Berlin, 26 November 2025 (dpa/MIA) - The prestigious Four Hills Tournament is to have a women's event from the 2026-27 ski jumping season.

Organizers said in a statement on Tuesday that this has been made possible by an agreement between the Austrian Ski Association and the province of Tyrol to finance a new floodlight system at the Bergisel stadium in Inssbruck.

This was a prerequisite that had previously been the biggest obstacle to the integration of women's competitions.

"This is fantastic news and exactly the signal we have been waiting for. The 75th Four Hills Tournament in 2026-27 will go down in history," tournament president Manfred Schützenhofer said.

The Four Hills consists of four World Cup events in Oberstdorf, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Innsbruck und Bischofshofen.

All four venues will be equipped with floodlights, which will give those responsible more scope to integrate women's competitions into the tournament's programme.

"We've been campaigning for this for a very long time. It's great that it's finally happening. But I won't believe it until it's actually here," Germany's top ski jumper Katharina Schmid said.

She has been particularly vocal in her support for the introduction of the women's event in recent years.

As things stand, the women's competitions are to take place on the men's qualification day at all locations.

Photo: archive