Salisbury is Jumping

While cruising around during the 2011 Junior National Championships for Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined this past week in Salisbury, CT, Evan and I stumbled across a neat bumper sticker which read simply, "Salisbury IS Jumping." At first we both laughed. Sure, John Satre lost a bet in 1927 and kicked the first jumps off in that community by skiing off a barn roof, with a phenomenal yearly competition taking place most every year since.

But still, we found it tacky. Case in point? World Championships taking place this same week in Oslo, Norway. Shiny new Holmenkolen hill, countless Olympic Games held, and a tradition for jumping that scientists agree dates back to the early Cenozoic era. So Salisbury is a quaint hamlet in the Northwest Corner with a fine legacy of jumping, but Oslo IS jumping.

Right, fast forward five days. Fast forward past the finest Junior National or North American Championship event Evan or I have seen in our oodles of participations as spectators, athletes, coaches. Read: opening ceremony and parade with 2000 zealous spectators. Packed dinners at the Millerton Legion. A killer brand new hill, bolted together a mere 2 days before the Eastern Championships two weeks previous. An opening banquet in the Lakeville Hose Company Fire House. The raddest 1km XC loop we've ever shredded, held at the base of a small town ski area.

The town of Salisbury rallied. Fundraised. Organized. And turned some heads. Athletes loved it. Coaches praised it. Photographers loved the shiny suits and new tower. Proud old jumpers took pride in being part of it. And the amazing exhibit downtown proved it-- Salisbury is synonymous with jumping. No, it's not the Holmenkollen, and I'm sorry to say it, but they'll never host an Olympic Games. But know what? That bumper sticker doesn't lie. Salisbury IS jumping. Thanks for letting us be a part of it!

Congratulations to Team East for letting the rest of the national jumping community know where we stand. We had some awesome jumps and some killer races. We lost more than our fair share of sprint finishes, but hey, we were still sprinting for the win. Our J2 athletes stepped up the bar in a big way from where they stood last year. And our new New Hampshire High School talent proved that they could roll with the big boys. NYSEF Grasshopper Kaleb Cook even got some cowbells ringin' at the Ripton Touring Center at the Mid-Atlantic Bill Koch Festival, setting the hill record on the K10 demo hill. Huge!

If it's results from Salisbury you're looking for, find 'em all here. Over 2200 great photos? You've got Sue Kavanah to thank for some great shots here on the St. Paul Ski Club website here.

Mid-A Bill Koch Fest Results? Here.

What a week. Thanks for reading. We're thrilled to report that Ski Jumping & Nordic Combined are flourishing here on the Eastern Seaboard.

Dave & Evan

Salisbury Results

As usual, Don West has provided us with up-to-da-minute results. Where, you ask? SkiJumpEast, that's where.

Evan put together this video of the Junior Nordic Combined race, held Saturday evening at Trotta Field, downtown. Nice work, Evan. Rolling in the deep.

Nice Read in NYT on Salisbury

Excellent article in the New York Times about Salisbury, CT's effort to rebuild their jump and restore a rich tradition of high level ski jumping to the community.

"Seventy competitors, ages 12 to 17 from throughout the country, are expected in Salisbury for the Junior Olympics. So are about 2,000 spectators. As a warm-up, Salisbury will host the United States Eastern Junior Championships from Friday to Sunday. The event festivities will include a nighttime chili cook-off and the annual snow ball, a dance with a rock ’n’ roll band.

“It’s kind of astonishing that this all worked out,” Ken Barker said as he stood on the crest of the hill next to the jump on a chilly January day. “Still don’t know what I was thinking when I said we’d do it. Now we’ve got more people than we can count who want to come here and jump off it. Some things never change, I guess.”

Psyched for the weekend?

Us too.

What a Learn to Fly Wednesday!

Whaddya get when you combine some beautifully manicured ski jumps at the Intervale Jumping Complex with some crisp, warm weather and some jumpers hungry for big air? An epic Learn to Fly Wednesday. With our best turnout this season, we had jumpers throwin' down on all four hills at the complex: K18, 48, 90 and 120. And with several members of the USA Ski Jumping Team on hand to lend some tips and tricks, our new L2F crew managed some awesome jumps on the K18.

