V-style

A ski jumper in Calgary, Canada holding his skis in a V-style.

The V-style of ski jumping was created by Miroslaw Graf, a Polish ski jumper from Szklarska Poreba. In 1969 Graf's colleagues were laughing at his jumps. In the early 80s, his style of jumping was considered inappropriate by jury, and although he had long jumps, judges awarded poor marks to the Pole.

Graf was fully aware that the "V" style was better than the previous one, because his jumps became considerably longer. It was only recognized by the judges in the early 90s when Jan Boklöv of Sweden 90s started using this style, and others followed. It is a modification of the Daescher technique. In this technique the skis are held during the jump alongside the upper torso in a V-like shape. In the Daescher technique, the skis were kept parallel to each other. This new technique increases the ski jumping distance by 10 percent.

The style is sometimes called Graf-Boklov, but Western journalists sometimes marginalize Polish pioneer of the style and credit Boklov with V-style, although he never had to endure ridicule and low mark like his Polish predecessor.

Aerodynamics has become increasingly important in modern ski jumping, with recent rules addressing the regulation of ski jumping suits. This follows a period when loopholes in the rules seemed to favor skinny jumpers in stiff, airfoil-like suits. This technique is part of this trend.

External links

• Olympic Ski Jumping History

References

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