FIS Sommer Ladies Tournee 2006


The FIS Sommer Ladies Tournee 2006 was the 6th edition of the, an international ski jumping tournament, that was held in the 2006–07 season on hills in Germany and Austria. The tournament began on 6 August 2006 with a competition on the hill in Klingenthal. Three days later, the second contest took place on the hill in Pöhla, with further events in Meinerzhagen. First, a team competition was held, followed by an individual one. On 15 August, the tournament concluded with an individual competition in Bischofshofen.
The first contest was won by Anette Sagen, and the next by Juliane Seyfarth. The third contest – the team event – was won by the United States team consisting of, Abby Hughes, Alissa Johnson, and Jessica Jerome. The penultimate and final events were again won by Anette Sagen, who became the overall winner of the 6th edition for the third time and also scored the most points in the FIS Sommer Ladies Tournee overall standings. Juliane Seyfarth finished 2nd in the general classification, and Jessica Jerome 3rd. A total of 64 female jumpers from 13 national teams participated in the series.

Background

Context

Until 1998, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation did not organize any women's competitions. However, female jumpers occasionally participated as forerunners in men's events or competed but were not classified. In January 1998, unofficial junior world championships for women were held in Sankt Moritz, recognized as the first international women's event. In March of the same year, the first senior women's events under FIS auspices took place – two Continental Cup contests in Schönwald. In the following season, the was organized for the first time, the inaugural international women's series under FIS. Since summer 2001, a plastic hill tournament – the – has also been held. In the 2005–06 season, the series was included in the women's Continental Cup calendar.
Of the jumpers participating in the 2006 FIS Sommer Ladies Tournee, 31 had competed in the previous – 5th – edition. Among those classified in the top 30 of the prior edition, absent were Germans Kristin Schmidt and, Slovenian Maja Vtič, Italian Lisa Demetz, Austrian, and Norwegian Stine Småkasin. The winner of the 2005 FIS Sommer Ladies Tournee was Anette Sagen, ahead of Jessica Jerome and Line Jahr.
In previous editions, Daniela Iraschko won twice, as did Anette Sagen. Austrian Eva Ganster won once and finished 2nd twice. Japanese Ayumi Watase placed in the top three twice – 3rd in 2001 and 2003 – as did American Jessica Jerome – 3rd in 2002 and 2nd in 2005.
In the winter period, the FIS Ladies Grand Prix was organized under the same rules as the FSLT. Daniela Iraschko won four times, Eva Ganster stood on the podium four times. Anette Sagen finished 2nd in 2002, and first in 2003, 2004, and the final edition. In the last four editions, Lindsey Van also reached the podium – 3rd in 2003, and second in 2004, 2005, and 2006.

2006–07 season

Before the tournament, in July 2006, four competitions were held in the USA and Canada as part of the 2006–07 women's Continental Cup. Juliane Seyfarth won all of them, with Daniela Iraschko finishing in the top three each time. Others on the podium included Anette Sagen, Line Jahr, and Ulrike Gräßler. Seyfarth led the standings with a 100-point advantage over Iraschko and 184 over Sagen. The entire top of the series was entered for the 2006 FIS Sommer Ladies Tournee; the highest-ranked Continental Cup jumper not participating was 21st-placed Yurika Hirayama from Japan.

Rules

The rules for the FIS Sommer Ladies Tournee are the same as those for World Cup or Continental Cup events. Points from the competitions were counted toward the FIS Sommer Ladies Tournee overall classification.
Jumps were scored in the same way as in World Cup or Continental Cup events. Reaching the K-point earned 60 points. Each additional meter added 2 points, while each meter short subtracted 2 points. Additionally, jump style and landing were judged by five FIS-appointed judges, each able to award up to 20 points. The two extreme scores were discarded from the final score.

Jury

The main directors of the competitions in the FIS Sommer Ladies Tournee were: Andreas Hille for the first event, Günter Beck for the second, Manfred Bachmann for the third and fourth, and Gerhard Krab for the last. The technical delegate for the first four competitions in Klingenthal, Pöhla, and Meinerzhagen was Dalibor Motejlek from the Czech Republic, with Edgar Ganster as his assistant. For the final competition at Laideregg-Schanze, the technical delegate was Uwe Mühln from Germany, with Edgar Ganster again assisting.

