstdorf	World Cup / Ski Flying World Championships	187.5	615
3	1998-01-25	Kazuyoshi Funaki	1st	Heini-Klopfer-Skiflugschanze K185	Oberstdorf	World Cup / Ski Flying World Championships	205.5	674
4	1998-02-15	Kazuyoshi Funaki	1st	Hakuba K120	Nagano	Olympic Games	132.5	438
5	1999-01-17	Kazuyoshi Funaki	2nd	Wielka Krokiew K116	Zakopane	World Cup	119.0	390
6	2003-02-08	Sven Hannawald	1st	Mühlenkopfschanze K130	Willingen	World Cup	142.0	466
7	2003-02-08	Hideharu Miyahira	6th	Mühlenkopfschanze K130	Willingen	World Cup	135.5	445
8	2009-01-06	Wolfgang Loitzl	1st	Paul-Ausserleitner-Schanze HS140 (night)	Bischofshofen	Four Hills Tournament	142.5	468
9	2015-03-20	Peter Prevc	1st	Letalnica bratov Gorišek HS225	Planica	World Cup	233.0	764
10	2015-03-22	Jurij Tepeš	1st	Letalnica bratov Gorišek HS225	Planica	World Cup	244.0	801
11	2025-03-28	Daniel Tschofenig	4th	Letalnica bratov Gorišek HS240	Planica	World Cup	233.5	766