This weekend marks a significant milestone as Lake Placid, New York, hosts the inaugural women’s World Cup ski jumping event in the United States.
Efforts to raise funds have resulted in women likely earning similar prize money to their male counterparts.
A GoFundMe campaign initiated by former U.S. national team members Nina Lussi, Lindsey Van, Jessica Jerome, and Tara Geraghty-Moats has successfully generated almost $9,000 by Thursday afternoon.
Additionally, contributions from U.S. Ski and Snowboard and USA Ski Jumping, along with a portion of ticket sales from the event, will aid in boosting the women’s prize purse, which currently stands at roughly one-third of what the men receive.
Darcy Norfolk, a spokeswoman for the Olympic Regional Development Authority based in Lake Placid, expressed optimism that the prize awards for both men and women would be equal when the competition officially begins.
To date, the International Ski Federation (FIS) has announced that the men’s winner will receive 13,000 Swiss francs (approximately $14,000), while the women’s winner will earn significantly less, at around 4,300 Swiss francs (about $4,800).
Sandro Pertile, the men’s ski jumping race director for the governing body, shared his commitment to improving the situation starting next season, indicating that increased visibility and attention for women’s ski jumping is a top priority.
He noted that the disparity in the sport is partly due to its younger history, as men have enjoyed more than a century of tradition while women’s ski jumping has only been recognized for 20 to 25 years.
The journey of women’s ski jumping has seen it play catch-up in an arena that has historically favored men.
While men’s ski jumping has been a staple in the Winter Olympics since the inaugural event in 1924 in France, women finally had the opportunity to compete at the Olympic level in 2014 after years of exclusion.
Now, just twelve years since women first took to the World Cup, they are competing in Lake Placid on a circuit that also spans Europe and Asia.
American jumper Annika Belshaw reflected on the significance of competing in Lake Placid, expressing that it is a meaningful experience for her and her fellow competitors.
Lake Placid, known for hosting the Winter Olympics in both 1980 and 1932, may also serve as a backup venue for sliding events in the upcoming Milan-Cortina Games.
This is due to the complete reconstruction of a century-old sliding center in Italy, which has raised concerns about the timeline for completing the facility ahead of the 2026 Olympics.
As a result, various cities globally submitted proposals for alternative venues for bobsled, luge, and skeleton events.
The IOC has set a March deadline for the pre-certification of the Cortina track, which means Lake Placid could soon find itself in the spotlight once again.
The committee preferred to utilize an active track in nearby Austria or Switzerland, but opted for Lake Placid as it did not necessitate significant infrastructure investments.
Norfolk remarked on the accelerated time frame for Lake Placid to prepare, noting that while most venues typically have seven years for Olympic preparations, they have only about ten months.
Furthermore, the city is set to host world championships next month, thereby significantly ramping up its responsibilities in the lead-up to potential Olympic events.
