Should you wish to take part, there are thirteen stories still needed:
|
|
|
Mighty Westby (WI). On warm
days you needed a little extra speed.
JIM THIELEN
jp_thielen@yahoo.com
Toronto, CAN
Before the
story- a message from Jim to provide some context:
It’s exciting
to watch the progress and changes that have occurred in the sport
of ski jumping. The equipment and techniques used today;
expanded availability of facilities during the summer; training and
sponsorships have had a significant impact on the sport.
Social media has enabled everyone who may be interested in the
sport to follow events around the world. Finally recognizing
the talents of women as competitors has been a major factor in
expanding the scope of the sport.
My timeframe
for skiing competitively was the 1967 through 1974. I
lived in Minneapolis where there was a very active development
program through the Minneapolis Ski Club. I was part of the
National development team for four years. Along the way I
completed my education at the University of Minnesota. I had
the good fortune to ski with people like Jay and Jerry Martin, Tom
Dargay, Jeff Wright, Ron Steele, Greg Swor, Adrian Watt, Greg
Windsperger, Dave Tomten, Jim Denney, Jay Rand and many more.
Jerry, Greg and I had a regular training schedule that started in
July through the beginning of the ski season. The dry land
training together served us well. I had the opportunity to
ski at Cooper Peak twice; it was a unique experience
When I reflect
back on the sport while I competed, there were a number of
differences to the sport today. One of the examples…
Before
there was…
Before there was a starting bar that replaced starting gates, there
was a picnic table. The Westby ski jumping facility was
always a highlight of the season. The Snowflake Ski Club was
well organized, made skiers feel welcome and often expanded the
field by including competitors from Europe and Japan. The
design of the Westby 90 meter ski jump was purely focused on
rewarded good execution. The in-run on the hill had an
excellent transition that helps put a skier in position to take
advantage of the speed and air dynamics of hill. As one of
the senior skiers used to say, all you had to do was be in the
right position, make the right move on the take-off and you were
going to be able to ride the natural air pressure on the hill to a
good outcome. When conditions were good, it was the best hill
in the Central Division circuit and maybe the best hill in North
America.
There were years when the temperatures could be very warm or very
cold. The competition in 1970 was one of the years when
temperatures were warm. An article published on February 26 in “The
Times”, the local newspaper in Westby included the following
comment:
“It was a
beautiful spring-like day in Timber Coulee on Sunday and with the
temperatures in the forties, anything but ideal weather for the 47th
Annual Snowflake Ski Tournament. The snow on the scaffold was
melted by noon. A bucket brigade of about 200 hauled snow to
repack the scaffold before the tournament could begin. Because of
the cooperation of the fellows who hauled the buckets and packed
the scaffold, the tournament opening was delayed only about an
hour”
What wasn’t included in the article was that, because of the warm
weather the top start didn’t provide sufficient take-off speeds. An
additional start was added by installing a picnic table in the box
at the top of the in-run. A piece of plywood was nailed in
place to connect the edge of the picnic table and the existing in-run.
Snow was applied to the plywood. Competitors would put their
skis on either side of the picnic table and step into the bindings,
step-up on the bench, then the top of the table. The snow on
the plywood didn’t last long. By the middle of the first round,
it was bare wood. It resulted in more speed, but the starting
point for a ride in competition…was a picnic table.
There were also years when it could be very cold. The 1972
Olympic tryouts were held at the Snowflake ski jump on January
15. The temperature, as recorded on the official results for
that event, was -25F. Although only one ride was recorded
over 300 feet, no picnic tables were used at the top of the
scaffold or seen in the spectator areas on that day. No one wanted
to be outside.
Program cover for the 1970 Westby tournament.
Photo of a Westby competition from back in the day.
Article in
The Times (Westby) promoting the 1970 tournament. Gotta love
that Cynthia Fredrickson, the queen of festivities, gets equal
billing with the Norwegian and US National champions slated to
ski.
Results of the 1970 Westby tournament.
|
|
|
|
LET THE WILD RUMPUS BEGIN!
Knowing how competitive we all are and understanding how deeply
we associate with our respective Nordic sport (and how much we
admire our sisters and brethren on the other side of the Nordic
fence) we are setting up a friendly competition on the
fundraising side this year. AND IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S GONNA BE
A HORSE RACE!
NOTE THAT ALL FUNDS, WHETHER DONATED THROUGH THE
NORDIC COMBINED OR SKI JUMPING LINK, WILL GO TO THE DEVELOPMENT
AND TOP TEAMS OF BOTH PROGRAMS!
|
|
|
|
|
NC DONORS: 22 NC
DONATIONS: $12,468
|
|
|
|
|
SJ DONORS: 23 SJ
DONATIONS: $15,263
|
|
|
|
|
TOTAL DONORS: 39 TOTAL
DONATIONS: $27,731
|
|
|
|
|
THANK YOU
Toni & Greg Adams (NC)
Jim Balfanz (NC/SJ)
Rex Bell (NC/SJ)
Cathy & Allen Belshaw (SJ)
Tom Bickner (SJ)
Tom Calcagni (SJ)
Ted Chivers (NC)
Corky Colby (NC/SJ)
Helene Demong and Joseph McPhillips (NC
Mark Emery (SJ)
Penny Fletcher (NC)
Eldridge French (SJ)
Mike & Bonnie Gibson (SJ)
Jeff & Nancy Good (NC)
Kate & Phil Harrison (SJ)
Kathy & Jeff Hastings (SJ)
Jed Hinkley (NC)
Joel Kruse (NC)
Dave Lantz (NC)
Walter Malmquist (NC)
Stuart Johnstone (NC)
Tom Kaardal (NC/SJ)
Darryl Landstrom (NC)
Jay Martin (SJ)
Rick Mewborn (NC/SJ)
Ronnie Neal (SJ)
Robin Outwater (NC)
Matt Petri (SJ)
Drew Richards (SJ)
The Peggy & Leon Sharyon Family (NC/SJ)
Bob Sachs (SJ)
Jon Schumann (NC)
Larry Stone (SJ)
Tim Tetreault (NC)
Carl Van Loan (NC)
Jeff Volmrich (SJ)
Mary & Greg WIndsperger (SJ)
Dana Zelenakas (SJ)
Susy & Dick Ziegler (NC)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment