Hills in Sapporo and Zao handed over

• Peter Riedel GmbH hands over World Cup ski jumps in Japan
• Cutting-edge approach tracks lie frozen, first test jumps planned before the year ends
• Women’s and men’s Ski Jump World Cups visit on-site in January

RASCHAU/JAPAN - The winter sports world is currently looking east – because in exactly two months the 23rd Winter Olympic Games will begin in Sochi. But not only there is construction day and night; further east as well winter (sport) is being established: This week, three new hill complexes in Zao and Sapporo were handed over in time for Christmas. That the hills equipped with runways from Peter Riedel GmbH meet the high requirements of the International Ski Federation (FIS) was confirmed by managing director Peter Riedel himself this week.

During an on-site visit, Riedel was pleased with the development in Japan: “We have completed four ski-jump projects in this Land of the Rising Sun over the last two years – which obviously shows that Japan is on the move when it comes to ski jumping. The second hill in Sapporo, the Miyanomori Jump, will only be finished in January 2014, but with the Okurayama Jump and the Zao Jump we were already able to hand over two first-class hills. Our specialists have completed all work and our approach track has been frozen for a week now,” said Riedel.

For the Japanese ski jumping director Chiharu Saito, it is clear that Japan would have a hard time staging competitions at the highest level and continuing to perform at the forefront without this development. “For us this is the proverbial start of a new era. It is very important for us that we have finally introduced the European standard to our hills as well – with this, Japanese ski jumping makes a true leap forward,” the FIS member explained after the hills were handed over.

In the coming weeks before the turn of the year, the Japanese will now want to carry out their first test jumps. There will be time for it, because on January 11, 2014, the hill in Sapporo will experience its first pinnacle when the women’s Ski Jumping World Cup stops there. While the women travel on to Zao a week later, the men will finally be in Sapporo on January 18 – stressful times for the Japanese. But at least they know: the equipment is right.