“Athletes need confidence in compliant equipment”

Since 15 years, Guntram Kraus is responsible for the Equipment Control in Nordic Combined World Cups. In our latest Tuesday Talk the German gave an insight on the control process, the importance of the team’s trust and which points on his to-do list have to be worked through during the upcoming Summer Grand Prix.

How long have you been responsible for Nordic Combined and how did you become an Equipment Controller?

I have been working as an Equipment Controller for the Nordic Combined World Cup since the 2007/2008 season.
The job posting was announced after the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Sapporo (JPN) in March 2007. I called the then Race Director Ulrich Wehling and expressed interest. The confirmation came shortly before the start of the new World Cup season in Kuusamo (FIN) in November.

For someone who’s not familiar with the process: Which parts of the equipment do you and your colleagues check during a World Cup control?

We check all parts of the equipment that are anchored in the World Cup rules with fixed measurements. These include the air permeability of the suit and its measurements, such as the inseam length, the size of the shoes, the length of the skis and, in relation to this, the weight of the athlete.

Together with the women's Equipment Controller Kerstin Löscher, you share the controls during a competition. Can everyone control everything, or how does your task distribution look like?

I'm very happy that we were able to win Kerstin as the controller for the women. Thanks to her support, we are now able to fulfill a big wish of the teams: Constant checks by the same people throughout the winter.
Basically, we check our own athletes after the jumps, separated by gender. Kerstin takes over the women and I the men in the control room.
For the start controls on the tower, we swap positions, which we were able to test last season. I think it has worked very well so far.

In the future, the ban on fluor wax in the World Cup is to be enforced with controls. What is the process for implementation?

That's an exciting question. So far, we have been able to run many test procedures and are in constant contact with the other disciplines. Good logistics are required with the teams, especially with the service people, to ensure that the controls run smoothly. In the end, the time factor must be consistent with the TV broadcast, and the technical requirements must also be agreed with the local organizing committee.

In the past there have been discussions, mostly in Ski Jumping but also in Nordic Combined, about the "correctness" of a disqualification. How do you make sure that all athletes feel treated fairly?

For me, the most important thing is the communication with the athletes and the coaches. This can prevent many misunderstandings in advance.
If there is a disqualification, it will be accepted because the rules were clearly communicated in advance. I am also of the opinion that our athletes need to have confidence that their equipment is compliant, in order to perform at their best. 
Therefore, we always announce changes to the control procedure in in advance in order to guarantee transparency. Thereby are no bad surprises at the end.

The upcoming Summer Grand Prix not only offers the athletes the possibility of a "test run" for the winter. What tasks are on your to-do list in summer to be optimally prepared for the World Cup?

For all of us, the Summer Grand Prix is ​​an important test run for the winter. The events give us the opportunity to try out innovations and adjust processes if necessary, so that we can start the winter optimally prepared.
On my to-do list is reviewing the new suit design, gloves and shoes. The evaluation of the results then gives us the opportunity to make new suggestions for adjustments in the committees during the FIS fall meetings, if necessary, in order to react to any difficulties before the start of the World Cup season.

**Find the latest Equipment modifications in the Updates from the Nordic Combined Committee meeting.

Find the lastest Flour ban update here.**