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cick logo to visit site click logo to visit site Berkutschi.com offers a wide variety of news, features, team rosters, hill information, and >> LIVE SCORING << for fans of ski jumping! You can find the most current news on the homepage; we move older features to the Extended News”page, which you can reach via a button at left. Isn’t Ski Jumping Awfully Dangerous? The PERCEPTION is that ski jumping is an extremely dangerious. sport. The reality is far different ... learn more! ** READ ARTICLE How Do People Start Ski Jumping? Nobody just picks up a pair of skis and gives it a try. Not on big hills, anyway. Ski jumpers start young, on very small jumps, and learn incrementally, moving gradually to larger jumps as their skills and confidence develop. ** RECRUITING VIDEO Here’s a short video from a junior jumping event in St Paul MN at their annual Christmas Beginner’s Camp ... ** LITTLE KID VIDEO The following video was an 20th Century Fox Newsreel feature in about 1950. ** HISTORIC VIDEO Here’s another, from the St Paul Ski Club ** 1939 NATIONALS When Do People Hang Up Their Jumping Skis? The answer to this one is quite simple ... when they want to! Once a jumper is 30 years of age or older, he or she becomes eligible to participate in “Masters” competition. Jumpers age 30-39 are class M1, 40-49 M2, 50-59 M3, 60- 69 M4, 70-79 M5, etc. Currently, the oldest active Masters jumper in the US is Don West, of Plattsburgh NY, a retired college professor. He’s an M5 jumper (in his seventies), and in recent years he has competed in Masters World Championships in Europe. Another active Masters jumper is Tom Ricchio, a semi-retired corporate jet pilot, who is also the coach of the junior program in Iola WI; he jumps in class M4. Tom has also competed in the Masters World Championships. ** READ ARTICLE about Tom, and his recent participation in the 2010 US Masters Nat’l Championships in Coleraine MN. For those who enjoy ski jumping, it can be a lifetime sport. Some like to continue competing, others become coaches or volunteers. If you live anywere near one of the clubs listed on our Regional Clubs page, make an effort to see some live ski jumping, and if you’re inclined to give it a try, talk to one of the coaches. Although most jumpers start very young, there are adults who would like to try it, and they’re welcome, if they’re willing to “start small” and work their way on up, just like kids do.

WomensSkiJumpingUSA www.wsjusa.com

mm Frenette Qualifies for World Cup in Sapporo Jan 28-29 Has a history of good results on this hill, including last weekend’s COC quali results 1/27 Fifty-nine of the world’s top jumpers are in Sapporo JPN for two days of World Cup competition. Ten are pre- qualified based on current standings, so 49 jumpers were vying for 40 spots to complete the World Cup field of 50. Peter Frenette was 32nd among the qualifiers. Anders Johnson came up a point short against very stiff competition, so Peter’s the only US competitor. Alexander, Fairall, Lamb in Bischofshofen Continental Cup Jan 28-29 Big hill in Austria hosts large international field training results 1/27 Nick Alexander, Nick Fairall, and Chris Lamb are with coach Casey Colby in Austria, preparing for this weekend’s Continental Cup on the huge hill in Bischofshofen. On Friday, Alexander paced the US team with a pair of 123 meter flights in two rounds of training. Third Stop in US Cup Series Comes to Fox River Grove IL on Jan 29 Ski jumping in Chicago? In this tropical winter? YOU BET ... and will be GOOD! DETAILS US Cup #3 will be held in Chicago (Fox River Grove) on Sunday afternoon Jan 29. There’s also a tournament on Sat Jan 28, both at noon. Local favorite and US Ski Jumping team member Mike Glasder will be among the favorites, having been 2nd in both US Cups so far, in