Excitement grows ahead of Oberstdorf and Garmisch | FIS Ski Jumping

The 65th edition of 'Four Hills Tournament' will begin on Dec. 30th. Allgäu’s Oberstdorf resort will once again serve as the opening round. At least 25,000 fans will converge on the Erdinger Arena to watch live the world’s greatest ski jumpers competing on the Schattenberg Schanze. The second stop will be the traditional New Year’s contest on the Große Olympiaschanze in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, one of the absolute highlights of the ski jumping season. Ski Jumping originated in the 18th century, back then farmers in the Norwegian province of Telemark used small hills on alpine slopes for short jumps. With time, the interest and the enthusiasm for this new discipline rose and Ski Jumping became a sport of its own. Today Ski Jumping is one of the most popular disciplines in winter sports. Around the world fans gather to watch athletes soar through the air at competitions. At the moment this fascinating sport is practiced in about 20 countries on the World-Cup level. Ski jumping was added to the Olympic winter schedule in 1924. For further information about FIS Ski Jumping: http://www.fisskijumping.com/ Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Berkutschi.Skijumping Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FISskijumping FIS: As the governing body of international skiing and snowboarding, FIS manages the Olympic disciplines of Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Ski Jumping, Nordic Combined, Freestyle Skiing and Snowboarding, including setting the international competition rules. Through its 116 member nations, more than 6'500 FIS ski and snowboard competitions are staged annually.