Experience the Thrill: Women’s Ski Jumping World Cup Returns to Lake Placid—Join the Fight for Equal Pay!

Feb 06, 2025 —

This weekend, Lake Placid will host the World Cup ski jumping events for both men and women. This is a historic moment as it’s the first time a women’s World Cup ski jumping competition is taking place in North America.

Athletes and coaches see this as a significant step forward for women’s ski jumping. Yet, many female jumpers are still striving for equal pay. One former athlete, Nina Lussi, is working to support women jumpers during this event.

Annika Belshaw, one of the top ski jumpers at just 22, has been perfecting her jumps since she was nine. Hailing from Colorado, she emphasizes how vital it is to bring top-level women’s ski jumping to the U.S.

“It’s really special for us and we’re excited to see how it goes this weekend,” Belshaw said. She recently finished 15th in a World Cup event in Japan, earning about $760. In contrast, the male winner from that competition earned $2100.

Women ski jumpers often receive about one-third of what their male counterparts do, which Belshaw finds frustrating. “We put in as much work as they do. It feels unfair that we aren’t making the same,” she expressed.

The International Ski Federation (FIS) oversees prize money for the World Cup. They acknowledged the gender pay gap but noted that the sport, which began including women in the World Cup in 2011, is still developing. While viewership is growing, the revenue from TV and marketing for women’s events lags behind men’s.

This financial disparity forces many female jumpers to seek additional sponsorships or hold down other jobs.

In 2018, Lussi started a crowdfunding campaign to support her return to the World Cup after an injury. The idea came from an entrepreneurship class where she needed to raise funds for a cause.

Now, Lussi is crowdfunding to support the women competing at the Lake Placid World Cup. Her goal was to raise $3,300 to equal the men’s prize for the qualifying jump. She was pleased to surpass that goal quickly.

The extra resources will help balance prize money for the women, contributing to the ongoing fight for equity in the sport.

Next year, both men’s and women’s events will be coordinated by FIS Race Director Sandro Pertile. He believes this will improve opportunities for women’s ski jumping and help address prize money issues gradually.

Trevor Edlund, the coach of the US women’s ski jumping team, is excited about the sport’s growth. “The women are developing rapidly, and they are definitely capable of competing at the same level as the men,” he said.

Edlund celebrates the crowdfunding efforts and the arrival of the women’s World Cup in North America as big wins for the sport.

The ski jumping events in Lake Placid start on Thursday and will continue through Sunday. Thousands of fans are expected to cheer on the athletes at the Olympic ski jumping center.