Sapporo and Zao, Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Oberwiesenthal, Tschagguns and Ramsau: Peter Riedel reflects on a successful season

RASCHAU, May 16, 2014 – The winter sports season 2013/14 is already in the archives, winners crowned, medals and trophies awarded: time also for Peter Riedel GmbH to pause and look back, before in the coming weeks – for example at the FIS Congress in early June in Barcelona – the course for the future is set.

'It was a very successful and very intensive winter for us,' says company owner Peter Riedel, 'and at this point I would like to thank everyone who works with us worldwide and trusts our expertise. New challenges continually arise, yet we are always able to find solutions together. The open, fair handling with contract partners and hill operators is greatly appreciated.'

Riedel knows that behind him is a team that contributes to his brand's current success – 'thanks for all your efforts!' – and he knows he has the support of the most important group of people when it comes to ski jumping: the athletes. 'With Sara Takanashi, with Eric Frenzel, with Richard Freitag, with Gregor Schlierenzauer and the entire ÖSV team, with Jernej Damjan and others I am in personal contact, and they are thrilled by the technologies we bring to the approach tracks of the hills,' says Riedel. 'But even the superstars of old are pleased with how we make ski jumping safer and fairer, for example Olympic champion Masahiko Harada from Japan.'

And this (and much more) happened in the winter 2013/14:

At the Olympic hills in Sapporo and in Zao moment now lie Riedel track marks! “This is a particular joy for us,” says the company chief, “equipping Olympic hills is admittedly with a special prestige. That we have done our homework very well was confirmed to us by Chika Yoshida, responsible for the women's World Cup in the FIS, who spoke of a ‘correct decision,’ and athlete Sara Takanashi, who sent us a personal letter with current training pictures.”

The fruitful cooperation with the hosts of the New Year's jump in Garmisch-Partenkirchen continues! “Since 2008 the responsible parties there have trusted our know-how and our developments. Together we discuss new projects and visions. At the last competitions – apart from the tour – the new electronic start bar was tested there and shown to FIS Race Director Assistant Miran Tepes. We hope that it will have its premiere in the World Cup soon.”

The development of the new starting gate is only one of several that have emerged in recent months. “It is regrettable that we were not involved in the Sochi Winter Olympics – who wouldn’t want that,” explains Riedel, “but we did not waste time in vain and used it for in-house developments. New technical highlights will decide leadership in the market in the future. Personally, I am convinced that, for example, the topic of ‘track milling’ will soon belong to the past and that new ice-working technologies will be relied upon.”

At the FIS World Cup in Trondheim the Peter Riedel GmbH was contacted by the new operators to jointly prepare and manage the World Cup events. “We could let our seven years of experience flow into it,” says Riedel, “it was an honor for us to be contacted relatively at short notice and given the chance to show what can be done. The competitions ran smoothly on a top ice track.”

The hills in the Nordic Center Montafon are ready for use! “This is an extremely important project for the ski jumping sport in western Austria, Liechtenstein, eastern Switzerland and southern Germany,” explains Riedel. “In this area the facilities in Tschagguns, where the 2015 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival will be held, will become a central training site.” But more. While machines were shut down elsewhere, Vorarlberg tested the cooling systems and built a perfect ice track at warm temperatures.

The partnership with the Austrian Ski Association brought the first fruits: In preparation for the Winter Olympic Games – where jumpers took second place and Nordic combined athletes third in the team events – man and material were tested at the 'Speed Race' in Ramsau am Dachstein. 'The test facility was used intensively,' says Riedel, who values the collaborative work between ÖSV and his company. 'From a training-technical perspective, this test track gave us an edge over other leading ski jumping nations.'

Also in his closest homeland, Riedel's 'Sports Technology' is highly active. In Oberwiesenthal not only is there a Riedel imprint on the hill, but also the IAT Leipzig's take-off measurement system, which had been in use for 30 years, has been dismantled and rebuilt completely. 'The software there is now Ski Force 2.0,' says Riedel. 'It is my heartfelt concern and my reference project right on our doorstep. The aim is to keep the highest and thus snow-safe hill in Germany alive – there is potential!'

The bookings of the mobile hill facilities (K4), of which there are now three, continue to grow! Recently, a hill stood at the Olympic reception organized by Viessmann, and at the same time another one at the economic fair in Dornbirn, Austria. 'Ski jumping can take place wherever you bring the hill,' says Riedel. He expects the system of mobile hill facilities (which could be built up to a K10) to further assert itself.