Andover. And over, and over...

Ah, the feeling. Tossing the bags in the van and shippin' off for the Eastern Jumping Circuit. Boards waxed and ready to rip, homework conveniently forgotten back at home, life on the road.

Team NYSEF Grasshopper put forth numerous exceptional performances and personal bests this weekend at the Blackwater Jumps in Andover. Gabby Armstrong, Landon Livreri, Kaleb Cook, Karl Schulz and Rory Riggins all tested their mettel on the towering K-38 meter Flugschanze. Trent White put forth some outstanding jumps on the K-30, and Forest Ledger dazzled the judges with his Grade-A telemarks on the K-18.

We put this little video together. Sums up Team Grasshop's launch into 2011:

Jump results were a little wacked, and should be up on SkiJumpEast shortly after some revision by Team AOC, but Nordic Combined results were outsourced to McCahill Consulting, Inc. Great job by all athletes in the XC races!

Signing off until Wednesday,

Evan & Dave

What is happening Jan 8th-9th?

Its that time of year again when the NYSEF G-hopp crew loads up the van for the first time this year to head over to Andover New Hapshire to test their skills on the jumps and around the trails.

INFO

-We will be leaving sometime in the late morning on Sat the 8th to practice in the afternoon on the k10,k20,k30, and k38 in Andover.

-Spending the night at the Daniels house Sat night so bring your stuffed animal,blanky,and tooth brush.

-Getting up Sun to train for an hour and than right into the comp starting at 10am. Jump all the hills take a break for lunch and to get those skinny skis ready to ripe around the course at 1pm.

- Collect all the medals and ribbons we have won, load up the van and have a quite ride home and hope to be back before 7pm.

If you have not e-mailed one of your coaches back about being interested in going get on it!! If van seats run out your out of luck.

See ya this week at practice Dave and Evan

NYSEF Ski Jumping/Nordic Combined Grips and Rips at Andover Jump Fest!

Some chilly temps and gusty winds didn't seem to phase the NYSEF SJ and NC crew this past weekend. January 10th marked the annual Andover, NH Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Festival at the world-renowned Blackwater Hill facility. Comps were held on the K5, 18, 34 and 38. And, yep, you guessed it, NYSEF athletes threw down.

The K5 meet was ruled by up and coming NYSEF stars Payton and Grant Thurston. Stick with it, boys- identical twins seem to have a pretty good track record in the sport of Nordic Combined!

Young flyers Alex Hohman, Avery Thurston and newcomer Landon Livreri threw deep in the 18 meter class, with Alex winning the J-4 class and Avery and Landon taking 5th and 2nd, respectively. Nicely done, boys.

The 38 meter class saw some deep rides, with seasoned vets Nate Capone, Miles "Milos" Lussi, Annie Frenette, Matt Doyle, Sam Shapiro and Luke Daniels all showing the swarming spectator crowd how it's done.

The crew then ditched their long boards for the skinnies, hammering the juicy Blackwater XC trail network. Special shout-out to Alex Hohman, Nate Capone, Sam Shapiro and Annie Frenette for taking top honors in their categories! Yee-haw! Check out this killer pic of Miles pipping AOC's Matt Doyle at the line. Epic.

All in all a fantastic weekend with some long jumps and sharp skiing. Check back soon for results from next weekend's jaunt to the Vermont Academy Hills in Saxton's River!