Eau Claire and Minneapolis. He finished between a pair of St Paul skiers, Christian Friberg and Brian Wallace, both of whom are on the USA Ski Jumping development squad. This event will be followed by Westby WI on Feb 4, and Ishpeming MI on Wednesday evening, Feb 8. USASJ Athletes Three-Peat at US Cup #2 in Minneapolis Jan 25 Third stop in seven-event series Jan 29 in Chicago Minneapolis results: Wed Jan 25 Christian Friberg, Michael Glasder, and Brian Wallace filled the podium Wednesday evening in Minneapolis; the same three had finished in the same positions last Friday evening in Eau Claire. We’ll bring you more from Minneapolis as we receive it. The series resumes Sunday in Chicago (Fox River Grove), then moves to Westby WI the following weekend, and winds up its five-event midwest “5 Hills” swing in Ishpeming MI on Feb 8 before heading east to Salisbury CT and the US Cup final in Brattleboro Vt. See our Schedule page for more on upcoming events. Frenette 26th, 26th, 25th in Sapporo Continental Cup Jan 20-22 Frenette & Johnson to remain in Sapporo for World Cup Results: Fri 1/20 Sat 1/21 Sun 1/22 FRIDAY JAN 20 - Peter Frenette placed 26th in Continental Cup action in Sapporo on Jan 20; teammate Anders Johnson just missed the final round at 32nd. Canada’s Mackenzie Boyd-Clowes was third, behind a pair of Norwegians, Andreas Stjernen and Ole Marius Ingvaldsen. Other US athletes were Anders Johnson 32nd, Nick Fairall 40th, and Nick Alexander 45th. SATURDAY JAN 21 - Today the Continental Cup moved to the big hill, where Frenette had a 2nd and 8th last year in Continental Cup, and 18th in World Cup. There was a wind delay between the first and second rounds, and it scrambled the results a bit, but not for Peter Frenette; he matched his 26th place of yesterday. The winner was Germany’s Felix Schoft, and Slovenia’s Dejan Judez picked up 2nd. Johnson placed 44th, Fairall 48th, and Alexander 56th. (Frenette above, Johnson below; click to enlarge - Ken Anderson photos) SUNDAY JAN 22 - Windy conditions forced multiple delays, but Peter Frenette made the final round once again, and improved his results fo 25th, up a notch from Friday and Saturday. Andreas Stjernen of Norway, Friday’s winner, too the top spot ahead of Japan’s Kento Sakuyama and Slovenia’s Robert Hrgota. Nick Alexander placed 49th, Anders Johnson 51st, and Nick Fairall 55th. Johnson who’d flown 121.5M in the trial round, nailed a 120M flight in the first round, but the competition was halted. After a lengthy delay, with conditions still quite turbulent, the round was restarted, and the blustery conditions caught Anders, and he managed only 88.5 meters. He, along with several others who’d had good jumps in the canceled round, wasn’t able to advance to the final round. But Coach Clint Jones selected Johnson to remain in Sapporo with Frenette for next weekend’s World Cup. More on www.usaskijumping.org Iraschko Edges Hendrickson by 1/2 Point ... Five US Women in Top 15 Terrific weekend for US women in Zakopane Continental Cup Results: Sat 1/21 FIS story & photos Daniela Iraschko had the longest jump of the day in the first round at 91 meters, while Sarah Hendrickson managed only 79.5M. Ema Klinec, a surprise 3rd yesterday, stood second after the the first round with a jump of 81 meters, equaled by Junior World Champion Coline Mattel of France. Klinec won’t be a surprise any more! Mattel had been 13 when she first burst onto the scene several years ago. As it came down to the last four jumpers in the final round, Klinec again matched Mattel’s distance, but a half-point more from the judges put Klinec atop the leaderboard, with Hendrickson on the bar. Sarah blasted out a ride of 86.5 meters, longest of the final round, moving to the top spot, putting the pressure on Iraschko. Danie’s second jump went only 83.5 meters, but that was enough