And of course, huge kudos go out to Gabby Armstrong, Landon Livreri, Beckett Ledger, Trent White, Karl Schulz and Kaleb Cook for sliding their first jumps off the K48 meter Flugschanze. Did we mention that today marks the one year anniversary of them trying ski jumping last season during Learn to Fly Wednesday? Not sure. But they're diggin' it!

Enjoy the vid. We'll see you Friday, Tele-Tournee from 3-5pm!

--Coach Dave

2011 Lake Placid Norwegian Open Tournament, February 5th

Dear Ski Jumping Enthusiasts:

Join us for the 2011 Norwegian Open Tournament, Saturday February 5th, in Lake Placid. Hosted by NYSEF and held at the McKenzie-Intervale Ski Jumping Complex, Saturday's event will feature competitions on the K18 and K48 meter hills, in addition to an exciting Nordic Combined race held on the Jump Complex Loops immediately following the jumping competition.

Please pre-regsiter for the event by completing the form below, and emailing it to Registration Headquarters, attn: Janet Bliss, at 4bliss@roadrunner.com

Don't forget, both hills are open for training Friday, February 4th, from 3-5pm.

We'll see you there!

--The NYSEF SJ/NC Crew

Final L2F Wednesday!

That's right folks. All awesome things must come to an end. But not really. Despite the fact that tomorrow will mark our final awesome L2F Wednesday (3-5:30, US Ski Jumping National Team as guest coaches, hot cocoa and snacks, general awesomeness), Grasshopper Practice will continue through the rest of the winter season.

Feel like joining us for some jumping? No problem. Individual sessions with NYSEF are $25/day, and it's just $300 to take part in the 3-day/week Grasshopper Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined program. Choose from 3 jumping and 3 cross country sessions/week. Hang out with awesome coaches! Take great road trips! Enjoy flying through the air at super speed!

To get you good and psyched, here are some photos from our trip to Hanover and Lebanon NH last weekend. Team Grasshop barnstormed the podium, taking several of the top honors. Kudos to the NYSEF G-Hop squad!

That's it for now. See you tomorrow! Bring your friends!

--The NYSEF SJ/NC crew

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

Grasshoppers Are Awesome.

Well, the first week on snow is in the bag! Great work by all Grasshoppers on the jumping hill and XC tracks. It's going to be an outstanding winter by the look of things thus far.

Sadly, Mother Nature got the best of us for the Bill Koch rendition of the NYSEF Season Opener XC Race, but don't worry--there will be plenty of racing opportunities coming up.

Schedule will be as per the usual this week:

Mon Off

Tues XC 3:30-4:45 @Ski Jumps-- Upper Lot (Dryland!)

Wed JUMP 3-5 @ Jumps

Thurs XC 3:30-4:45 @MVH

Fri JUMP 3-5 @ Jumps

Sat XC 9:30-11:30 @MVH

JUMP 1-3 @ Jumps

Sun Off

Any questions? Give us a shout. See you tomorrow and think snowy, cold, thoughts!

Dave & Evan

Grasshopper Jumping Schedule: Dec 6-12

NYSEF hosted the New Hampshire High School Camp on the K18 this weekend. A great group of 20 highly motivated High School jumpers trained under the watchful eye of Coaches McCahill and Bliss on the perfectly buffed K18 meter hill. The recently rebuilt K18 skied great on opening weekend, and now that all the kinks are out, we're officially ready to begin on-snow Grasshopper jumping practice! Here's the weekly schedule:

Monday 12/6: Off

Tuesday 12/7:XC (See NYSEF XC Calendar for details)

Wednesday 12/8: Grasshopper Jumping Practice, 3-5pm

Thursday 12/9: XC (See NYSEF XC Calendar for details)

Friday 12/10: Grasshopper Jumping Practice, 3-5pm

Saturday 12/11: XC (See NYSEF XC Calendar for details)

Grasshopper Jumping Practice, 1-3pm

Sunday 12/12: Off

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Athletes in the Grasshopper Program may attend any 3 of the 6 weekly jumping/xc sessions.

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Don't forget to bring Travel Contracts, ESJ/NC Medical Releases & copies of health insurance cards if you haven't already!

