Popularity
Ski jumping is popular among spectators and TV audiences in Scandinavia and Central Europe. Almost all world-class ski jumpers come from those regions or from Japan. Traditionally, the strongest countries are Finland, Norway, Germany, Austria, Poland, Switzerland, Slovenia, and Japan. However, there have always been successful ski jumpers from other countries as well (see list below). The Four Hills Tournament, held annually at four sites in Bavaria, Germany and Austria around New Year's, is very popular.
There have been attempts to spread the popularity of the sport by finding ways by which the construction and upkeep of practicing and competition venues can be made easier. These include plastic fake snow to provide a slippery surface even during the summer time and in locations where snow is a rare occurrence.
Read more about this topic: Ski Jumping
Famous quotes containing the word popularity:
“A more problematic example is the parallel between the increasingly abstract and insubstantial picture of the physical universe which modern physics has given us and the popularity of abstract and non-representational forms of art and poetry. In each case the representation of reality is increasingly removed from the picture which is immediately presented to us by our senses.”
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—Stanley I. Greenspan (20th century)