At Klingenthal, the age of high-technology ski jumping has started: The first international large jumping hill was equipped with the new one-track system ALOSLIDE ICE for summer and winter operation, with an integrated watering and cooling system, and meanwhile it has successfully passed its practical test under all possible operating conditions with flying colours – both under training and competition conditions. 

World class ski jumpers, for example from Austria, Czechia, Russia and of course from Germany, have tested the new system and are full of praise for the properties of the new system composed of high-performance ceramics and artificial ice. The Czech national trainer Richard Schaller as well as the veteran trainer Joachim Winterlich who is native to Klingenthal, are both enthusiastic about the special structure of the ice surface since in this way all athletes have nearly always identical jumping conditions: “These are top-class conditions enabling our sportsmen to give proof of their excellent competence.”

The centerpiece of this new system is a combined cooling and heating system by means of which it is possible to switch from summer to winter operation really fast and without any problem. A solid artificial ice layer with a thickness of 20 mm is built up within a very short period of time. A professional moulding cutter, specially designed for this system, guided along the track and precisely adjustable in height allows for keeping the ice layer continuously plane. During heavy snowfall, the complete track area is cleared according to the FIS regulations by means of additional top parts such as snow removal plates and brushes.

First, Matthias Buse could not believe it at all. In the past, the facility manager of the ski jumping arena located near Schwarzberg at Klingenthal had been struggling again and again against all kinds of adverse weather conditions, and many helpers were needed for grooming the ski jumping hill. Now Buse says: “Now I’m able to do this job all by myself, and within three days at most I can manage to have the jumping hill perfectly prepared.”

The ski jumping hill at Klingenthal will increasingly be used as a training facility not just because of its year-round system which can be operated independently of weather conditions. By means of the system for dynamometric measurements, installed at the Klingenthal ski jump and developed by IAT (Institut für Angewandte Trainingswissenschaften – Institute for Applied Training Science) located at the University of Leipzig, both profi jumpers and junior athletes can compile detailed analysis about movements during their jumps in order to optimize their body posture.

During the forthcoming FIS Team-Tour Ski Jumping World Cup taking place on February 10^th and 11^th, 2009, famous professional ski jumpers such as Amman, Schlierenzauer, Schmitt, Loitzl and Morgenstern will possibly establish new records when gliding over the new inrun track, and they don’t need to worry never again if in the future snow will be falling or not – this is true at least for the Klingenthal ski jump.

ALOSLIDE has been awarded several times, for example with the Materialica Design Award 2006, the iF material Award 2007, and it was recently nominated for the 2008 Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany. Within the touring exhibition “expedition materia”, organized by the German Federal Ministry of Research and Technology, detailed information on ALOSLIDE is available in many German cities to interested visitors (www.expeditionmateria.de).

Word-Document

Photo 1: Switching on cooling system

Photo 2: Automatic build-up of ice

Photo 3: Milling of ice track

www.aloslide.com

www.etec-ceramics.com

www.ceramtec.de

11/02/2009