Women’s Four Hills Tournament to Include Separate Women’s Competition Next Winter
FIS officially confirms inaugural Women’s Four Hills Tournament next winter, with events Dec 28–Jan 5 across Oberstdorf, Garmisch, Innsbruck and Bischofshofen.
The International Ski Federation has formally approved a standalone Women’s Four Hills Tournament for the coming winter, marking the first time women will contest the historic four-venue series. The decision creates a dedicated circuit for female ski jumpers that will run on the same hills used by men, with women’s events scheduled a day before each men’s competition. The announcement confirms dates and venues, including a December 28 opening in Oberstdorf and a January 5 finale in Bischofshofen.
FIS Confirms Women’s Four Hills Tournament
The FIS Ski Jumping Commission delivered the official confirmation after laying groundwork in the previous season, signaling a structural change for the sport. The move formalizes what athletes and federations had been preparing for and sets a clear calendar slot within the winter season. Tournament organizers described the decision as part of a broader strategy to expand the women’s competitive calendar and align it more closely with the men’s flagship events.
Schedule Set as Women Compete One Day Ahead of Men
Under the new format, each women’s event will take place the day before the corresponding men’s competition at the same venue, allowing shared use of infrastructure and a continuous festival of ski jumping. The tour will visit Oberstdorf and Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Germany, followed by Innsbruck and Bischofshofen in Austria. The women’s premiere is scheduled for December 28 in Oberstdorf, and the tour will conclude on January 5 in Bischofshofen, creating a compact programme around the year-end holidays.
Innsbruck Floodlights Pave Way for Full Tour
A key enabler of the expanded schedule is the installation of floodlighting at Innsbruck’s Bergisel hill, a decision taken earlier this year to permit events outside daylight hours. Organizers said the artificial lighting removes a major logistical constraint and makes it feasible to stage back-to-back women’s and men’s competitions on a tight timetable. Officials noted that without the Bergisel upgrade, compressing both gendered events within the same venue roster would have been significantly more difficult.
Athletes and Officials Welcome a Long Overdue Step
Former German ski jumper Katharina Schmid, recently retired from competition, described the introduction of a women’s Four Hills as “long overdue,” reflecting widespread support within the athlete community. Race director Sandro Pertile praised the change as aligned with objectives to boost global presence and create synergies between male and female tours. National federations and athletes are expected to use the new platform to increase exposure and sponsorship opportunities for women’s ski jumping.
Logistics, Broadcasting and Competition Flow
Staging women’s competitions a day before the men raises practical questions about accommodation, training slots and television scheduling, but organizers said plans are underway to coordinate resources at each venue. Broadcasters and host cities will need to adapt event-day operations to handle consecutive competitions, service teams, and audience transitions. The decision also expands the competitive opportunities for female jumpers, who until now had mainly participated in the Two Nights Tour across Germany’s two hills in recent seasons.
Historic Milestone within a 75th Edition Tournament
The Four Hills Tournament will mark its 75th edition next winter, making the women’s inclusion both a symbolic and substantive milestone in a series that has been held since 1953. Women’s appearances in a full four-hill tour represent a significant expansion from the truncated formats used previously and integrate female athletes into a traditional centerpiece of the winter calendar. The move is likely to reframe historical narratives around the tournament and create new statistical records specific to the women’s competition.
The inaugural women’s Four Hills Tournament introduces a new competitive rhythm for ski jumping and will test organizers’ ability to manage sequential events across borders and venues. As national teams prepare for the expanded schedule, attention will focus on athlete preparation, venue readiness—particularly the new Bergisel lighting—and the response from fans and broadcasters during the holiday period. The coming season will provide the first measure of how the separate women’s competition performs in terms of turnout, media coverage and sporting significance.