Competition progress

Klingenthal

The first competition of the 2006 FIS Sommer Ladies Tournee was held on the normal-sized hill in Klingenthal. 49 jumpers participated. In the first round, three jumpers reached at least the K-point, set at 80 meters. The longest jump was by the last starter, Juliane Seyfarth. Half a meter shorter, with slightly lower style points than the German, were Lindsey Van and Elena Runggaldier. The third-best distance was achieved by Anette Sagen and . Seyfarth led after the first round, followed by Van and Runggaldier.
In the final round, four jumpers exceeded the K-point. The longest jump in the second round was by Abby Hughes, though with lower style points. 14th after the first round, Japan's moved up to 5th overall with an 81-meter jump, earning the second-best score of the final round. She was overtaken by Jessica Jerome, who jumped 5th from the end. However, Norway's Anette Sagen, with the best score of the second round, took the lead and held it to win the competition. Seyfarth, with a similar distance but slightly lower style points, finished 2nd, 2.5 points behind Sagen. Jessica Jerome took 3rd.
Two jumpers fell: Switzerland's Sabrina Windmüller in the first round and Canada's in the second. The following jumpers withdrew: Germans Jeanine Drechsel and Laila Jung, Switzerland's Malika Schüpbach, and Norway's. Jumpers in both rounds started from the 13th gate. It rained during the competition, with air temperatures of 12.4 °C in the first round and 13.2 °C in the second.

Pöhla

Three days after the opening competition of the 2006 FIS Sommer Ladies Tournee in Klingenthal, the second individual event took place at the Pöhlbachschanze. In the first round, seven jumpers reached or exceeded the K-point. Germany's Ulrike Gräßler jumped the farthest at 62 meters, 6.5 meters short of the hill record. Juliane Seyfarth achieved the second-best distance. Half a meter shorter, Anette Sagen landed with lower style points, placing 8th after the first round. Higher scores than Sagen were earned by Jacqueline Seifriedsberger, Jessica Jerome,, Lindsey Van, and Alissa Johnson. Gräßler led after the first round, 0.4 points ahead of Seyfarth, with Seifriedsberger 3rd, 1.5 points ahead of Jerome.
In the final round, Ulrike Gräßler and Anette Sagen achieved the best distance, the only two among 11 jumpers to reach or exceed the K-point. Gräßler, with lower style points than her closest rivals, lost the lead. Seyfarth, jumping second-to-last, landed a meter shorter in both rounds but earned higher style points, overtaking Gräßler. Alissa Johnson, with the second-best distance in the final round, climbed three spots in the standings. Jessica Jerome, with the second-best score in the final round and style points similar to Seyfarth's, secured 3rd place. Seyfarth won with a 2.7-point lead over Gräßler and 4.6 over Jerome.
As in Klingenthal, Switzerland's Sabrina Windmüller fell during her jump. Norway's Gyda Enger withdrew from the competition. Jumpers started from the 9th gate in the first round and the 10th in the final round. The weather was partly cloudy, with temperatures of 14.0 °C in the first round and 13.5 °C in the second.

Meinerzhagen

First competition (team)

The third event of the 6th edition of the FIS Sommer Ladies Tournee was the team competition held on the medium-sized hill in Meinerzhagen on 11 August. 15 teams competed, including 12 national teams and three mixed teams. After the first round, Switzerland led. The longest jumps were by and, both at 62.5 meters, with Fuchs earning higher style points. Japan and the United States followed closely behind. In the second group, Abby Hughes from the US jumped the farthest at 63.5 meters, putting the US in the lead with a 3.9-point advantage over Japan. In the third group, Alissa Johnson from the US jumped one meter shorter than Hughes. In the final group of the first round, Anette Sagen jumped 66.0 meters, keeping Norway in 4th but closing the gap to Japan. Juliane Seyfarth jumped 3.5 meters shorter, moving Germany to second after a weaker 56.0-meter jump by Japan's. The US led after the first round, 26.6 points ahead of Germany I and 32.4 ahead of Japan.
In the fifth group, Elena Runggaldier jumped 64.5 meters, the longest of the round, with Izumi Yamada landing half a meter shorter, allowing Japan to reclaim 2nd place, five points ahead of Germany. In the 6th group, Abby Hughes jumped 67.0 meters, the longest of the round. Japan's fell, enabling Norway to move to 3rd and Germany to regain 2nd after a 63.5-meter jump by Melanie Faißt. In the seventh group, Ulrike Gräßler from Germany jumped the farthest. After this round, the US led, followed by Germany and Norway. Japan was 1.1 points behind Norway. In the final eighth group, Anette Sagen again jumped farthest at 64.5 meters, topping the unofficial individual ranking by 7.5 points over Abby Hughes. Japan's Yoshiko Yoshiizumi jumped 4.5 meters shorter than Sagen, securing Norway's 3rd place and Japan's 4th. The US won with a 45.2-point lead over Germany and 66.0 over Norway.
Jumpers used the 8th gate in the first round, the 9th in the fifth and sixth groups, the 8th again in the seventh, and the 7th in the final round.
Results (11 August 2006)