to give her a half-point margin of victory over Sarah. She’s the only jumper to have beaten Sarah this year, and this was only the second time. But it still was a banner day for the US team, as all five athletes finished in the top fifteen. Jessica Jerome improved to 6th, Abby Hughes to 7th, Alissa Johnson stayed in the top 10 at 9th, and Nina Lussi was 15th. Another Win for Sarah Hendrickson Jan 20, Three US Teammates in Top 10 Johnson 7th, Jerome 8th, Hughes 10th in Zakopane POL COC Results: Fri 1/20 FIS story & photos She just wins. Sarah Hendrickson has won all but one competition this season, in World Cup, Continental Cup, and at the North American Juhior Championships. She added to her string of wins by capturing the COC on Friday in Zakopane POL. and three of her teammates finished in the top 10 as well. Alissa Johnson placed 7th, Jessica Jerome tied for 8th, and Abby Hughes took 10th. A fifth US skier, Nina Lussi, was 22nd. Sharing the podium with Hendrickson were Daniela Iraschko of Austria, 2nd, and Ema Klinec, age 13, a newcomer from Slovenia, in 3rd. Friberg, Glasder, Wallace Fill Podium at Eau Claire US Cup Jan 20 USASJ athletes 1-2-3 in first of seven-event series US Cup #1 results Silvermine Invitational The US Cup Series began on Fri eve Jan 20 in Eau Claire WI. There were several classes of competitors, but our spotlight is on those competing in the US Cup class. USASJ development athlete Christian Friberg won with jumps of 89.5 and 88 meters, for 237 points. USASJ elite team member Mike Glasder was a point back, and development jumper Brian Wallace was 3rd. In the Open class it was Cooper Dodds, Zak Hammill, and Dave Edlund. Canadians swept the junior class, with Josh Maurer the winner, Rogan Reid 2nd, and Matt Soukup 3rd. The series makes a stop in Minneapolis on Wed eve Jan 25, followed by Chicago (Jan 28), Westby WI (Feb 3) and Ishpeming MI (Feb 8). It will then hit Salisbury CT (Feb 11) before the series finale in Brattleboro VT (Feb 18). This will also be Brattleboro’s FIS Cup weekend. The annual Silvermine Invitational was held Saturday afternoon. Hammill won the Open class, bumping Dodds to 2nd, and Edlund repeated in 3rd. US jumpers filled the podium in Junior class, with Tyler Hutchins in the top spot, ahead of Ben Loomis and Kevin Bickner. Finns claimed the top two spots in Class A; Jere Kykkanen and Janne Nordman were 1-2, and Christian Friberg took 3rd. Local 13 year old Ben Loomis won the unofficial Long Standing Jump competition after the final round ... he flew 99.5 meters. Bravo, Ben! Inaugural Youth Olympic Games Conclude in Innsbruck Jan 21 Individual results Sat Jan 14: men women Team competition Sat Jan 21: results Articles of interest: IOC-YOG website Park Record - Will & Colton WSJUSA site - Emilee The first-ever IOC Youth Olympic Games were held in Innsbruck Jan 13-21. USASJ development team jumper Will Rhoads of Park City UT placed 19th in men’s competition and Emilee Anderson, Eau Claire WI, finished 9th in women’s on Saturday Jan 14. Colton Kissell of Park City is the US Nordic Combined athlete. All three jumped for the US in the team competition Saturday Jan 21, finishing 11 in that event. Simply Superlative Sarah! Another World Cup Win for Hendrickson Jan 15 Iraschko 2nd, Van 6th, Jerome 8th on Sunday Results: Sat 1/14 Sun 1/15 WC standings Sarah Hendrickson continued to dominate the first-year World Cup series on Sunday in Val di Fiemme ITA. With a commanding lead of almost 13 points over Austrias’s Daniela Iraschko, she was due to jump last in the final round ... right after Iraschko. Sarah’s first- round jump had been 104.5 meters, and Iraschko had only managed 96.5. Danie flew 105.5, upping the ante for the 17 year old World Cup series leader from the US VISA Women’s Ski Jumping Team. So Sarah simply blasted her way down to 108 meters, rolling