Psyched? Good. So are we. See you out on the hill.

Coaches Bliss & McCahill

Flaming Leaves K18 Nordic Combined Competition!

Hey Junior Jumpers:

Itchin' to get one last competition in during the summer 2010 season? Dying to get the lungs burnin' in a Nordic Combined race? Perfect.

Mark your Blackberry calendar for Sunday, October 10th. We'll be hosting the

NYSEF FLAMING LEAVES K18 NORDIC COMBINED FEST

Come hang out at the jumps on Sunday and catch the top US Jumpers duel it out on the K90, including members of the US Ski Jumping & Nordic Combined Squads. Watch some live music, hang out, then strap on the boards at 4pm for the two round K18 Flaming Leaves Comp. Guaranteed to leave you psyched about your final jumps of the summer season.

Sunday schedule:

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11:00: Trial Round: K90 Competition

12:00 1^st Competition Round, K90

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2:45: Meet at Base Lodge (2^nd floor) for Registration

3:00: Nordic Combined Mass Start Running Race (John Brown RD)

4:00: 30 minutes open training, K18

4:30: Competition K18, 2 competition rounds

5:30: Awards

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Questions? Shoot Coach Evan or Dave an email: evanb@nysef.org / davem@nysef.org

See you on the hill!

Countdown to the new Satre Hill...

Eastern Ski Jumping Championships: February 12th

2011 Junior National Championships: February 21-27th

Come and getcha some!

Dion Cup Trip: September 12th

Dear Grasshopper,

Do you ever feel like you're stuck in this dead end town? Jumping the K18 getting a tad bit stale? Feel like you need to throw caution to the wind, cut your ties, and hit the road with Coach Bliss? If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then you'll love coming with us to the

Dion Cup Competition 2010

• Where? Lebanon NH, Storrs Hill. K25 (very similar in size to our K18, even though it's a "K25")
• When? Sunday, September 12th. Depart Lake Placid 6am, return to Lake Placid 6pm
• Nordic Combined? You bet. A short (1 mile) running race will follow the jumping competition
• Cost? If you're a NYSEF athlete, costs will only include minimal gas money and entry fee. Bring snacks and a lunch!
• Life on the road? Awesome. Completely awesome.

For more information on the Sunday, September 12th, contact Coach Bliss at evanb@nysef.org

Grasshopper Summer Season 2010... by the numbers!

Some sizzlin' statistics from our most successful NYSEF Grasshopper summer jumping season to date:

Athletes who took part in Grasshopper Camp #1: 34

Athletes who took part in Grasshopper Camp #2: 33

Athletes who took part in Grasshopper Camp #3: 26

Athletes who took part in at least one Camp in 2009: 11

Athletes who took part in at least one Camp in 2010: 47 (327% increase!)

Grasshoppers who had a rippin' good time jumping this summer: 47

Thanks to all the Grasshoppers who made summer 2010 our best season yet!

-The NYSEF SJ/NC Coaching Staff

Grasshopper Camp 3 Wrap-Up

Our final Grasshopper Camp of the season ended in style. After three action-packed days which included a rollerski clinic with NYSEF XC Coach Margaret Maher, six jump sessions on the K18, lunch atop the K120, a hangout sesh and lunch at Mirror Lake, K90 landing hill rides and Saturday Series spectating, and a kickin' Tele-Tournee, it's safe to say that every athlete (and coach) got their fill!

Congrats to NYSEF's Alex Hohman for further padding his comfortable lead on the Tele-Tournee standings, and on taking the Aiden Daniels designed Grasshopper Cup back home to Queensbury. The weekend was further highlighted by many first leaps off the K-18, stylish telemark landings, and personal bests achieved. A hearty congratulations to all 2010 Grasshopper Camp participants! We have plenty more Saturday sessions on tap, but as the weather turns cooler, we'll all be looking towards a great winter season and a busy Eastern Jumping Calendar.

In the meantime, practice those immo's and we'll see you on the hill!

Dave, Evan, Tara and Casey

Steamboat training camp

First two days off training are complete here in Steamboat Springs, Colorado and two more epic days of jumping to go. Here are a couple of pics of the crew and of the jumps. Next week springer tournee and nationals we will try and keep you posted!!

