One of ski jumping's oldest conventions could soon be gone. At its autumn meeting in Geneva, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) presented a new start-order model for the World Cup that gives qualification far more weight than before. According to matching reports from Austria's Laola1 and German outlet skispringen.com, the system will get its first competitive test at the end of October at the Summer Grand Prix final in Klingenthal, Germany.
Qualification sets the start list
Under the current rules, the first-round order at a World Cup event follows the overall standings. The best-ranked jumpers go last, which lets them watch their rivals and read the wind before taking their turn. Under the model shown in Geneva, the overall standings would only be used for training and for Friday's qualification round, which would still be held under the regular World Cup rules.
The change comes after that. The qualification result would directly determine the start list for the weekend's first individual competition, usually on Saturday, with athletes jumping in reverse order. In the men's event, the 50th-placed qualifier would open the first round, while the qualification winner would wear bib number one and jump last. The same principle would apply to the top 40 qualifiers in the women's competition.
That strips away part of the advantage that comes with a high overall ranking. Anyone who wants the coveted final start slot on Saturday would have to earn it on Friday by winning qualification, whether or not they are wearing the leader's yellow bib.
What it means for double-header weekends
The reform would bite hardest at venues that stage two individual competitions on the same weekend. Skispringen.com lists Wisła, Titisee-Neustadt, Engelberg, Willingen and Oslo among them. Under the new model, a jumper who fails to get through Friday's qualification at one of those stops would miss the entire weekend, because the second competition also builds on that result.
On weekends where men and women compete at the same venue, Laola1 reports there would be no separate qualification on Sunday at all. Instead, the top finishers from Saturday's competition would earn their Sunday start, and Saturday's result would also set the order. The pressure moves noticeably forward in the weekend: one poor qualifying jump could cost an athlete two World Cup starts.
Ski JumpingRaimund edges Wellinger for German title, Reisch wins women's crownTest run at the Grand Prix final
Before anything is brought in for the winter, the format has to pass a real-world test in Klingenthal, which hosts this year's Summer Grand Prix final from October 23 to 25. The Vogtland Arena effectively becomes a laboratory for a format that would reshape how a World Cup weekend unfolds. As things stand, the reform has not been formally adopted and remains in a testing phase.
For deep squads such as Germany, Austria and Slovenia, which regularly have several jumpers near the top, the main tactical question is how much risk to take in qualification. Established athletes have often treated Friday as a box to tick, with the main goal being a safe place inside the top 50. Under the new system, it would become the key to the best starting position.
Klingenthal will provide the first answers. If the test goes well, skispringen.com reports that the model is set to be used as early as the 2026-27 World Cup winter. At stops such as Engelberg, Willingen and Oslo, Friday would then become the most important day of the weekend.
