On August 6th, the FIS Grand Prix 2010 will start with the qualification for the individual competition in Hinterzarten (GER) (www.Sommerskispringen-hinterzarten.de).

After Hinterzarten, competitions in 6 more locations will follow (Calendar FIS Grand Prix 2010 »). With Wisla (POL), there’s a new venue in the calendar that can be especially looked forward to. The hometown of Adam Malysz will offer a special atmosphere to athletes and spectators, just like Zakopane (the other major venue in Poland). The demand for tickets for the two competitions on August 20th and 21st in Wisla is huge. The final of this year’s Summer GP will take place on October 3rd in Klingenthal (GER).

Over the past years the Grand Prix became a very important series in skijumping. For example the new rule with wind compensation and adjustable inrun length could only be used last winter because the necessary tests, dry runs and software adjustments and so on were made during the summer competitions. It would have practically impossible to start with such extensive changes in the competitions and logistics directly in the winter season.

The Grand Prix also ranks high in the sport. The list of winners since 1994 is like a “Who is who” in skijumping, and a look at the results shows that only the big names were able to capture the overall victory of this summer series.

Overall winners Summer Grand-Prix:

“The Grand Prix is equally important for all teams“, Poland’s head coach Lukasz Kruczek says about the significance of the GP. “At the Summer Grand Prix you can see how high your own level and this of the other teams is. After the summer break we are at a point where we see where we stand and what has changed in skijumping over the past months. In addition to that, important points for the quota (Info: Quota ») are awarded and we will fight for that”, Kruczek tells.

With Adam Malysz Kruczek not only has a three-time overall winner the Grand Prix (2001, 2004, 2006) on the team, but also one of the favorites for the title 2010. A couple of days ago Malysz presented himself in a great shape and won two titles at the Polish national championships (News: Polish Championships »).

“Last weekend Adam showed that he’s the number one in Poland, although it was a fight with Kamil Stoch, Adam clearly won in the end. His jumps were consistent and on a high level. We will see what this is worth in an international competition in Hinterzarten and at the following events”, Kruczek ranks the chances of Malysz.
Besides Malysz, overall World Cup winner Simon Ammann (SUI) and Austrian Gregor Schlierenzauer are the top favorites this summer. 

FIS race director Walter Hofer considers the direct comparison of the teams on the fore in the summer competitions. “As in the past, the Grand Prix is an ideal opportunity for the teams to have an early comparison with competition. Many will take advantage of this chance to test their technical improvements. Moreover, we are pleased to have live television with us during the Grand Prix, and also pleased to welcome the new venue of Wisla (POL), the home town of Adam Malysz, on the calendar with two competitions. With Liberec (CZE) and Klingenthal (GER), we will have a fitting conclusion for the summer series. In Liberec we will also have the ladies summer series join the men's as an additional highlight"“

For the German Ski Association everything is going fine concerning the preparations, everything “is okay” in the team. The national championships last weekend in Oberhof brought no surprise with Michael Uhrmann as the winner. (News: German Championships »).

„The preparation for the new season is going pretty well so far. We held less training camps than last year, but worked more intensively instead”, says head coach Werner Schuster, who is confident with the training. “Also the 15th place of Georg Spaeth at the national championships is not a problem. Georg didn’t jump well in Oberhof, but he is right in the middle of a smooth preparation”, so the opinion of the coach.

12 years after his star rose at the Summer GP, Martin Schmitt is still highly motivated. “The Olympic Games in Vancouver pushed me again. I still have a lot of fun skijumping and I’m especially looking forward to the World Championships at the Holmenkollen.“

German jumpers already nominated for the opening of the Summer Grand Prix: Michael Uhrmann, Michael Neumayer, Martin Schmitt, Severin Freund and Andreas Wank. The sixth German participant will be decided in a qualifying competition.

In general the bindings will be an interesting issue during the summer. After Simon Ammann won two Gold medals at the Olympic Games in Vancouver with the new binding system (News: "Ammann's bindings" ») all other athletes were forced to react. Over the past months comparable or also totally new systems were tested by practically all teams. Partly, like for example in Austria, the tests were classified top secret. Some of the systems will be used in Hinterzarten.

Also the teams who are working with new coaches will especially arouse interest. Normally changes can be noticed already after a few months.

New coaches / changes in the coaching staff after the past winter

Tags: summer gp | intro

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