Ski jumpers will have to don better helmets and could be required to wear body armour as part of a determined bid by authorities to make the sport as safe as possible, a top official said. "Its an outdoor sport, its a risky sport. We were able over the years to make it safer... we could make it (even) safer," said Walter Hofer, the ski jumping race director at the International Ski Federation (FIS). Spectacular crashes are fairly common in jumping. Three-times Olympic gold medallist Thomas Morgenstern of Austria has ended up in hospital twice in the last two months after crashes where he suffered a broken finger as well as face and head injuries. "The next goal must be to make safer helmets with higher standards. Maybe we can do something for the protection of the body," Hofer told reporters high up on the normal hill late on Monday night as women jumpers whistled by at 90 kph (60 mph) at the Sochi Olympics. "Whatever is available on the market we will try." Hofer noted that Alpine ski officials had spent a long time studying jackets that contain small air bags to help cushion the impact of falls. "When they get something up there we will use it. At the moment I am preparing to use some protection for certain parts of our body, mostly the backbone," he said. Tougher helmets will be introduced into Alpine skiing and ski jumping authorities want to adopt the same standards. In recent years the FIS has taken a series of sometimes unpopular steps it says will make the sport fairer and safer. The federation imposes minimum body mass index requirements to weed out jumpers which it says are too light. Jumpers have to wear body tight suits with low aerodynamics, much to the irritation of athletes such as four-times Olympic gold medallist Simon Ammann of Switzerland. New hills have been redesigned to make the in-run smoother, a development which some jumpers say make takeoffs harder. A complex new system to compensate skiers for wind conditions will be used at the Sochi Games for the first time. Hofer, who has been at FIS for 22 years, said he began trying to make the sport safer some 20 years ago after he saw a series of bad falls. "I started to talk to experts and they told me Are you crazy? If you make ski jumping safer nobody will watch. It isnt right," said the ebullient Austrian. "I would like to attract parents to deliver their children to our beloved sport in a way they know it is a sport where athletes are cared for." As well as improving safety, Hofer - who notes that "when you release an athlete at 100 km/h from the takeoff, you cant take him back - is particularly keen to address rapidly changing wind conditions that have wrecked many a competition. Headwinds help athletes soar further but if they are too strong they can produce dangerously long jumps. Conversely, tail winds cut flying distances. In the past, officials would either scrap competitions altogether or restart them halfway through to take into account changing winds, which Hofer said frustrated spectators. Jumpers used to be judged on distance and style. Under the new system, they now can also gain or be docked points to take wind conditions into account. The calculations are made by a series of computers linked to seven sensors along the in-run. "The athletes performance is removed from the influence of external conditions," said Hofer, pointing to a screen which showed the wind strength and direction from each sensor. The challenge for audiences is that the athlete who jumps the furthest does not always win. Alexander Pointner, head coach of the Austrian team, told Reuters that spectators should not have "to think What is this, that guy jumped so far but hes only fourth, whats that? Our sport should not be so difficult". Hofer has no intention of changing his mind. "Whatever makes ski jumping safer and fairer is worth it, even if sometimes you have to take something (away) from the transparency. People will understand sooner or later," he said. FIS is looking at whether it would be possible to shine a blue laser line on the snow to show the public exactly where a jumper has to land to take the lead, he added. Nike Baskets Air Max 90 Vt Homme. Five players had a multi-point performance and goaltender Ben Scrivens made 34 saves as Edmonton avoided a seventh straight loss by defeating the visiting Nashville Predators 5-1. Nike Air Max 90 Ice. Josmil Pinto homered for the Twins, who reached double digits in runs for the third time this year. Mike Moustakas had two hits for Kansas City, which had won seven straight at Target Field. A 4-6 start to the season for Minnesota has been largely due to ineffective starting pitching. http://www.frchaussuressoldes.net/femme-nike-air-max-90.html. -- The Saginaw Spirit remembered late player Terry Trafford on Saturday night in their first home game since he was found dead in a parked car. Nike Air Max 90 Knit. Top Picks: While the Bruins arent a high-flying team, but because of the strength of their top lines, they present a lot of players worth taking relatively early in drafts. Nike