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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. Bismack Biyombo Jersey . Matt Carkner got back into the Ottawa lineup, and made his presence felt right away by settling his clubs score in a one-sided fight with Rangers forward Brian Boyle. Shaquille ONeal Jersey . Meeks has agreed to a $19.5 million, three-year deal with Detroit, a person familiar with the situation said Tuesday night. The person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because free agents cant sign contracts until the leagues moratorium ends July 10, also said Cartier Martin had agreed to a one-year contract with the rebuilding franchise. http://www.magicbasketballprostore.com/kids-mohamed-bamba-magic-jersey/ . -- Cheyenne Woods, the niece of Tiger Woods, shot a 2-under 69 on Tuesday to finish first in stroke-play qualifying at the Womens U. Melvin Frazier Jersey . Wiggins, a 6-foot-8, 200-pound forward who plays his first exhibition game on Wednesday against Pitt State, was the top prospect in the class of 2013. Evan Fournier Jersey . So much so that even a simple foul pop up to the first baseman turned into a run. Houstons four-run rally in the ninth inning to beat the Seattle Mariners 6-4 on Monday night was capped by a bizarre play that started as Crowe fouled out to first baseman Justin Smoak with runners on second and third. CHICAGO -- Everything was going just fine for the Oakland Athletics. And then? "The circus came to town," Josh Donaldson said. Thats one way to look at it. Avisail Garcia drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single in the eighth inning, and the Chicago White Sox beat the struggling Athletics 2-1 on Wednesday night. Oakland was in line for the win after Jeff Samardzija threw seven scoreless innings, and Adam Dunn singled in a run against his former team. Instead, the As lost for the 10th time in 13 games because the bullpen failed again to protect a lead. Luke Gregerson (4-4) came on in the eighth, and things quickly fell apart. It was the third time in four games that the Athletics relievers blew a lead. Gregerson gave up a leadoff single to Carlos Sanchez, and first baseman Nate Freiman threw wildly trying to force pinch-runner Leury Garcia at second after fielding Adam Eatons grounder. The runners moved to second and third with one out when Gregerson bounced an 0-2 pitch to Jose Abreu before striking him out. He intentionally walked Conor Gillaspie to load the bases, and Garcia lined a pitch up the middle for a two-run single that made it 2-1. The late rally made a winner of Zach Putnam (5-3), who pitched a scoreless inning. Jake Petricka worked the ninth for his 12th save in 15 chances. "It does a lot for us," Eaton said. "It really does. We want to show were not dead. The White Sox are here to stay. We want to be better next year, and were going to continue to push to be better. It starts with this month." Samardzija looked sharp in his first start in Chicago since the Cubs traded him to Oakland on July 5. He gave up six hits, struck out six and walked two. "They made me battle out there, a leadoff walk, a couple of leadoff hits," Samardzija said. "So I was really grinding out there." White Sox rookie Chris Bassitt was almost as good. In his second major league start, thhe right-hander gave up one run and five hits.dddddddddddd He left to loud cheers after Derek Norris led off the seventh with a broken-bat single. Dunn, recently acquired from the White Sox, gave Oakland a 1-0 lead with two out in the fourth when he drove in Coco Crisp with a single past a diving Gillaspie at third. It looked as though that would be enough before the game turned in the eighth. TRAINERS ROOM Athletics: C John Jaso remains out indefinitely with a concussion after visiting a specialist on Wednesday. Oakland manager Bob Melvin was hoping he would be cleared to return after seeing Dr. Micky Collins in Pittsburgh. Instead, Melvin said Jaso will return to Oakland and stay away from baseball activities for at least a few days. ... Closer Sean Doolittle appears close to returning from a strained muscle in the rib area. He threw a side session Wednesday, and Melvin said he could be activated on Friday. ... OF Craig Gentry was improving but still was feeling symptoms after leaving Tuesdays game with a concussion, Melvin said. White Sox: Retiring slugger Paul Konerko hopes to return from a broken bone in his left hand next week. He said he might take some swings on Friday and hit some balls over the weekend. He thinks he will be ready to play during a nine-game trip to Kansas City, Tampa Bay and Detroit that starts next week. UP NEXT Chris Sale (11-3, 2.09 ERA) starts for Chicago, while Scott Kazmir (14-7, 3.42) pitches for Oakland as the White Sox and Athletics wrap up their four-game series. Kazmir got back on track in his last start even though he didnt figure in the decision, allowing three runs in 6 1-3 innings after giving up 13 runs in his previous two outings. FOR THE HIGHLIGHT REEL Donaldson made a terrific grab at third when he leaped to his left to snag Gillaspies liner in the fourth inning, and White Sox left fielder Jordan Danks made a neat catch in the seventh when he raced in and dove to rob Jed Lowrie. Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Wholesale Discount Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Baseball Jerseys Free Shipping Cheapest College Jerseys Sale Cheap Football Jerseys China Nike NFL Jerseys Canada Wholesale NHL Jerseys From China MLB Jerseys Outlet Canada Wholesale NBA Jerseys Canada Store Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap Authentic Jerseys Canada ' ' '