Spectator’s Guide to the Ski Jumping World Cup

By Alex Kochon

The Ski Jumping World Cup is coming! The Ski Jumping World Cup is coming! In case you hadn’t heard, Lake Placid will be hosting the world’s best ski jumpers for a full weekend of high-flying action from Feb. 10-12. 

The competitions, known as “comps” by the pros, will be held at the Olympic Regional Development Authority’s Olympic Jumping Complex – the massive set of ski jumps you can’t miss as you’re driving west on Route 73 into Lake Placid. The last time an International Ski Federation (FIS) Ski Jumping World Cup was held in Lake Placid was in 1990, and the last time it was held in the United States was in 2004. It’s a big deal, and you should definitely go watch it if you can! *Spoiler: free tickets for ORDA season pass holders!

What’s going on: Lake Placid is the 13th of 15 World Cup venues on the international ski jumping circuit this year, and the Feb. 10-12 competitions are two weeks before World Championships. This means the best men’s ski jumpers will be fine-tuning their technique and looking for top performances to boost their overall World Cup standings. They’ll be competing on Lake Placid’s 128-meter ski jump, which was recently upgraded and modernized for world-class events like these.

Athletes will begin the weekend with a qualification round on Friday evening with a goal of advancing to the individual competition on Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon, they’ll get to jump again during the Super Team competition, which is making its World Cup debut in Lake Placid. This two-person event is designed to accommodate smaller nations that are unable to field four-person teams for other team competitions. A second individual competition will be held on Sunday morning to wrap up the weekend. Schedule:

Friday, Feb. 10

• 4pm Venue opens

• 5pm Qualification round – Determines seeding for the weekend; top athletes will advance to individual competitions.

Saturday, Feb. 11

• 8 a.m. Venue opens

• 9 a.m. Trial (practice) round

• 10 a.m. first individual competition

• 12-4 p.m. Live entertainment

• 4 p.m. Super Team trial 

• 5 p.m. Super Team competition – Two jumpers; three competition rounds. The 12 best teams advance to second round; 8 best teams advance to third round. Most points from all three rounds wins.

Sunday, Feb. 12

• 7:30 a.m. Venue opens

• 8:45 a.m. Qualification 

• 10:15 a.m. second individual competition 

What’s ski jumping? Good question! Ski jumping is a non-contact sport where jumpers position their super-long skis inside a track at the top of a massive manmade “hill,” then soar down it and eventually fly into the air, where they are judged on distance as well as style on their landing. They lift their ski tips and lean forward after takeoff to see how far they can fly. Wind is a major factor, and depending on which way it’s blowing, athletes can get points deducted for inadvertently benefiting from it.

Athletes to watch: Norway’s 26-year-old Halvor Egner Granerud is leading the overall World Cup standings and won the overall title during the 2020-21 season. He’s just ahead of Poland’s David Kubacki, a three-time Winter Olympian and two-time bronze medalist. The U.S. is led by 18-year-old Erik Belshaw of Steamboat Springs, Colo., who will be joined by fellow national team members Andrew Urlaub, Decker Dean, and Casey Larson.

Hometown hero: The fifth-ranked jumper in the U.S. and the youngest athlete at this World Cup, Tate Frantz (Athlete Profile, January 2022: https://www.adksports.com/2022-01-athlete-profile), 17, born and raised in Lake Placid, will make his ski jumping World Cup debut where his career began, at the Olympic Jumping Complex on Feb. 10. “It’s special for any athlete to get to the World Cup, but it’s rare to do so in your hometown – especially when that hometown is hosting its first Ski Jumping World Cup in more than 30 years!” Tate urges everyone to come out and see the event, especially the qualifying rounds on Friday night. “The older guys on the circuit have been doing this for longer than I’ve been alive so I’ve still got a lot to learn. Come on out and watch me hopefully qualify on Friday night.” Read more about Tate’s story here: https://lakeplacidlegacysites.com/.../30/tate-frantz-story/.

How to watch: ORDA is selling tickets online and urges spectators to purchase in advance at the risk of them selling out. ORDA season pass holders can get in for free by bringing their Whiteface, Gore Mountain, Belleayre, and/or Mt. Van Hoevenberg season pass. The venue will only accept credit cards (no cash) for tickets, retail, food, or beverage sales. More info on tickets and spectator info: https://lakeplacidlegacysites.com/todo/fis-ski-jumping-world-cup/#tab-important-spectator-info.

If you can’t make it in person, live timing/scoring will also be available: http://live.fis-ski.com/jp-3285/results-pda.htm.

Parking: Arrive early (at least a half hour for morning events and an hour before afternoon/evening events) to allow ample time for parking and riding a shuttle to the venue. The three designated parking areas are at the Lake Placid Horse Show Grounds (walkable or shuttle; 5514 Cascade Rd, Lake Placid, NY 12946 ), the North Elba Athletic/Lacrosse Fields (walkable or shuttle; Recycle Circle Ln, Lake Placid, NY 12946), and Mt. Van Hoevenberg (shuttle required; 31 Van Hoevenberg Ln, Lake Placid, NY 12946).

Alex Kochon (alexkochon@gmail.com) of Gansevoort is a freelance writer, editor, and outdoor-loving mom of two who enjoys adventuring in the Adirondacks. An avid XC skier, Alex has reported on World Cup and Olympic skiing, and continues to share her passion as a sales and content contributor for curated.com.