FIS 21.11.2025 – 29.03.2026
Source: https://www.fis-ski.com/ski-jumping/news/2024-25/ski-jumping-world-cup-calendar-2025-2026
The FIS Ski Jumping World Cup is the top-tier competition for the sport, featuring the best athletes in a season-long series of events around the globe.1 Its history is marked by technological and rule changes aimed at athlete safety and fair competition, as well as the rise of legendary jumpers.
📅 Foundation and Expansion
- Men’s Inauguration (1979/80): The Men’s Ski Jumping World Cup was officially founded by Torbjørn Yggeseth and inaugurated for the 1979–80 season.2 The goal was to provide a structured, high-level, international circuit separate from the traditional World Championships and Olympics.
- The first overall World Cup champion was Austria’s Hubert Neuper in the 1979/80 season.3
- Team Events: The Men’s Team Event was later added to the World Cup calendar in the 1991–92 season.4
- Women’s World Cup (2011/12):5 Women’s ski jumping was officially included in the World Cup for the 2011–12 season, opening up the premier competition circuit to female athletes after a long push for inclusion.6
- The first overall Women’s World Cup champion was Sarah Hendrickson of the United States.7
⛷️ Eras of Dominance (Men’s)
The history of the World Cup is often defined by the reigns of dominant athletes, who pushed the boundaries of the sport:8
| Era | Key Athletes & Nations | Records/Achievements |
| 1980s | Matti Nykänen (Finland), Jens Weißflog (East Germany) | Nykänen won four overall World Cup titles, an all-time male record he would share later. He was the first to achieve the “Grand Slam” of ski jumping (Olympic, World Championship, Ski Flying World Championship, and World Cup overall title). |
| 1990s | Andreas Goldberger (Austria), Primož Peterka (Slovenia), Martin Schmitt (Germany) | Saw the rise of the V-Style (introduced by Jan Boklöv in 1988), which revolutionized the sport and led to far greater distances. Goldberger and Schmitt became multiple-time champions. |
| 2000s | Adam Małysz (Poland), Janne Ahonen (Finland) | Małysz equaled Nykänen’s record with four overall titles. This era cemented ski jumping’s popularity in Central and Eastern Europe. |
| 2010s-Present | Gregor Schlierenzauer (Austria), Kamil Stoch (Poland), Ryōyū Kobayashi (Japan) | Schlierenzauer holds the record for most individual World Cup wins with 53. The era sees extreme specialization in technique and equipment, with jumpers like Kobayashi and Stoch dominating at different times. |
🏆 Overall World Cup Records (Men’s)
The male record for Most Overall FIS Ski Jumping World Cup Titles (4) is jointly held by:
- Matti Nykänen (Finland)9
- Adam Małysz (Poland)10
👑 Women’s Dominance
The women’s circuit, while newer, has already seen its own legends emerge:
- Sara Takanashi (Japan) and Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) are among the most decorated.
- Sara Takanashi holds the record for the most individual World Cup wins (male or female) in ski jumping history with 63 victories.
📐 Major Rules and Format Changes
- V-Style Adoption (Late 1980s/Early 1990s): The shift from the parallel style to the V-Style, which increased lift and distance, became mandatory, profoundly changing the look and aerodynamics of the sport.
- Compensation Rules (Early 2000s onwards): To maintain fairness, especially due to weather, new rules were implemented:
- Wind Compensation: Points are added or subtracted based on the measured wind speed under the skis.
- Gate Compensation (In-run Change): Points are added or subtracted if the start gate (in-run length) is moved during the competition due to changing conditions.
- K.O. System (Four Hills Tournament): The famous Four Hills Tournament (a World Cup subset since 1953) uses a unique knock-out (K.O.) format for the first round, where the qualified jumpers are paired head-to-head.
- subject to changes
