![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/headshot-e1626100048881.jpeg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\tMark Blinch\/COC<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNovember 19, 2025\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Sharing](\"https:\/\/olympic.ca\/wp-content\/themes\/canadianolympiccommittee\/img\/team-canada-icons\/team-canada-profile-share-red.svg\")
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If you\u2019ve ever wondered how it feels to fly, it might be time to get into ski jumping.<\/p>\n
The sport has a long Olympic history, dating back to Chamonix 1924<\/a>. And to the untrained eye, it may seem pretty straightforward: zip down a curved ramp on skis and fly as far as possible.<\/p>\n But there\u2019s much more to it than that\u2014the preparation, the technique, the peril and, yes, the exhilaration of fulfilling that dream of flying for just a few moments.<\/p>\n So, with six ski jumping events being contested at Milano Cortina 2026<\/a>, we\u2019ve got four of Canada\u2019s top ski jumpers on board to help you prepare for all the action.<\/p>\n Abigail Strate<\/a> and Alexandria Loutitt<\/a> won bronze in the inaugural mixed team event at Beijing 2022<\/a>, while Nicole Maurer<\/a> and Natalie Eilers<\/a> are hoping to compete in their first Olympic Games.\u00a0<\/p>\n READ: Ski jumpers Abigail Strate and Alexandria Loutitt are making their dreams take flight<\/a><\/p>\n What\u2019s the Olympic format for ski jumping?<\/p>\n While ski jumping has been part of every Olympic Winter Games since the first edition in 1924, the first women\u2019s event was only added at Sochi 2014<\/a>.<\/p>\n Milano Cortina 2026 will feature four of the same events as Beijing 2022: men\u2019s individual normal hill, men\u2019s individual large hill, women\u2019s individual normal hill, and the mixed team event. A second women\u2019s event has finally been added, the individual large hill, and the men\u2019s team event will now be held in the super team format (two jumpers per team instead of the traditional four jumpers).<\/p>\n The ski jumping events will take place at the Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium on Feb. 7, 9-10 and 14-16 (also known as Days 1, 3-4 and 8-10).<\/p>\n Wait, normal hill and large hill\u2014what\u2019s the difference?<\/p>\n Hills are categorized based on the farthest distance that skiers could safely jump. For normal hills, that\u2019s up to 109m; for large hills, it\u2019s up to 149m.<\/p>\n For their part, the Canadian women are excited to showcase their skills on the Olympic large hill for the very first time.<\/p>\n \u201cThe bigger, the better,\u201d says Maurer, a 25-year-old from Calgary. \u201cI do this sport because I want to jump far. So why wouldn\u2019t I want to jump on a bigger hill?\u201d<\/p>\n But it\u2019s not simply about the distance travelled; the different hill sizes demand different skill sets and approaches.<\/p>\n \u201cOn the normal hill, you\u2019re trying to use your power, use your legs and jump as strongly as you can,\u201d says Strate, a 24-year-old also from Calgary. \u201cAnd on the large hill, it\u2019s more about the technique of the flying.\u201d<\/p>\n On any hill, an athlete\u2019s results don\u2019t just come down to distance travelled. The jumper\u2019s body position in the air and upon landing are also evaluated by judges, whose style points factor into a competitor\u2019s final jump score.<\/p>\n While Strate is torn on whether she prefers a normal or large hill, she says it\u2019s \u201creally exciting\u201d for female jumpers to have two individual Olympic events for the first time.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s good for the athletes\u2019 mindset,\u201d she says. \u201cYou\u2019re not going into the competition thinking, \u2018well, literally this is it, this is [my] only chance.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s it like preparing for a jump?<\/p>\n It starts with a chairlift or tram trip up to the warm-up hut inside the ski jump.<\/p>\n \u201cWe kind of wait there for 20 [minutes] to an hour,\u201d says Loutitt, 21. \u201cYou can be up there for quite a while, so you kind of get cozy.\u201d<\/p>\n Then it\u2019s time for jumpers to put on their gear and go through equipment control. Officials check a jumper\u2019s suit and scan a microchip inside it to confirm that athletes wear the same suit throughout the competition.<\/p>\n \u201cThen after that, we will go and put our skis down on the step,\u201d says Loutitt. \u201cI have my little routine that I like to put my skis on one step below, and then I step up to the gate that we\u2019re going to jump from.<\/p>\n \u201cI take a really long time to put my bindings in. I like to take my sweet time.