Ski jump suits, like most pieces of clothing in the ski world, are not cheap. They’re often custom fit, cost at least a few hundred dollars, and aren’t very easy to come by (seriously, try to find a ski jumping dealer near you). So while a country that’s heavily invested in the sport might be able to outfit their athletes with as many suits as they could possibly need, athletes from smaller nations or teams might have a very hard time getting more than a few in a season. So the International Ski & Snowboard Federation (FIS) is turning towards technology to even the playing field.
Previously, no rules have limited the number of suits athletes could use throughout a weekend or throughout a season. Now, after a September meeting with the FIS experts in Zurich, small NFC chips will limit the number of suits an athlete can use.
“It has long been a very important concern for the teams and for us that we manage to reduce the number of suits. It’s about equality of opportunity and of course also about reducing costs and sustainability. This is now possible with the use of chips, which we are very pleased about. Of course, we still need to gain experience with the new technology in competition mode, but that is part of the process.” – FIS Race Director Sandro Pertile.
The suits, often made up of individual parts, will be equipped with these small sticker-like microchips. Theoretically, an NFC chip could be placed on every part of the suit, ensuring athletes aren’t swapping out arms or legs. With this new method, athletes will be limited to one suit per competition at World Cup events, the World Championships, the Olympics, and other major ski jumping events.
Rather than seeing potentially hundreds of suits used throughout a season, an athlete competing in all World Cup events and the World Championship would only go through 10 suits, and an athlete competing in just one World Cup event would only need a maximum of two suits. This doesn’t just even the playing field, it improves sustainability in the sport.