From the bunny hill to the big hill: how you (or your child) start via a club and taster course, and how the safe smallest-hill progression really works.
The path onto the hill almost always runs through a club — and it starts on a bump barely higher than a sledding run. In Germany around 80 clubs [1] run ski jumping; they are the official entry channel with coaches, appropriate hills and a clear ladder upward. The one real prerequisite to start is alpine skiing — children typically begin at 6 to 10 years old [1], as soon as they can get down a slope safely.
And the reassuring truth up front, in case you are weighing this for your child (or yourself): ski jumping is non-contact and, at elite level, 15 to 35 percent less injury-prone than alpine skiing [4]. Fatalities are rare — about 12 per 100,000 participants a year [5], within the range of other outdoor sports. The big sense of risk comes from the optics of the large hill, not from the flat bump where everyone actually starts.
The rest is a ladder: smallest hill first, up a size only with ability — and all of it, if you want, all year round.
Before the hill comes, the skiing has to be solid: children and adults alike should get down a slope in control [1]. For adult taster courses a blue slope [3] is usually enough — no more prior knowledge is needed, just some nerve and body control.
Call a ski jumping club [1] or book a taster course [3]. In the course you jump for the first time on real ski jumping skis over a real (small) hill under expert guidance — the fastest way to find out whether the sport grips you.
Everyone starts on the smallest hill — flat bumps, often built from snow, on which the movement is learned playfully [1][2]. Dry-land practice of the crouch and take-off motion, plus rolling out in the outrun, take the fear before the first jump [1].
The progression is the safety concept: you only move up a hill size when ready — guided by coaches, with safety as the top priority [2]. Over years the bump grows into the normal hill. Nobody skips a rung.
Thanks to matting hills and watered summer in-run tracks you can train all year [3] — in summer even under more constant conditions than in the windy winter. Whoever jumps regularly progresses faster than with single winter days.
The honest framing for beginners and parents: the risk is manageable, because you start at the bottom on flat bumps and because ski jumping is non-contact — at elite level less injury-prone than alpine [4], with rare fatalities in the range of other outdoor sports [5]. But this good safety profile depends on the strict, supervised progression from the smallest hill upward [2] — that is the protection, not luck.
So without exception: this guide explains and motivates, but never replaces the club or coach. Which hill size fits your (or your child's) ability and when the next step is due is decided by a qualified coach at the facility — not by a text and not by ambition.
If you are unsure whether ski jumping is for you or your child, book a taster course before you even think about joining a club [3]. In one weekend you jump over a real small hill under guidance and afterwards you know more than after a hundred videos: whether the thrill grips you or not. And the nicest side effect — you meet the coaches and the club through which it would continue anyway.
Through a club: in Germany around 80 clubs run ski jumping [1]. The prerequisite is alpine skiing; children typically start at 6 to 10 years old [1]. You begin on the smallest hill and only move up with ability [2]. For a first test, a taster course with a real small hill is ideal [3].
Typically at 6 to 10 years old [1] — as soon as the child can get down a slope safely, because alpine skiing is the prerequisite. The entry happens playfully on flat bumps, often built from snow, with dry-land practice of the crouch that takes away the child's fear [1].
In a taster course: there are offers for adults and children where you jump over a real small hill under guidance for the first time [3]. A weekend course costs roughly 149 euros, a day course around 89 euros [3]. The prerequisite is usually just getting down a blue slope safely.
Yes. Thanks to matting hills, ski jumping is a year-round sport [3]; the in-run track is watered in summer so the skis glide. The summer season runs roughly from May to October — often with more constant conditions than the windy winter [3]. So you do not have to wait for snow to start.
Starting Ski Jumping at 30: What Is Realistic for Adults