\u201d<\/p>\n READ: Loutitt soars to Canada\u2019s first ever World Cup win in women\u2019s ski jumping<\/a><\/p>\n Then it\u2019s time to sit on the gate and wait. Loutitt breathes and goes over the jump plan in her head, waiting for the light to turn green or yellow to indicate she can get on the gate and slide across on the bar.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce it turns green, you look to your coach to get the flag to go. And once you get the flag, you can jump,\u201d she says. \u201cThen you\u2019re in the track and you get your, like, tuck position, we call it our in-run and you build speed and you get faster and faster and faster.<\/p>\n \u201cThen you come through the curved hill and then you actually jump. And then after the jump, you kind of start trying to manipulate your flight and find the most effective position possible.<\/p>\n \u201cYou try and go as far as you can while trying to keep all the speed. And there\u2019s lots of little bits and pieces you\u2019re trying to keep together and ideas you\u2019re trying to have in the air.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen it comes to the end of your jump, you try and step with one foot in front of the other for a perfect Telemark landing.\u201d<\/p>\n The Telemark landing helps jumpers maintain control and earn style points from the judges.<\/p>\n How does it feel to be in the air?<\/p>\n Despite all of the mental and physical checklists that go into a jump, the flight itself can be borderline transcendental.<\/p>\n \u201cIt feels like every weight that you carry in your life is irrelevant in that moment,\u201d says Maurer. \u201cYou\u2019re going off a hill at 95 kilometres an hour. It doesn\u2019t really matter what\u2019s going on in your personal life, because there\u2019s an immediate thing that\u2019s happening.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is, ironically, very grounding, because although you\u2019re flying through the air, you feel very connected with what you\u2019re doing and who you are as a person in that moment, and everything feels like it will be okay.\u201d<\/p>\n Eilers agrees with her teammate about the one-of-a-kind feeling that ski jumpers experience.<\/p>\n \u201c[There\u2019s] the rush of coming down the hill, building up to the jump, and then the feeling of soaring actually building up and lift underneath your skis,\u201d says Eilers, 26. \u201cIt\u2019s like what you feel in an airplane, except for you\u2019re doing it by yourself. It\u2019s just you with your equipment. You\u2019re in control of your flight.\u201d<\/p>\n How is Team Canada preparing for the Olympics?<\/p>\n While most athletes form connections with their teammates, Canada\u2019s ski jumpers have another factor adding to their camaraderie.<\/p>\n In order to access a wider variety of hills and resources, the team\u2019s training base is in Slovenia, where the jumpers spend much of their year. And while being half a world away from friends and family poses its challenges, it has also solidified their bonds.<\/p>\n \u201cWe get to experience new things,\u201d says Eilers. \u201cIt also strengthens our relationship as teammates, because we are experiencing this unique situation together, and so we have each other to lean on and to talk to.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Four](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/MDB_20220207_15065.jpg\")
Team Canada ski jumpers Alexandria Loutitt, Matthew Soukup, Abigail Strate and Mackenzie Boyd-Clowes celebrate after winning the bronze medal in the mixed team event during the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games on Monday, February 07, 2022. Photo by Mark Blinch\/COC <\/p>\n![\"Canada's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/CP27836453-e1694966179137.jpg\")
Canada\u2019s Alexandria Loutitt soars through the air during the Women\u2019s Normal Hill Individual ski jumping event at the Nordic World Ski Championships in Planica, Slovenia, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023. (AP Photo\/Darko Bandic)<\/p>\n![\"Abigail](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/CP214960472-1-1.jpg\")
Canada\u2019s Abigail Strate celebrates on the podium her third place at the Women\u2019s Normal Hill Individual Ski Jumping World Cup event in Villach, Austria, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024. (AP Photo\/Darko Bandic)<\/p>\n![\"Natalie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/CP118864422.jpg\")
Canada\u2019s Natalie Eilers soars through the air during the women\u2019s ski jumping normal hill individual trail round at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Oberstdorf, Germany, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. (AP Photo\/Matthias Schrader)<\/p>\n
![\"Nicole](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/CP214965249.jpg\")
Canada\u2019s Nicole Maurer competes at the Women Normal Hill Individual Ski Jumping World Cup event in Villach, Austria, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024. (AP Photo\/Darko Bandic)<\/p>\n