Engelberg Magazin Nr. 19

So dunkel wird es heuer nicht bleiben: Dank neuer Beleuch- tung kann das erste Springen am Samstag, 17. Dezember 2016 sogar am Vorabend ausgetragen werden. The new and improved light- ing system will make it pos- sible for the first event on Saturday, 17 December 2016 to be held in the early evening.

Die Titlis-Schanze gilt als die grösste Naturschanze der Welt. Trotz dem Umbau sollte ihre Einzigartigkeit erhalten bleiben. The Titlis ski jump is the largest natural ski jump in the world. Its unique character has been pre- served despite the renovations.

The largest ski jump in Switzerland is getting bigger and better. On the weekend of 17 and 18 December, the world’s top ski jumpers will take to the Titlis ski jump for the first time since it was extensively renovated. While ac tors strut and f ret their hour on the stage, ski jumpers feel in their ele- ment in the few seconds it takes them to leap of f a ski jump. Engelberg of fers them a stage to showcase their ta lents in the shape of the Titlis ski jump, the biggest jump in Switzer- land and the largest natura l ski jump in the facilities properly ref lec t the zeitgeist of modern ski jumping – because in the meantime both the materia ls used in ski jumping and the ath letes’ f light styles have evolved. Engelberg invested CHF 3 million in the renovations to turn the ski jump into a fabu- lous new stage for the world ’s ski-jumping elite. The bu lk of the renovations were carried out on the in-run and the take-of f table. The point f rom which the ath letes will take of f at the World Cup event on 17 and 18 December 2016 is now around four metres f ur ther back and two metres higher than in the prev ious construc tion. This means that the take-of f table has become a lit tle shor ter, and the in- run now conforms to the current standards laid down by the Internationa l Ski Federation. Ski jumpers on the Titlis will now be able to jump f ur ther than ever before. Cor- rec tions a lso had to be made to the landing hill to ensure that this wou ld be possible. The severe physica l impac t absorbed by the ath letes during landing will be a thing of world. This summer, ex ten- sive renovations were car- ried out on the venerable jump, which was star ting to show its age. The brand-new

the past as of December. There is a lso a new lighting system that boasts exposure va l- ues suitable for telev ision, which means that on Saturday, 17 December 2016, the f irst of the two World Cup events will be aired on primetime TV in the early evening. Despite the numerous renovations, the jump’s charm and charac ter have been pre- ser ved – af ter a ll, for many skiers the Titlis jump was not just any old ski jump, it was the ski jump. The f irst training sessions will revea l whether the new jump will give more

predic table outcomes than its predecessor. Prev ious jump records will be reset to zero. Two-time double Olympic champion Simon Ammann is looking forward to test- ing out the new facilities.

Following renovations over the summer, the Titlis ski jump now conforms to modern standards.

The competitions in Engelberg have a specia l signif icance for him: “The events on the Titlis jump are the f irst high lights of the season for me and my teammates. Expec tations are high, not just among fans but a lso among us ath letes.” The fac t that, un like downhill skiers, ski jumpers cannot gradua lly prac tise their technique on descent af ter descent, will make tack ling the new Titlis ski jump an even more specia l experience for the v isiting ski jump- ers. Because once ski jumpers spring f rom the star ting block, they accelerate f rom nought to over 90 kilometres per hour within a mat ter of seconds and, for a f leeting moment, they live out humanity’s age-old dream of f ly ing.

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