"Aude Volare" -- Dare to Fly! New Heights, Online the electronic newsletter of Eastern U.S. Ski Jumping Spring 2003 Issue

STONEY'S CORNER
by Larry Stone, Eastern divisional Coach

Looking at the winter from the Eastern perspective I see several good signs. Once again we were able to put an athlete on the World Junior Team. Congratulations to Evan Bliss for not only making the team but posting the highest USA result on a very difficult hill at Soleftea, Sweden.

Peter Freire at Park City

I was very pleased with results at JO’s. [See Results.] What a great group of youngsters! There is a bit of a hole in the Nordic Combined group but these things go in cycles and there is a talented squad (Frenette, Dodds, Delaney, Madden) in the younger JO’s. Peter Freire is doing a great job but he just missed the last wave (age wise) and is a bit older than the next group so he will have to hang in there until things even out. Nick Fairall jumped consistently well at JO’s and throughout the season to show he is definitely one of the most talented skiers in this group of jumpers. I am definitely optimistic about the direction that Eastern Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined is headed. Behind Fairall is a group of equally talented skiers like Chris Lamb and Andrew “Fuzzy” Bliss and our current group of older Juniors are also poised for a good season. Matt Delaney’s 5th place at North Americans was another good result and there was improvement from David McCahill and Ryan Nicholson this year as well.

A noteworthy item from this past season was the triumph of Taylor Hoffman in retiring the SWSA trophy. [See Article.] Congratulations to Taylor on this accomplishment. The last Salisbury trophy was retired by Jay Rand in 1975. Congratulations to Salisbury Winter Sports Association for providing an incentive for jumpers like Taylor to keep on jumping and help maintain a good level of Eastern Ski Jumping in which jumpers who have left the Junior ranks can keep going. It is extremely important that clubs like SWSA, GNA and BOC maintain their involvement in our Eastern big hill circuit. Thanks to them and their crews of hard working volunteers.

Another item of note pertains to the Eastern and NYSEF coaching structure. We are very pleased to welcome Matt Cook on board as a NYSEF coach. [See Article.] Matt has retired from the USA Nordic Combined Team after a remarkable comeback. Matt, a NYSEF Nordic Combined skier from Saranac Lake, was inspired to get back to Nordic Combined skiing by Billy Demong’s success. He will give us much help with our Eastern Nordic Combined skiers. Welcome home, Matt!

Lake Placid/ORDA seems to be going ahead with the new hill project despite the difficult financial climate. [See Article.] This is a necessary step to compete on an equal playing field with Canada, IMD and RMD. We consistently produce good athletes from the East. We will be able to do even more with an optimal progression of hills. Another good sign is the increased interest in Grasshopper Camps. This is an offshoot of renewed programming in Salisbury and Brattleboro. Things should be jumping this summer in the East.

See you on the hill!

Nordic Combined Matt Delaney Willy Graves David McCahill

Special Jumpers Evan Bliss Nick Fairall Jonathan Kling

Congratulations Elite Team! Have a great summer!

Matt's Back

Matt, from Saranac Lake, NY, started training with the NYSEF Nordic Combined junior team in fourth grade under the wing of coach Larry Stone. Coach Stone gave Matt the direction to win two Junior Olympic titles, and New York State Championship cross-country skiing and running titles. A graduate of Ottawa, Ontario’s Carleton University undergraduate program in Biology, Matt cross-country skied his way to a Canadian National Championship and earned the 2000 University’s Athlete of the Year Award.

Matt looks forward to coaching some long jumps and strong cross-country ski training by the Easterners this summer!

• USSA Membership is required to jump and/or compete in Lake Placid on any size hill. For insurance reasons, you must be a current up-to-date member of USSA. Don’t let it lapse! When you get that renewal form, send it in promptly!

• Welcome to the World - Jack Bauer Hastings, 7 lb. 9 oz., born March 4, 2003 to the proud former NYSEF/Eastern/USSA Coach/1988 Olympian Chris Hastings and his wife Michelle. Jack’s birth thoroughly crushed all former theories about ski jumpers traditionally having only girl babies. The Hasting’s reside in Thetford, VT. Chris has a chiropractic practice in Norwich.

• EASTERN STORE: Logo t-shirts ($13), Property of Eastern Ski Jumping & Nordic Combined t-shirts ($13), Under Armour t-shirts ($28), Eastern polar fleece vests ($48), logo lapel pins ($5), and bells ($5) are available. Contact: mfairall@tds.net for sizes/quantity discounts. All sales directly support our athletes. [ E-mail Now ]

• Competition results, calendars, Masters info, committee minutes, equipment for sale, links to other jump sites; all are posted here at the Eastern web site: Don West, webmaster.
  We do our best to keep you up to date.

• Need boots, skis, bindings, a ski suit? A variety of used equipment is available at reasonable prices. Contact: Larry Stone, 518-523-1900 or e-mail at lhstone@juno.com or nysefnordic@primelink1.net [ E-mail Now ]

• Tax deductible contributions: Eastern Ski Jumping & Nordic Combined Foundation, 8 John Brown Road, Lake Placid, NY 12946. No contribution is too small or too big! THANK YOU!