Ski Jumping, one of the most visually compelling sports in the Winter Olympics, starts Friday, February 9, in Pyeongchang.
A Nordic form of skiing, Ski Jumping involves skiers gliding down ramps before jumping from the launching zones to make stable landings in the landing zones. Scores are given by judges based on three criteria: flying, landing and style.
To compete, skiers zoom down ramps at speeds of around 90 km/hr before soaring as far as they can while still managing to stick the landing. With all those ups and downs, the South Korean Olympic security staff suffering from a mysterious vomiting sickness will want to steer clear, but for those not prone to nausea, it’s a sight to behold.
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A new wrinkle to the sport was introduced in 2014; points can be added or deducted based on the placement of the starting gate and the wind factor. Points are subtracted for higher starting gates and favorable headwinds, while they are added for lower starting gates and less favorable wind conditions.
Team USA is looking to end a 94-year medal drought in the sport, having most recently won a bronze medal in 1924, which also happened to be the very first Olympic Winter Games.
Pay special attention to the women’s competition, which was only just added four years ago, to the Sochi Winter Games. Since women only have one event, there are no qualifying rounds like the men’s competition—just a final that consists of one trial jump and two rounds of scored jumps. The inaugural gold medalist, Carina Vogt of Germany, will be competing again in Pyeongchang and is sure to be a formidable competitor despite having sustained a knee injury in August.
Here’s the schedule of ski jumping and how you can tune in.
For the entire Olympic Winter Games schedule, click here.
Full Schedule
Thursday, Feb. 8
Men's individual normal hill qualifying — 7 a.m. ET
Saturday, Feb. 10
Men's individual normal hill final— 7:35 a.m. ET
Monday, Feb. 12
Women's individual normal hill final — 7:50 a.m. ET
Men's individual large hill qualifying — 8 p.m. ET
Friday, Feb. 16
Men's individual large hill qualifying — 7:30 a.m. ET
Saturday, Feb. 17
Men's individual large hill final — 7:30 a.m. ET
Monday, Feb. 19
Men's team large hill final — 7:30 a.m. ET
How to Watch on TV
The Olympic Games will all be broadcast on NBC, NBCSN and across NBC Universal networks. For full detailed TV listings, check out NBCOlympics.com.
Here’s a full schedule of Olympic events.
How to Live Stream
All events will be live-streamed on NBCOlympics.com.
