From January 8 to 16 the 12th edition of the Ladies Winter Tour will be held. Five individual competitions are scheduled in Schonach (hosted by Ski Club Schönwald), Hinterzarten and Braunlage.
History of the Ladies Winter Tour
The Winter Tour, until 2008 known as Ladies Grand-Prix, is the oldest tournament in Ladies Skijumping. It was already launched in 1999, just one year after the first Ladies competition ever. In that first year five competitions were held in Germany and Austria, in Braunlage, Baiersbronn, Schönwald, Breitenberg and Ramsau. First winner was Sandra Kaiser from Austria. Since then, the Ladies Grand-Prix was held every year. Regular venues were Schönwald, Baiersbronn, Breitenberg (Rastbüchl) and Saalfelden. Since the introduction of the Ladies Continental Cup in 2004/05 it was an integral part of that greater series.
After a break in 2009 the tournament was relaunched in 2010 under the new name Ladies Winter Tour. Venues in that year were Baiersbronn and Schonach, where the Ski Club Schönwald now hosts its competitions, as they abandoned their own K85 hill. It was also planned to hold two competitions in Braunlage (already venue in 1999), but these had to be cancelled on short hand due to bad weather conditions.
Winners since 1999:
| Year | Winner | Second | Third |
| 1999 | KAISER Sandra (AUT) | KECK Karla (USA) | IRASCHKO Daniela (AUT) |
| 2000 | IRASCHKO Daniela (AUT) | GANSTER Eva (AUT) | ROTH Heidi (GER) |
| 2001 | IRASCHKO Daniela (AUT) | SMEBY Henriette (NOR) | GANSTER Eva (AUT) |
| 2002 | IRASCHKO Daniela (AUT) | SAGEN Anette (NOR) | OLSSON Helena (SWE) |
| 2003 | SAGEN Anette (NOR) | GANSTER Eva (AUT) | VAN Lindsey (USA) |
| 2004 | SAGEN Anette (NOR) | VAN Lindsey (USA) | GANSTER Eva (AUT) |
| 2005 | IRASCHKO Daniela (AUT) | VAN Lindsey (USA) | GRĂ„SSLER Ulrike (GER) |
| 2006 | SAGEN Anette (NOR) | VAN Lindsey (USA) | SEYFARTH Juliane (GER) |
| 2007 | VAN Lindsey (USA) | GRĂ„SSLER Ulrike (GER) | WILLIS Katie (CAN) |
| 2008 | SAGEN Anette (NOR) | VTIÄŚ Maja (SLO) | TANAKA Atsuko (CAN) |
| 2009 | No Ladies Winter Tour | ||
| 2010 | IRASCHKO Daniela (AUT) | SAGEN Anette (NOR) | GRĂ„SSLER Ulrike (GER) |
Preview on the Winter Tour 2011
This year’s inaugural competitions will be held in Schonach. The hill there was rebuilt and enlarged during the last year, so we can look forward for a new hill record. As usual, the winner there will be awarded the challenging cup of the Ski Club Schönwald. As the Nordic Combined World Cup will be held here on the same weekend, a high number of spectators is expected. Unfortunately the weather forecast for the weekend is not the best, so the competitions in Schonach might see some rain.
Hinterzarten, that replaces Baiersbronn as venue, hosts the third competition of the Ladies Winter Tour on Wednesday in the evening. The two final events will take place on January 11 and 12 in Braunlage. Also there a vast number of spectators is expected and many parties are organized as supporting programme.
Similar to the Four Hills Tournament at the Men’s World Cup, the tournament’s overall winner is determined by adding the points of all five competitions. Austria’s Daniela Iraschko won the Tour already five times and is also the odds-on favourite in this year. She has won four of six Continental Cups in this winter yet.
Schedule:
Friday, January 7th Schonach
01:00 PM Official training
Saturday, January 8th Schonach
11:00 PM Trial Round
12:00 PM Competition
Sunday, January 9th Schonach
01:45 PM Trial Round
02:30 PM Competition
Wednesday, January 12th Hinterzarten
10:00 AM Official training
05:00 PM Trial round
06:00 PM Competition
Friday, January 14th Braunlage
11:00 AM Official Training
Saturday, January 15th Braunlage
11:30 AM Trial Round
01:00 PM Competition
Sunday, January 16th Braunlage
11:30 AM Trial Round
01:00 PM Competition