"Aude Volare" -- Dare to Fly!

New Heights, Online
the electronic newsletter of
Eastern U.S. Ski Jumping


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Between the Colors ...
by Dan "Mouse" Warner

Lake Placid Goodwill Games 2000... thousands of dollars on the line...he's on the bar... the light turns green... he's off! "Hit the end. Hit the end. Hit the end." That's his mind set. Down the 120 inrun... off into the air... the jumper flies to the bottom of the hill. OOP'S. The cord breaks... no first place money today. A one round jump, thousands of dollars to the winner. That's the breaks.

Yes, there is money in ski jumping. Our sport has taken the turn into the pro world. You can make money at jumping... as long as you are the number one.

There are different levels of money out there - World Cup Champion, Olympic Champion, National Champion, to name a few. There are also gifts of Training Center space, monetary assistance for camps and other various goodies collected for the Elite Team.

Jumping and Nordic Combined sports can be done for the fun of it but it can also be pursued for the money. You must decide that jumping and skiing is your job and treat it as such. Michael Jordan didn't get to be the best at hoops by sitting on the couch playing video games, eating chips and drinking sody.

Hopefully, someday soon, the Eastern Division will start a series where the Eastern Champion can win money and trips for his or her effort. Being the champion should mean something!

Ed. note: Dan Warner has been employed at the Lake Placid Jumps keeping the hills prepared and ready with the ORDA crew.


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Hopper Happenings

YOUTH SKI LEAGUE
The Youth Ski League (YSL)/Nordic Kids, formerly the Bill Koch League (BKL), unfortunately fell through the cracks this past winter and was a topic of concern at the Eastern Ski Jumping spring meeting. The Salisbury Winter Sports Association will host the 2001 Nordic Kids New England Championships at Satre Hill. This is an opportunity for the younger jumpers/NC to take part in the traditional Salisbury Ski Jumping Weekend (Ed. Note: see Don West's article . )
YSL competitions will be scheduled in Andover, Lebanon, Lake Placid, Newport, Hanover and Gunstock next year.

GRASSHOPPER CAMPS
Grasshopper Ski Jump Camps are geared for the beginner jumper and focus on K18/K25 jumps. The fun-filled days include jumping, hiking, swimming, games and are fully supervised. The camps are also great cross-training for alpine and nordic skiers. The camps are available full overnight ($375 includes lodging at White Sled, Lake Placid and meals) or day camp ($160, 9am - 4pm). NYSEF Camp #1 may include 48K focus if enough experienced jumpers enroll. NYSEF Camp #1 - July 19-13, NYSEF Camp #2 - Aug. 16-20; contact Larry Stone for more information. Lebanon Grasshopper Camp, Aug. 2-5; contact John Farnham for information.

YOUTH SKI LEAGUE SUMMER TOURNEE
The Grasshopper Camps will each conclude with a K18/25 competition open to all eastern jumpers. See summer schedule. To win the best three of four tournee a jumper must compete on at least one meet at both Lake Placid and Lebanon. The Championship meet is at the Dion Cup in Lebanon , NH. Hope to see all you young hoppers this summer! [ Summer Schedule ]


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Womens Ski Jumping
FIS TOURNEE, HOLMENKOLLEN
(and dinner with the King!)

Women's Ski Jumping continued its growth this season and saw major competitions internationally and nationally. After last fall's International Women's Camp and Flaming Leaves Competition, it was obvious that women's ski jumping was undergoing major improvement. The level was raised when the US Women's Team got to Germany and Austria in February. The Austrians were, as usual, the powerhouse but Germany, Norway and Japan were improving. The team included defending World Champion Karla Keck, Lindsey Van, Liz Szotyori, Veronica Myhra, Nupi Schnitzler, coach Larry Stone, team leader Leanne Myhra and team mascot/forejumper Chris Decker.

Karla The first meet in Rastbuchl saw Keck in 5th, Austria captured 1, 2 and 4th and Germany's Heidi Roth placed third. The full US team met in Saalfelden, Austria. The weather turned horrendous, but the white-out snows and strong wind paused miraculously allowing the competition to proceed. Things looked good for the US with Keck rising to the occasion to grab 3rd and Van skiing to 6th place. Szotyori (12) skied well while Myhra finished 27th. Nupi had a problem and fell out of her boots, initiating a visit to the local medical facility but fortunately emerged unscathed.

This auspicious start was not to be continued in Schonwald. Japanese flier Ayumi Watase jumped 73.5, 75 meters to edge out Roth for third but Daniella Iraschko flew 88.5, 90 meters to win. The new Austrian girl, Magdalena Kubli (5) picked up the slack for the Austrians as Sandra Kaiser fell and was out for the rest of the tournee. Keck (7) was the top US jumper with Van (10), Szotyori (12), Myhra (25) and Schnitzler jumped a personal best.

