Fall Golf Tournament
The event was organized by Eastern Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Officials to raise funds for the general fund of Eastern Ski Jumping & Nordic Combined. The Officials Association thanks the Carter Golf Course, the volunteers, participants and sponsors for supporting the Ski Jumping Scholarship Golf Event.
Galen Sayward delivers
As we go into the coming season with another Olympics coming in February, we should all take a few moments to develop our long range plan for the ensuing season, or even our life in the sport. Let's all aim at finding ways to improve the end product by improving our own contribution to the sport. Galen Sayward, Chairman of the Eastern Jump and Nordic Officials Association
I wanted to thank all of you who have sent cards, notes and contributions to us during Meg’s bout with cancer. This has all happened so fast I’m sure it will take a while to get our personal thank you’s out but both Meg and I want to let you know we are very appreciative. It has been an amazing outpouring of support. Hopefully the treatment Meg is getting at Yale New Haven Hospital will arrest this disease and Meg will be back to the farm and able to resume her activity as the head farmer and artist at Little Black Brook farm. I wanted to especially express our thanks to several people who really stepped up when it became apparent that I had to step back from the jumps and take care of business on the home front: Marianne Fairall has given so much of her support to us while she herself is battling this disease and has given Meg and me invaluable advice. Mouse and Matt Cook have handled the lion’s share of work on the hill while maintaining their busy schedules. Eastern jumpers have also been very supportive and understanding, especially Brian Welch, Evan Bliss, Alex Madden, Fuzzy Bliss, Colin Delaney, and Peter Freire who have pitched in to help out down at the farm. Gardener Heidi Roland has helped keeping Meg’s garden going and former Central Coach Mark Johnson has been unbelievable in his willingness to watch the farm and keep our various building projects going. As usual, Janet Bliss was there to make sure my head stayed on straight throughout the ordeal backed up by Martina Lussi. Thanks also to Casey Colby for his role in getting people together over this and Carol Hoffman and the Lake Placid Ski Club for their generous support. The entire NYSEF family and Eastern ski jumping have also been very supportive and we appreciate it so much. Then, of course, Dr. Woods McCahill had the insight to send Meg to the appropriate people to check out the original tumor. Without that , I hesitate to think what might have happened. An experience like this, while harrowing and intense, also brings with it a new sense of perspective and an appreciation for the goodness that so many people find in their hearts. I can’t possibly thank you all individually in this note but we appreciate each and every one of you. Larry and Meg Stone
Summer Training Camps-III
Eastern Athletes attend training camp Late August, we had an invite only trip to Park City to ski jump at the Utah Olympic Park’s K120 and K90. To be invited you needed to be ski jumping consistently with a club. Another requirement was the ability to ski a K90 and a K120 with confidence, awareness, and feeling to make technical changes. This was a Big Hill camp! When we arrived at the Salt Lake City airport, we were picked up by former East coach Casey Colby. We arrived at the Decker’s condo with coach Cook at about 1 o’clock in the morning Eastern time. On the first day we jumped sessions on both the K90 and K120. It was the first time Cooper Dodds and Peter Frenette had jumped a K120 and they were stoked. On the second morning there was raging headwind on the K120 and Cooper, Alex Madden, and I all set new PR’s (Personal Records). Alex went 135 meters, Cooper went 125 (his third session on a big hill EVER), and I went 120 meters. It was great. The nordic combiners Pete Frenette, Pete Freire, Cooper Dodds, Alex Madden and I had some intense workouts as well as jumping. They were difficult but extra hard because of the altitude. We went for a run from the jumps to the condo on the second day and a hard roller ski on the third day. The jumpers Nick Fairall, Nick Alexander, Andrew Bliss and Chris Lamb had to do plyometrics as well. All our workouts were tough. On our last day we had a competition on the K120 in the morning. Nick Alexander won going 127 meters (his PR) and 118 meters. In the afternoon we jumped the K90 with some intense head wind. Nick Alexander went huge again. 110 meters on the K90! He crumpled at the bottom but it was a long ride. It was a great day for the last day of jumping for the trip. By Colin Delaney, Eastern Nordic Combined Elite Team Athlete
Park City Woman’s Camp
In July, the 1st annual Intermountain Ski Jumping clinic was held. Girls from all over the US came to jump on Park City’s K10, K20, K40, and K64. Faye Stratford, Danielle Lussi, and I were the girls that went from the East. We each stayed with a different family. That was great, since we got to hang out with jumpers our own age and got to know them and their families.It was really cool to be coached by Lindsey Van, Jessica Jerome, Brenna Ellis, Abby Hughes, Britney Rhoads and Allissa Johnson. They are the best woman jumpers in the USA at the moment and had some great tips for us and we all learned a lot from them. I was jumping pretty well on the K64, so I got to jump the K90. That was my first time ever jumping a K90 in the summer. It was really fun! On the last day the jumpers got to watch our coaches jump the K90, and some also jumped the K120. All in all I think everyone had a great time and we are looking forward to the Girls Camp next summer.
