First women's Four Hills Tournament confirmed at FIS Spring Meetings

The FIS Ski Jumping Committee convened in Portorož (SLO) on Wednesday May 6, with the first women’s Four Hills Tournament confirmed as part of the 2026/27 World Cup schedule. 

Founded in 1953, the Four Hills has long been one of the highlights of the winter sports’ calendar. Taking place around the turn of the year, the athletes compete in Large Hill competitions at Obertsdorf (GER), Garmisch-Partenkirchen (GER), Innsbruck (AUT) and Bischofshofen (AUT). The total points scored across all four competitions, rather than placings, decides who wins the Golden Eagle trophy.

For the past three seasons, the women have contested the Two Nights Tournament comprising the two German legs of the Four Hills Tournament with Nika Prevc (SLO) winning all three editions. Blocking the path for the women in Innsbruck was a lack of infrastructure for night-time competitions, a requirement for accommodating both genders in the same program.

That obstacle was removed in January when the State of the Tyrol, the Austrian Government, the city of Innsbruck, Ski Austria and FIS reached an agreement to fund the installation of floodlights at Innsbruck’s Bergisel Ski Jumping hill, thereby clearing the way for a first women’s Four Hills Tournament on the event’s 75th anniversary. All four competitions will take place the day before the men.

FIS President Johan Eliasch called it “a true milestone in the history of Ski Jumping and winter sports as a whole”. German star Katharina Schmid (formerly Althaus), who retired at the end of last season, hailed it as ”a long overdue step”.

This is part of a broader alignment of the men’s and women’s calendar with the two tours running on essentially the same backbone from November through March. The season - subject to FIS Council approval - will start with a Mixed Team competition in Lillehammer (NOR) on November 20 and end at the World Cup Finals on the famous Ski Flying Hill at Planica (SLO).

Click here to download the 2026/27 Ski Jumping World Cup draft calendars. 

For the first time there will be four Mixed Team events during the season with Sapporo (JPN) joining previous venues Lillehammer, Willingen (GER), and Lake Placid (USA) which is back on the schedule after a year absence due to repair work. Sapporo will also host men and women on the same weekend for the first time.

The other shared stops on the calendar are Wisla (POL), Titisee Neustadt (GER), Engelberg (SUI), Lahti (FIN), Vikersund (NOR; Ski Flying) and Oslo (NOR). Plus there are the Nordic World Ski Championships in Falun (SWE).

The shift toward joint weekends is positive for a number of reasons including larger live audiences, and shared infrastructure for organizers. After years where the women’s tour ran as a smaller, parallel circuit, it is now a structural part of the World Cup with the two genders sharing the stage in the 2026/27 calendar.

Another innovation for the 2026/27 season is a new ‘Rookie’ ranking for under-23 athletes (those born in or after 2004). All World Cup points count towards the Rookie standings with the leader wearing a special bib.