At the last meet in Baiersbron, Germany our hosts charmingly met us with homemade American flags. The weather threatened the tour as snow and a funky track made for difficult conditions. Iraschko dominated and won with twin 87.5 meter jumps over her teammate Ganster with Roth (3). Japan's, Izumi Yamada (4), hit her stride with teammate Watase (5). Norwegian Anette Sagen was right behind Austria's Kubli (7), Helena Olsson (9) and Van (10). Szotyori (22), put off by the conditions finished just ahead of Myhra (23). Schnitzler (20) improved for her best showing of the series. The Tournee overall standings were Iraschko (1), Ganster (2), Roth (3), and Keck (4). The Women's International Tournee promises to be an exciting annual event.

Upon returning from JO's, I received a call from Austrian Coach Berni Furweger who Lindsey informed me of the opportunity to go to the Oslo Holmenkollen for a first ever women's event. In two days I was on my way with Lindsey Van to meet Karla Keck. The Austrian, Swedish and Norwegian women rounded out the field and they all skied very respectably on this big hill. Iraschko won with Ganster (2), Helena Olsson (3), Keck (4), and Van (5). The Norwegian girls, although placing at the back of the group, skied well and were roundly cheered by the large, enthusiastic crowd. There was a prize ceremony that honored the first Holmenkollen women competitors on the winner's platform. It was an historic occasion that we were proud to be part.

Another facet of this historic weekend was the opportunity for the team leaders to have dinner with Norway's King Harold. It was a great experience for Coach Stone, who along with Alan Johnson, had a dinner of reindeer and salmon and saw many old friends from the ski jumping world.

Although there are retirements from a number of girls and financial strains from travel expenses, if the present girls can continue their momentum until the next wave of young girls mature, women's jumping is a promising sport for the future.


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Sport as a Witness to History
Don West (May, 2000)

About a decade ago, while we all played in the snow, dynasties dissolved, turf wars were fought and nations split while other divided nations reunited. I was struck by the changes as I prepared the Lists of Champions recently added to the Ski Jumping Web pages. The first tremor in this political earthquake was the collapse of the Berlin wall in 1989, followed the next year by the reunification of Germany, divided for 55 years. No more DDR and BDR and so we go from "Jens Weissflog DDR" and "Dieter Thoma BDR" to a German team in Lillehammer with teammates Jens Weissflog and Dieter Thoma.

With the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, we go from a powerful Soviet team to finding Nordic Combined World Cup skier "Allar Levandi USSR" in 1991 but by 1993 the listing is"Allar Levandi EST". Many of us in the Eastern U.S. had first hand contact with results of the Soviet breakup as Ukranians Vladimir Glyvka and Lyubim Kogan joined us for several years, living and training in Lake Placid, but finally representing Ukraine in the Nagano Olympic Games. Another occasional visitor to Lake Placid was Kahber Tsekadza from the former Soviet State of Georgia. Our friend, Aleksei Sotskov is a "real Russian" from St. Petersburg but we learn that the famous Soviet cross-country skier Vladimir Smirnov hailed from Kazakstan.

And on it goes, with Primos Ulaga on the Yugoslavia team but namesake Primoz Paterka representing Slovenia; Pavel Ploc representing Czechoslovakia in 1989 but Jaraslav Sakala wearing the colors of the Czech Republic with the 1993 split from the Slovak Republic. And we have all heard about the destruction of the Sarajevo Olympic facilities in the terrible ethnic wars that followed the splitting of Yugoslavia.

As we witness these changes, we can only hope that sport can help to ease the pain, smooth over the divisions and reduce the ethnic hatred which has boiled for the last decade, or in fact the last millenium.


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NEWS and NOTES

Geoff Howe, of Gilford, New Hampshire, The New York Ski Education Foundation (NYSEF) and The National Sports Academy in Lake Placid was recently named to the US National Nordic Combined Development Team. Geoff will be training in Park City, UT. Congratulations Geoff, your hard work has paid off! We wish you all the best!

Reverend Lawrence M. Stone, of Salisbury, CT died April 22 at the age of 87. Our deepest sympathy to his son, Larry and his family. Memorial contributions can be made to the NYSEF Ski Jump Program or the Lake Placid Ski Club Jumping Program.

Rollins Bob Rollins, long-time ski jump judge received this years McCrillis Award in his home town of Newport NH. The award is given annually by the McCrillis family to someone whose efforts have improved the sport of skiing in the Newport - Mt Sunapee area. The only other Nordic Ski person to be honored with the award was it's first recipient, Roland Trembley.

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"Aude Volare" -- Dare to Fly!

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