Later, Evan

Grasshopper 1... Underway and rockin'

Yup yup, Grasshopper Camp #1 is already 66% completed! Our intrepid group of young athletes have well worn in the new porcelain tiles of our brand-spankin K-18 meter. It's flying nice and high and giving the kids a taste of the bottom of the hill. Rockin'!

Today Team Grasshop enjoyed some World Cup-esque soccer on the outrun of the K-48 meter, followed by an epic session on the hill. Kudos to Sam & Maddie Boger, Arnel Hruby, and Kevin Quinn for sending it off the 18 on the porcelain for the first time. Awesome work, guys. We then hiked up the landing hill of the K90 in time to catch a US National Team training sesh. The kids loved kickin' it with the older guys. They definitely picked up some tricks of the trade. After a sweet spaghetti lunch, we watched some video of the morning's session, then hiked down below for some capture the flag. A little ADK rain shower couldn't hold us back. We then crawled back into the jumpsuits for another hour and a half of the springen--- some long rides. After a dip in the freestyle pool and some Otter Pops, it was time to peace. A day well spent.

Don't just take our word for it--- check the pics:

Beckett Ledger showin' his inrun position on the new K18 landing hill

Alex Hohman, Matt & Trent White (L-R) smilin' from the attic

Team Grasshop takes to the K90 outrun for Capture the Flizzle

What the?! Who let this guy out of the institution with nothing but a knife and a watermelon helmet?!

Grasshopper Tele-Tournee #1 tomorrow, stay tuned for details!

--Coach Dave

Saturday's Practice (6/19) CANCELLED

That's right, Saturday's practice is cancelled. But not for lack of trying! Due to the incredible, unprecedented influx of young talent to the K18 jump in Lake Placid, the 30 year structure buckled.

Wipe those tears away, construction is underway for a new and improved K18, just in time for Grasshopper Camp #1 next weekend.

Check-etty-check it:

New inrun profile in place (Wednesday 6/16)

Coach Dave ponders how far junior jumpers will fly with an additional 13" of takeoff height on the sweet new K18 profile.

See you next week!

Grasshopper Summer Jumping Poll!

Summer training is fast approaching! Take this 1.8 second poll and let us know how psyched you are for summer Grasshopper Camps!

http://www.doodle.com/7xayqm59zh5gzbdk

See you this summer!

Samstag ist für Springen!

Happy Off-Season to all:

As the summer schedule continues to evolve, we're excited to announce that-- as promised-- we'll have a one day/week training option for Grasshopper athletes. Starting Saturday, June 12th, we'll be offering a weekly training session on the K18 from 3-5pm. Just enough jumps to keep your technique razor sharp for Grasshopper Camp and STILL allow you to make soccer, lacrosse, hockey and windsurfing practice! Awesome.

Quick Summer Recap:

Saturdays, 3-5pm beginning June 12th.

Grasshopper Camp#1 June 25-27

Grasshopper Camp#2 July 9-11

Grasshopper Camp#3 August 13-15

Dave

NYSEF Grasshopper Summer Training

Howdy Jumping/ NC Enthusiasts:

The votes are in, the final tallies counted. Following a productive Eastern Ski Jumping Committee meeting, we've finalized dates for the 2010 NYSEF Grasshopper Camps. These fun-focused camps are perfect for both junior jumpers with experience on a K18 meter and newcomers alike.


We'll be offering three camps throughout the summer, running 9am-4pm on the following weekends:


June 25-27
July 9-11
August 13-15





Camps will cost $150/ weekend, which includes all training and coaching fees, borrowed equipment, and all weekend activities. We're also offering a summer training package price for $300 which includes all 3 Grasshopper Camps, in addition to one/day week training on the K18 from June-October. Sweet!


For more details, including a typical camp schedule, NYSEF information & more, check out our informational flyer below. Also make sure to check out the informative recruiting video. Still have questions? Email Coaches David McCahill or Evan Bliss directly at:


davem@nysef.org
evanb@nysef.org








Watch ski jump recruiting video in Sports View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Enjoy the off-season!

Evan & Dave