Almost 20 degrees, so the ski jumpers in Poland land on an artificial turf track

In Wisla, Poland, not a snowflake has fallen for months. Nevertheless, the international ski jumping season starts here next weekend and almost all world-class athletes will be there. The ski jumpers land on green artificial turf mats.

In the Polish city it was still about 20 degrees this week. Because large parts of Europe experienced the warmest October month ever recorded. Climate change is already very noticeable for winter sports enthusiasts.

A solution has been found in Wisla. A year-round usable ramp was built. In summer, Polish ski jumpers train there in short-sleeved suits. For the first time, an artificial turf track is part of the World Cup circuit.

Football World Cup competition

Despite climate change, the ski jumping season is starting earlier than ever. Due to the World Cup in Qatar, there will be significantly fewer games than usual at the end of November and beginning of December.

“Most of the national TV channels have an agreement with FIFA that leaves practically no airtime for other sports,” explains Sandro Pertile. The Italian is the ski jumping competition director of the international ski association FIS.

Pertile sees an excellent opportunity to show that ski jumping is a sport that can be practiced all year round. “In spring and summer you can jump from a ceramic ramp to a plastic slope. In autumn we use an ice ramp and a plastic slope, like in Wisla, and in winter we only use an ice ramp and a snow slope. .”

“Compare it with tennis,” says the Italian. “With different surfaces you can train all year round.”

Other winter sports

Ski jumpers aren’t the only winter sports enthusiasts who have to get creative because of climate change. Of the six Ski World Cup races scheduled for October in Austria, Switzerland and Italy, five had to be canceled due to high temperatures.

The German Martin Nörl, World Cup winner in snowboarding, was preparing for the new season in the Netherlands. “It was the first time I trained in a ski hall. I was pleasantly surprised, although such a hall can’t compete with training on a glacier.”

The warming of the earth has been causing problems for winter sports enthusiasts for some time. The Winter Olympics in Beijing last year depended almost exclusively on artificial snow. Scientists predict that if CO2 emissions continue to rise, there will hardly be any suitable locations for hosting the Winter Games in the future.

“As athletes, we don’t have the future in our hands,” says ski jumper Andreas Wellinger, who will be doing his jumps on the green mat in Wisla this weekend. “But we have the opportunity to prepare. I’m curious how it feels to jump here, who knows, maybe it’s something long-term.”

Source:NOS