A GREAT JUMPING SEASON (1949)
To all this, there was one exception. This was in the field of jumping. Because of what seemed a cast of drabness on the rest of the events, the jumping stood out in particular highlight, but its brilliance was not given undue emphasis by comparison. Rather, it was scintillating in its own earned right, with the finest, and probably the most active jumping program ever offered in this region. By the time snow had started to fall on the Cascades—and that was in mid-November—considerable Norwegian talent had crossed the Atlantic and was attending our Northwestern universities. George Thrane was settled at Washington State College in Pullman, and Sverre Kongsgaard was attending the University of Idaho at Moscow. Gustav Raaum, reinforced by Ole Lie, again was carrying the colors of the University of Washington in Seattle. We were all curious to see George Thrane in action. His unique style had become famous the world over. Controversies had started when he was taken off the Norwegian Olympic team the night before the St. Moritz competition in 1948. With the Olympic champion, Petter Hugsted, coming over under sponsorship of the Norge Club, we were dreaming of a return match between these two on Olympic hill in Milwaukee Ski Bowl. Early snow on a newly constructed training hill of the Seattle Club furnished the jumpers with good pre-season training, and when the first tournament of the year was under way on Razorhone hill at Mount Baker, the boys were well groomed. The hill was in good shape and Jack and John Eilertsen of Fjeld Ski Club deserve big thanks for the work they did in organizing the meet and putting the hill in shape every year. Anybody acquainted with the Razorhone knows what I mean. A field of 40 jumpers met and competition was especially keen in Class A. Three competitors were tied for first place after the first round, but Raaum pulled ahead with a beautiful jump of 174 feet in the second. This was the longest jump of the day. Fritz Pedersen was second and the writer, third, both of Seattle Ski Club. In Class B, the Vincent brothers of Leavenworth, took both first and second. Keith Vincent tied into the jump of his life in the first try, but he missed his second and Joe Vincent passed him on two steady jumps. We looked forward to January 29, when Seattle staged its first meet at Milwaukee Bowl. The entry list was overwhelming, with Petter Hugsted, Thrane, Kongsgaard, and Arthur Tokle. The hill was well prepared by Ole Tverdal, Seattle Ski Club's hill captain, and the weatherman gave us a break. What a meet! After a few good jumps by local talent around 250 feet, Tokle started the fireworks with a powerhouse 285-footer. Hugsted was right behind him with a beautifully executed jump, 287 feet. The takeoff was shaking when Sverre Kongsgaard took off. He got tremendous height over the knoll, then dove over and followed through to the finish, 290 feet, a new American distance record. The crowd went wild. Thrane's turn was next. A dive from the takeoff, arms brought slowly from behind forward and then away to the landing. It looks so easy when Thrane does it, 281 feet. The wind increased some for the second round and jumping was more difficult. The distance-slugging quartet was joined by Wilmer Hampton of Leavenworth, who led off with an amazingly good jump of 279 feet. Wilmer could join any company if he would improve his landing. He is outstanding among Northwest-born jumpers. There was no doubt that Tokle was gunning for the 300-foot mark and I believe he would have made it if the wind had not caught him high over the knoll. He was thrown out of position and had to fight for it all the way to 282 feet. Hugsted looked like he had it in the bag as he was winging his way towards the 300 foot mark, but the wind caught him also. He had to pull back and it took a Hugsted to set in a perfect landing. He lost considerable distance on the mishap, 279 feet. Kongsgaard powerhoused the takeoff again and obtained the longest jump of the round, 285 feet. George Thrane easily floated 271 feet and for his effort he received three times 20 from the judges. Thrane's takeoff probably is the most discussed item in ski jumping today. It might not be the most effective way of getting distance and for inexperienced jumpers it might be dangerous to try, but done by Thrane it looks beautiful. Thrane emerged the winner by 0.5 points over Hugsted and he was very, very happy, but we believe we saw why he had been set off the Norwegian team in 1948. His distance is not quite up to that of the other top jumpers. But look out in the world championships at Lake Placid in 1950 as Thrane is on the Norwegian team and he is working on the distance problem. Kongsgaard was third, Tokle fourth, and Wilmer Hampton, fifth. The Class B was won by Tormod Forland of Washington State College and his brother, Lars, of the same team, was second. Senior class was won by Gregg Paterson of Cascade Ski Club. The Leavenworth meet was next. It is the classic of northwest jumping meets. This little town in the Cascades gives the jumpers what they are looking for during a tournament, with extreme hospitality from the whole population, always a perfect hill, and almost always good weather. The long-time President of the club, Earl Little, spares no expense to give his faithful jumping enthusiasts the best of talent, and Hermod Bakke works at all hours to present the hill in A-l condition. The meet was a tremendous success. Tokle had a comfortable lead with a 258-footer the first round; Arthur Devlin, 242; and Thrane, 240 feet, with Raaum and Kongsgaard close behind. A 258-foot jump is a long one at Leavenworth and should not indicate more speed on the second round. But several