Second competition (individual)

The day after the team competition, the third individual event of the 2006 FIS Sommer Ladies Tournee was held on Meinhardus-Schanze in Meinerzhagen. 59 jumpers competed. In the first round, 10 jumpers reached or exceeded the K-point. These were Norway's Anette Sagen and Line Jahr, Germany's Juliane Seyfarth and Ulrike Gräßler, the US' Alissa Johnson and Jessica Jerome, Switzerland's Malika Schüpbach and Bigna Windmüller, Japan's Ayumi Watase, and Canada's . Seyfarth earned the highest style points, placing her 1st after the first round, 0.5 points ahead of Sagen. Gräßler, in 3rd, trailed Sagen by 6.5 points and Seyfarth by 7.0 points.
In the second round, 19 jumpers reached at least 60 meters. Jessica Jerome, who fell in the first round but achieved 95% of the best distance and was allowed to continue, posted the third-best score of the second round, climbing to 14th overall. She was overtaken by the Czech Republic's Vladěna Pustková, who was 14th after the first round. Subsequent leaders included Verena Pock,, Jacqueline Seifriedsberger, and Ayumi Watase, who, with the third-best distance of the round, climbed three spots to secure 3rd place. Anette Sagen, jumping second-to-last, landed 0.5 meters shorter than in the first round but earned higher style points than Juliane Seyfarth, who jumped last. Seyfarth's half-meter longer jump was not enough to overcome Sagen's style point advantage, resulting in Sagen's victory by 1.3 points over Seyfarth and 18.5 points over Watase.
Germany's Lea Wallewein was disqualified. Jumpers started from the 8th gate in both rounds.

Bischofshofen

The final individual competition of the 2006 FIS Sommer Ladies Tournee was held on the medium-sized hill in Bischofshofen. In the first round, 24 jumpers reached or exceeded the K-point at 68 meters. Anette Sagen landed the farthest at 73 meters. Ulrike Gräßler jumped 72.5 meters but received lower style points, allowing Austria's Daniela Iraschko and Jacqueline Seifriedsberger, as well as Japan's, to surpass her despite shorter jumps. Three others jumped beyond 70 meters: Japan's Ayumi Watase, Germany's Juliane Seyfarth, and the US' Jessica Jerome. After the first round, Sagen led, followed by Iraschko in 2nd and Yamada in 3rd.
In the final round,, 16th after the first round, was the first to score above 120 points with a 67.5-meter jump., jumping after Drage, landed 0.5 meters shorter, allowing Drage to climb two spots. Canada's briefly took the lead. The next five jumpers couldn't surpass her. Norway's Line Jahr, 9th after the first round, overtook Willis, but was then surpassed by Ayumi Watase. Germany's Juliane Seyfarth and Ulrike Gräßler, tied for 5th after the first round, achieved the third- and first-best distances of the round, respectively, securing 2nd and 3rd places. Anette Sagen, jumping last, posted the second-best score of the final round, maintaining her lead to win by 7 points.
Jumpers started from the 20th gate in both rounds.

Overall tournament classification

Below is the final classification of the 2006 FIS Sommer Ladies Tournee, based on the scores from the four individual competitions. A total of 64 jumpers from 13 countries were ranked in this edition of the FIS Sommer Ladies Tournee.
PlaceAthleteKlingenthalPöhlaMeinerzhagenBischofshofenPointsDeficit
to leader
1.