Ski flying

Ski flying

Simon Ammann flying down the hill in Vikersund, 2011
Highest governing body	International Ski Federation
First contested	15 March 1936, Bloudkova velikanka, Planica, Kingdom of Yugoslavia (now Slovenia)
Characteristics
Team members	Single competitors, or teams of four
Mixed gender	No
Type	Winter sport
Equipment	Skis Ski suit
Venue	Ski jumping hill (185 m or larger)
Presence
Country or region	Slovenia Germany Austria Norway United States (1970–1994) Czech Republic
Olympic	No

Ski flying is an individual sport discipline derived from ski jumping, in which much greater distances can be achieved. It is a form of competitive Nordic skiing where athletes descend at very fast speeds along a specially built takeoff ramp using skis only; jump from the end of it with as much power as they can generate; then glide – or 'fly' – as far as possible down a steeply sloped hill; and ultimately land in a stable manner. Points are awarded for distance and stylistic merit by five judges, and events are sanctioned by the International Ski Federation (FIS).

The rules and scoring in ski flying are mostly the same as they are in ski jumping, and events under the discipline are usually contested as part of the Ski Jumping World Cup season, but the hills (of which there are only five remaining, all in Europe) are constructed to a different standard in order to enable jumps of up to two thirds longer in distance. There is also a stronger emphasis on aerodynamics and harnessing the wind, as well as an increased element of danger due to athletes flying much higher and faster than in ski jumping.

From its beginnings in the 1930s, ski flying has developed its own distinct history and given rise to all of the sport's world records. The first hill intended specifically for ski flying was built in Slovenia in 1934, after which both Germany and Austria built their own hills in 1950. This was followed by Norway in 1966, the United States in 1970, and the Czech Republic in 1980. In the 1960s to 1980s, a friendly rivalry between the European venues saw world records being set regularly, together with evolutions in technique to fly longer distances.

Ski flying remains very popular in Slovenia and Norway, where the most recent world records over the past two decades have been set in front of audiences numbering 30,000–60,000.

The origins of ski flying can be traced directly to 15 March 1936 in Planica, Slovenia (then a part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia), when 18-year-old Austrian Josef "Sepp" Bradl became the first man in history to land a ski jump of over 100 metres (330 ft). His world record jump of 101.5 m (333 ft) was set at Bloudkova velikanka ("Bloudek giant"), a new hill designed and completed in 1934 by engineers Stanko Bloudek and Ivan Rožman, together with Joso Gorec. With jumps now in the triple digits, Bloudek enthused: "That was no longer ski jumping. That was ski flying!" It was with these words that ski flying took on a life of its own. Such was the awe and disbelief at these massive jumps, the units of measurement were trivialised by the media, who suggested that the metre used in Yugoslavia was shorter than elsewhere in Europe.