competitors expressed desire for more speed and even if no actual decision was taken, the first man took off with more speed. The incident did not affect anybody but Tokle, who had reached very good distances on the hill, and he was worried about the increased speed which he thought would give him too much distance to handle safely. He took less speed than the rest and eased up with a 259-footer. George Thrane looked like a dream at 260, the longest jump of the day. Thrane won, Tokle was second, Devlin third, and Raaum, fourth. All jumping hills in the northwest are built on mountains with unlimited speed and the deciding of the starting place is very important to protect hard jumpers from overjumping the hill. As a rule, the jumpers themselves are on the cautious side but this time it was misjudged. I believe that in the future, the judges should take a more active part in setting the speed, especially for the second round when they have seen what can be done in the first round. A large class fought it out on the B-hill and Harold Hansen of Seattle club emerged the winner, Forland was second and Tyke Durrand, third. The veteran Nick Nylund of Seattle bested the field in the senior class. High honor for good work done for ski jumping during the year goes to Helge Sather of Spokane. He has worked hard to build a Class A hill at Mount Spokane and his dream is now realized. With a few minor changes, the Spokane Club will have an excellent hill with possible jumps up to 240 feet. February 13th was initiation day with the same talent as at Leavenworth on hand. Unfortunately, a blizzard spoiled things, but a crowd of 3,000 had gathered in spite of the weather. The A hill was tried out. The decision was that no safe jumping was possible under the conditions. Kongsgaard got hold of one and sailed 240 feet through the blizzard, but fell hard. The competition was held on the B hill with Kongsgaard the winner with longest jump, 156 feet. Raaum was a close second and Tokle, third. Keith Vincent of Leavenworth won B class, Tormod Forland, second, and Joe Vincent, third. Even though the opening meet was spoiled by weather, I predict a good future for ski jumping in Spokane. Payette Lakes Club of McCall, Idaho, also moved into the picture. as organizer of a major meet this year. They successfully staged the PNSA jumping championship, which was won by Raaum, with Allen Hamari of Iron Mountain, right behind. Harold Hansen won the Class B championship with two steady jumps. Cascade Club of Mount Hood had trouble keeping snow out of the landing hill for their meet, and competitors and officials shoveled to the starting time. Snow cement, however, did the trick and the hill was in good shape. George Thrane never jumped better and his two efforts of 172-184 feet were close to perfection. Raaum gave him a good battle and finished second, with the writer, third. Keith Vincent took home the bacon in Class B with Harold Hansen and Charles Wenger second and third. Helge Sather won the senior. The major jumping season came to a close with Seattle Ski Club's second meet of the year at Milwaukee Bowl, in conjunction with the National Classic Combined Championships. Although superb talent was present, conditions did not permit top performances. Hugsted and Thrane met again and Joe Perrault, Arthur Devlin and Kongsgaard were there to give them a run for their money. Perrault had just won the National distance record (297 feet) and considerable interest centered around him. Joe is very popular in Seattle due to excellent performances out here the last three years. He lived up to expectations and posted the longest jump in both rounds, 246 and 258 feet, but he was outpointed by three men. Hugsted won, 240-256, Thrane was second, Devlin, third. There was only 1.4 points difference between these three men. Norman Oakvik of Bush Lake Club won Class B with Lars Forland, second. Ole Johansen of Vancouver, B. C., was high man in the senior class. The National classic combined went off smoothly. The cross country was set by Bert Mortensen and he received praise from the runners. Silas Dunklee of the University of New Hampshire, posted the best cross country time. The jumping took place on the B-hill at Milwaukee Bowl and Fritz Pederson of Seattle Ski Club emerged as the best jumper. Ralph Townsend of the University of New Hampshire, won the combined for his efforts in cross country and jumping; Noel Paul of Kimberly, B. C., was second, and Buster Campbell of Leavenworth, third. The Class B combined was won by Lars Forland of Washington State College. The jumping last season thus took the spotlight from other skiing activities. Two clubs, Spokane and Payette Lakes, again sponsored major meets and next year the energetic Blue Mountain Club will join in, and jumpers in the Northwest will have a full schedule. New recruits are coming and we are looking forward to the day when more Northwest-born jumpers can join Wilmer Hampton in giving the invaders a battle. No serious accidents occurred in any Northwest meet this year which proves that our area has trained organizers who consider the jumpers safety first and record distances, second.
"Aude Volare" -- Dare to Fly!
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Athletes strike a pose at the base of the K48 during a 2005 Grasshopper Camp
With the recent death of Art Tokle Sr, the sport has lost the last of a potent triumvirate of Eastern ski jumpers from the 1940's and '50's (right): Art Tokle of NY & NJ, Art Devlin of Lake Placid, and Merrill "Mezzy" Barber of Brattleboro. These three were the real deal, as you will see as the two Arthurs appear in the article.
Here are a few comments on some of the names, in the order that we meet them:
