Nordic Combined Awards conclude season 2017/18

The Nordic Combined season 2017/18 conclude with one last evening of celebration and honouring the best athletes and coaches of the season.

Held since 2016, the awards are given by a jury consisting of ten winter sports journalists from then different media outlets in Spain, Sweden, Norway, Austria, Germany/Switzerland, France, Italy, Japan and the USA. This year, the categories were “Athlete of the Year”, “Rookie of the Year”, “Moment of the Year”, as well as “Coach of the Year”.

The Prize Giving Ceremony way joined by the special “Kai Arne Ringen Award” for lifetime achievements in and for Nordic Combined, which is awarded by the “Club Last Viking”, a club of all Nordic Combined Technical Delegates. The German Ski Federation also took the opportunity to honour their Olympic athletes and Björn Kircheisen was awarded the highest sportive honours of the federation upon his retirement.

In a clear vote, Akito Watabe took the honours as the “Athlete of the Season”  while jury president Roman Knoblauch had to use his executive vote to break up a tie between Finland’s Eero Hirvonen and Germany’s Vinzenz Geiger in the “Rookie of the Year” category. In the end, Geiger emerged victorious and joined teammates Johannes Rydzek, Eric Frenzel and Fabian Rießle in being awarded on this evening.

The trio won the “Moment of the Year” category with the first Nordic Combined podium sweep at the Olympic Games since 1936. The father of this success, coach Hermann Weinbuch was awarded as “Coach of the Year” for his team’s Olympic performance.

The Kai Arne Ringen Award went to the weekend’s Technical Delegate Assistant, Harald Aarhus from Norway, who had his last TD assignment in Schonach. The Norwegian has spend long years involved in the sport, especially also in his time as Nordic Combined Committee Chairman.

In an entertaining and funny ceremony that was hosted by Eurosport hosts Hans-Peter Pohl and Roman Knoblauch, a completely filled “Haus des Gastes” in Schonach relived the great moments of the season, met World Cup winner Akito Watabe and Nations Cup winner Norway with their brand-new trophies and concluded the evening with the traditional wood sowing contest and a night of dancing and merrymaking.