Even before the start of the World Cup winter, the
world's best ski jumpers are already really looking
forward to the 4-Hills-Tournament. In the Erdinger-Arena
in Oberstdorf, where the opening competition will
take place on December 29th, the ski jumpers where
continually coming and going in the second week
of November. Not less than seven national teams
used the perfect conditions for intensive training:
Among them almost the complete World Cup team of
the German Ski Association (DSV) with Severin Freund,
Andreas Wank, Michael Neumayer, youngster Andreas
Wellinger and local hero Karl Geiger. The injured
Richard Freitag was the only athlete of head coach
Werner Schuster who could not take part.
"For us it's great that we can train on the
home hills before the start of the season every
year, especially the hill in Oberstdorf. With the
ice track in the inrun and landing on plastic, the
conditions are perfect here", Werner Schuster
explained after the training camp and he also praised
the team of the organizers in Oberstorf. "It's
great that we can train on plastic until mid November
in Oberstdorf. Elsewhere the facilities were already
adjusted to winter, so training would not be possible
without snow."
Not only the German team knows about the great possibilities
offered by Stefan Huber and his team. Currently
also the teams of Poland, Italy, the Netherlands
and Slovenia are training in Oberstdorf. With Andreas
Kofler of Austria, a former 4-Hills-Tournament winner
arrives on Thursday, November 7th. Kofler will train
there together with the B-team of the Austrian Ski
Association (O"SV). Also the German ladies'
national team of head coach Andreas Bauer and the
nordic combined athletes of the Czech Republic jump
on the hills in Oberstdorf in the final phase of
preparation for the new season.
It's quite possible, that Severin Freund, Andreas
Wellinger and the rest of the German men's team
will come back soon. "If possible, we will
skip the planned training camp in Scandinavia and
use the top conditions in Oberstdorf again",
said Werner Schuster.
Tickets for the first winter sports highlight 2013/14
are already on sale online at www.arena-ticket-allgaeu.de
and at the ticket-hotline 08322/8090-350.
