Ski jumping is one of the most exciting sports to watch at the Winter Olympic Games. Knowing the scoring system and how the winner is decided is pivotal for bettors looking to find value in the Olympic ski jump market. Read on for the information you need to bet on ski jumping.
The Olympic ski jumping competition is scored by a combination of the distance of a skier jumps combined with style points awarded by five judges. Alterations are also made for wind speed to ensure fair conditions for all jumpers.
Distance is score by the number of meters a jumper lands past the critical point (K point) on the hill plus 60 for landing beyond the K point. For the normal hill competition the K point is at 90 metres whilst the large hill has a K point of 120 metres.
Jumpers can score an additional 20 style points which are awarded by five judges. The judges make deductions for imperfections in flight, landing and outrun (stopping). The best and worst judge scores for each jump are ignored and the style score is then added to the distance for a total score.
When assessing the ability of a ski jumper it is important to take into account their ability to both jump far and score style points. Is it more important to jump further or have better form?
Looking at previous Olympic results it is most important to jump as far as possible. There was a strong (but not perfect) 64% correlation between the distance of the jump and the total score awarded to that jump in the 2014 men’s normal hill competition.
Distance is therefore the main factor in ski jumping success but style points can certainly have a big impact upon the competition. Consider 2014’s individual normal hill bronze medallist Anders Bardal and seventh-placed Noriaki Kasai:
Despite outjumping Bardal by 1.5 metres over the course of the competition Kasai scored fewer points overall. Kasai’s inability to impress the judges ultimately cost Kasai a medal place. Whilst distance is the most important scoring factor style points could be a once again be a difference maker in PyeongChang.
A range of ski jumping markets will be available for this year’s Winter Olympic ski jump competition.
Ski jumping outright betting – Betting on an individual ski jumper (in the team event this would be a team) to win the gold medal.
Best finishing position matchups - Betting on which entrant of two ski jumpers will place higher in the competition.
Men’s team large hill
Norway lead the world when it comes to ski jumping. Their men’s large hill team are no exception and are favourites to win the large hill team event. Only Poland and Germany offer a credible threat to the dominant Norwegians.
Women’s individual normal hill
Norway’s Maren Lundby is the favourite for gold in the women’s normal hill. She has won six of the nine 2017/18 FIS World Cup events. Germany’s Katharina Althaus is her biggest challenger with three CIS wins (two normal hill) and two second places to her name so far this season.
Men’s individual large hill
The men’s large hill event is one of the most open ski jumping events. Reigning champion Kamil Stoch of Poland has won four of the eight FIS events this season but the event could be won by a number of contenders. Germany and Norway again look strong whilst Japan’s Junshiro Kobayashi and Slovenia’s Jernej Damjan have achieved victories on the FIS tour this season.
Men’s individual normal hill
In additional to his strong large hill form, Stoch is the current Olympic normal hill champion. On the men’s FIS tour the normal hill is not a regular event so it is uncertain who has the best form going into the competition. The normal hill should provide bettors with an indication of who has adapted best to conditions in PyeongChang ahead of the individual large hill event.
Now that you know how to bet on ski jumping and the different markets available, you can take advantage of Pinnacle's unbeatable ski jumping odds. Make the most of Pinnacle’s best value Winter Olympics betting odds during the 2018 Winter Olympics.
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