Air Max 90 Homme.com and The Detroit Free Press. Gustavsson, who was eligible to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, had a 16-5-4 record last season with a 2.Womens MMA is in the spotlight thanks to the Strikeforce title fight between bantamweight champion Miesha (Takedown) Tate and (Rowdy) Ronda Rousey. Canadian fighter Sarah Kaufman isnt celebrating, however. The former 135-pound champion from Victoria is on the outside looking in at a title fight she expected to be involved in. Kaufman (14-1) finds herself back on the undercard of the March 3 show in Columbus, Ohio, fighting Alexis Davis of Port Colbourne, Ont. Tate and Rousey are the main event at the Nationwide Arena. "I really believe -- and I think a lot of the fans who know the sport believe -- that I should be the one fighting for the title," Kaufman said. "Ive put in my time. Ive been their champion. Ive only had one loss and Ive had two good wins since then. "That should be enough to get my title shot back." She will have to wait while Showtime, which airs Strikeforce in the U.S., showcases the brash-talking, charismatic Rousey in a "sexy and tough" title matchup. Both women can fight. But Showtime is making the most of their appearances with a slick video noting "Its not just looks that can kill." "Pumped 4 this fight!!," UFC president Dana White tweeted in posting a link to the Showtime video which is titled "sexy promo" on YouTube. And when Tate and Rousey were featured at a recent UFC show, commentator Joe Rogan suggested their matchup might be the "hottest" title fight ever. The 26-year-old Kaufman, who beat Tate in a 2009 non-title bout, says she understands image matters, "but its hard to sit and have the fight entirely pushed on looks. "Theres just not a lot of substance if thats what theyre turning females in the sport into -- is in order to get pushed, in order to make it, you have to wear skimpy little dresses. "Its a hard thing. Marketing is marketing. Its whats worked for pushing this fight, I guess." The main event spotlight is rare for female fighters. The UFC, which owns Strikeforce, doesnt have a womens division. White has long said there just isnt enough talent. There have essentially been two faces for the womens side of the sport. One was the photogenic Gina Carano, who has since gone on to make movies ("Haywire"). The other was the muscular featherweight Cris (Cyborg) Santos, whose most recent 145-pound title defence was derailed by a positive steroids test. The Brazilian was subsequently suspended for a year. Kaufman won the baantamweight title when she defeated Takayo Hashi in February 2010 and defended it in style five months later, stopping Roxanne Modafferi when she knocked the challenger senseless by dropping her on the canvas.dddddddddddd. But the Canadian lost the championship belt next time out, submitted by Marloes Coenen in October 2010. Coenen was then beaten by Tate in July 2011. Kaufman believes she deserved to be next for the champion. But while she waited for her shot, Rousey was making waves. The former Olympic judo bronze medallist posted a string of first-round wins in 2011. Her four fights have lasted a total of two minutes 18 seconds, each ended by a nasty armbar. For Kaufman, Rousey (4-0) is an MMA novice who talked her way into a title shot. "She made noise and they listened," said Kaufman. And Tate (12-2), while a more experienced fighter, has chosen what to showcase in her arsenal. "Mieshas always put in her time but shes always presented her looks as her thing," said Kaufman. "I dont present my looks, I kind of present my attitude and the fact that Im an athlete and a professional athlete." Adding insult to injury, Kaufman has been downgraded to the undercard -- she says she was originally slated to be on the main card. "I am very disappointed and feel a little bit stepped on because I really have tried to push the sport and tried to push myself, without too much help from different promotions and from other sources," she said. "Media always helps but I feel like Ive had to do it a lot of my own against this kind of constant back pressure, almost. But all I can do is keep winning. Hopefully I get a fast knockout, (that) would be awesome. But whatever happens, I want the win and with that win I have the guaranteed title shot." "So thats what I need. If you keep winning, you cant get denied being put in the big light. Thats my goal. Just make waves, make waves with my skill," she added. Kaufman is no stranger to feeling left out when it comes to fighting. She complained loudly after finding herself on four straight Strikeforce Challenger developmental cards before being upgraded to a major Strikeforce show in 2010. Tate and Rousey have done their bit talking up their fight. Tate has dubbed her opponent "rookie Rousey," calling her brash, immature, and lacking in class. Rousey told one interview: "Its more annoying than chewing tinfoil, hanging out with that chick." cheap nfl jerseys? cheap jerseys?cheap jerseys?cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '