"Aude Volare" -- Dare to Fly! New Heights, Online the electronic newsletter of Eastern U.S. Ski Jumping Spring 2006 Issue

STONEY'S CORNER
by Larry Stone, NYSEF/Eastern Jumping Coach

There are a few other faces who will still be around but not as much or in the same sense as before. The Mouse has left the helm at the Lake Placid jumps to go back to Rumford. He will certainly be missed and we only can hope that the ORDA administration will try to keep the focus on keeping the kids jumping like Mouse did. In his inimitably Mouser way of grumping and harrumphing through the inevitable problems at the jumps, Dan Warner was the jumpers best friend at Intervale. He will return for summer & fall events and then be back in the winter to work on the hills which was his real passion out there anyway. I share Mouse's frustration with the fact that we very much need to up grade our smaller hills at Lake Placid and I too have grown weary of the struggle to convince ORDA to actually do something about it. Realistically I understand the enormous overhead and continuing expense of keeping our jumps going but that doesn't mean there is not a way to accomplish our goals of having a K-65 and a K-35 and an 18 as part of an intelligent development program. “Maybe someday” we all say.

For me, like Mouse, I have run out of "maybe somedays". This has been my last season as Head Jump Coach at Lake Placid and I will be stepping down during the coming summer. Years of catching jumpers have left me with a back which needs surgery that will take me out of circulation for several months so it is a perfect time for me to hand things over to Matt Cook and whomever else NYSEF hires to take over. It has been a wonderful experience and I have been very fortunate to have worked doing something which I love. I want to thank the incredible group of parents who have been so supportive not only in Lake Placid but all over the East. They have been great. No coach can make things work like they have in the East without a group of hard working volunteers. The main thing I will miss, how ever, is the group of jumpers I have worked with over the years. I have seen so many come and go but they are the reason we all keep working so hard to give them their chance to grow up in our sport and take it to whatever level they really want to. Their enthusiasm and bright eyes looking to their future have made me really work to give them the tools to bring their dreams to reality. Sometimes I notice that they (and all of us) don't take time to enjoy each day and get bogged down in short term problems. If there's one thing I want to leave them with it's this: don't take this time in your life for granted. It only comes around once. Enjoy the fact that you can go out and jump on sunny as well as cloudy days and be with your friends who are all trying to do the same thing -- to catch that perfect jump. It's out there. You can do it. But enjoy the process to get there and enjoy taking care of the little details which make up the big picture of that perfect jump. Thanks for everything. You've all been wonderful! Even you, David!

I would also like to thank NYSEF and Eastern Ski Jumping/Nordic Combined for all the support through the years that I have worked here. Horst Weber, Doug Williams, Jane Sibalski and now Lisa Gouwens have all been great to work with. I would also like to personally thank Marianne Fairall for the work she has done to make our lives as coaches more productive and efficient. And lastly I want to thank Matt Cook for coming on board for NYSEF and bringing his expertise and enthusiasm to our program. Keep up the good work and let's get those kids skiing. See you on the hill.

Larry Stone

Coaches Larry Stone and Matt Cook have announced the ski jumpers
and Nordic Combined skiers named to this summer's Eastern Elite Team.

Eastern Elite Team for Summer 2006

Nordic Combined Skiers Peter Freire (Andover, NH) Alex Madden ( Saranac Lake, NY)     Colin Delaney (Lake Placid, NY) Cooper Dodds ( Hanover, NH)

Ski Jumpers Nick Fairall (Andover, NH) Chris Lamb (Andover, NH) Nick Alexander (Lebanon, NH) Andrew Bliss ( Lake Placid, NY)

New qualifications for 2006-2007 Elite Team include: Senior class results from 4th of July and Flaming Leaves competitions -must be within 75 of top 4 averaged points Attendance at both Eastern Elite Camps and 5 East Camps Results from any eastern camp comps and time trials Junior level competitions (15 and under) will not be criteria for Elite Team qualifications Consistent training in an Eastern program Coaches discretion

 

Two well known jumping judges died this season  

Bruce Falk   (Dec. 7, 2005)     BRUCE ROBERT FALK, 77, of West End, LONG BRANCH, and Jackson Hole, Wyo., passed away Wednesday, Dec. 7, at his daughter's home in Sherman Oaks, Calif., after a valiant struggle with pancreatic cancer. Mr. Falk graduated from the Manlius Military Academy, Manlius, N.Y.; attended Syracuse University; and was a co-owner of Travel Concepts, Oakhurst. He was a commercial pilot with Garden State Airlines and a flight instructor with Amityville Flying Service, Amityville, N.Y. He was a member of the U.S. Ski team and was an FIS International ski jump judge for world-class and Olympics events, being the assistant chief measurer at the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y. Mr. Falk was executive vice president of the New York Institute of Photography, New York City, and former president of the Spring Creek Ranch Homeowners Association, Jackson Hole, Wyo. He was an avid horseman and lover of the outdoors, a lifeguard and a passionate swimmer. He loved traveling with his wife. He will be terribly missed by his family, many friends, business associates, but especially by Poco J. Pepper. Born in New York, he lived in Long Beach, N.Y., prior to moving to West End and Jackson Hole, Wyo. Surviving are his wife and best friend of 32 years, Donna L. Falk; three daughters and sons-in-law, Joanne and Rick Mishlen of Sherman Oaks, Calif., Suzanne Falk-Gitli of Farmingdale, N.Y., and Randy Gitli of East Rockaway, N.Y., and Lisanne and Mark Morris of Venice, Calif.; a brother, Michael Falk and his family, Shannon, Johnathan, Max and Zoe; and six grandchildren, Cameron, Spencer, Genevieve, Megan, Matthew and Natasha. The funeral was held Long Branch, NJ. Donations in Bruce's memory are requested by the family to Eastern Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Foundation, Olympic Jumping Complex, 52 Ski Jump Lane, Lake Placid, NY 12946. Letters of condolence may be sent via www.damianofuneralhome.com.

 

Bob Rollins, Dec. 28, 1930 - Feb. 25, 2006     Long time jumping judge Bob Rollins and friend of ski jumping died on Saturday, Feb. 25. The funeral was held on Thursday, March 2. Direct mail to Bob's wife Carol at 14 Kyle Dr, Newport, NH 03773 or call (603)863-2016. Pete Langlois of Newport, father of Olympian Tad, wrote: "Bobby was very close friend who spent many a cold, night with me making snow on the jumps behind the Newport High School. His love for the sport of ski jumping was unmatched. He was a great judge who followed me around the United States refusing to take a nickel for his time and talent, but was eager to do whatever one asked of him. He was a constant supporter of our sons, Tad and David, and their individual efforts in ski jumping. "I can tell you that he loved his family and his friends. If you were a friend of Bob's, he let you know that he loved you. Some things a lot of people didn't know about Bob. He couldn't play golf for ****. But he could paint. I don't think he thought of himself as an artist, but he loved to paint. His artistry came in restoring fly rods, and tying flies. At this, Bob was a true artist. "Well folks, another pillar in the sport of ski jumping has jumped into eternity and hopefully is smiling down on us with that mysterious grin, probably holding a cc on the rocks. Happy flying pal, and thanks for the memories."

 

Matt's Memories of Torino

The 2006 Olympic Ski Jumps Matt Cook went to the Torino Olympics and came back with photos, memories and a limp. We hope to post a brief report about his adventures.

 

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