up a total of 285.9 points, preserving her 13 point margin over Iraschko. Germany’s Ulrike Graessler was third. Lindsey Van placed 6th, Jessica Jerome 8th, Alissa Johnson 15th, and Abby Hughes tied for 24th. Click Sarah’s photo to enlarge. Sarah now leads the season standings with 429 points, far ahead of Iraschko with 273. Van maintains her grip on third with 206 points, despite missing the opening event in LIllehammer while recovering from surgery. She has been 2nd, 7th, 4th, and 6th in her last four outings. Jerome is 9th overall with 126 points, and has been 3rd, 6th, and 8th in her last three events. Iraschko 2nd, Sagen 3rd, Van 4th, Jerome 6th on Saturday Results: Saturday 1/14 WC standings For the third time in four competitions in the new FIS Women’s World Cup series, Sarah Hendrickson of the US Visa Women’s Ski Jumping Team has stood atop the podium. This time, she was followed by the three most dominant female jumpers of the past ten years ... Austria’s Daniela Iraschko in 2nd, Norway’s Anette Sagen in 3rd, and teammate Lindsey Van just off the podium in 4th. Another US skier, Jessica Jerome, placed 6th, giving the US three in the top 10 for the second consecutive event. Once again, the other two US jumpers, Abby Hughes and Alissa Johnson, cracked the top 25, in 22nd & 24th, respectively. Hendrickson trailed Iraschko after the first round, so she jumped before Iraschko in the final round. Iraschko’s first round jump had been 107 meters to Sarah’s 105, but Sarah blasted out a 107.5 meter flight to take the lead, forcing Iraschko to try for more ... but she landed at 103, and Sarah was the winner. Van above, Jerome below, click photos to enlarge. More on their team website at www.wsjusa.com Also on Berkutschi, link at right. Fairall’s 39th Leads US Men in Neustadt Continental Cup Jan 14-15 Austria’s Fettner wins twice ... Canada’s Boyd-Clowes 17th Saturday Results: Sat 1/14 Sun 1/15 The USASJ men’s team is in Germany this weekend, after a busy week of chasing around to find snow for training. To nobody’s surpise, an Austrian stood atop the podium ... veteran jumper Manuel Fettner. Nick Fairall (L) had the best US result on Saturday, finishing 39th of 77 competitors. Peter Frenette was 45th, Anders Johnson 57th, and Mike Glasder 59th. On Sunday, Frenette’s 49th was the best US finish. Fairall was 61st, Glasder 68th. Johnson was one of several skiers disqualified for an equipment infraction. More about USASJ athletes on their website ... www.usaskijumping.org Christian Friberg 21st & 30th in FIS Cup in Predazzo ITA Jan 14-15 St Paul jumper makes final round both days. Results: Sat 1/14 Sun 1/15 The USASJ development team is in Predazzo for a pair of FIS Cup competitions. On Saturday, a pair of athletes from the St Paul Ski Club qualified for the final round. Christian Friberg placed 21st and Brian Wallace finished 28th. Their teammates finished as follows ... Alex Haupt 50th, Hyrum Bailey 62nd, Trevor Wert 63rd, Tyler Hutchins 64th, and AJ Brown 66th. Friberg made the final round Sunday as well, finishing 30th. Wallace placed 50th, Bailey 54th, Haupt 56th, Wert 63rd, Brown 67th, and Hutchins 74th. They’re coached by Casey Colby and Scott Smith. US Women Shine in Hinterzarten World Cup ... to Val di Fiemme Jan 14-15 Sun Jan 8: Hendrickson wins by 30+ points, Takanashi 2nd, Jerome 3rd, Van 7th ... results standings Sarah Hendrickson blasted out flights of 107.5 and 104.5 meters, and received near-perfect scores from the judges, rolling up 273.2 points, for a 30.6 point margin over Japan’s Sara Takanashi. Jessica Jerome finished 3rd with a pair of 101 meter jumps, scoring 240.1 points, and Lindsey Van was 7th ... three Americans in the top ten! Alissa Johnson placed 23rd and Abby Hughes 25th to round out the US results. Hendrickson now leads World Cup standings by 89 points. Van is 4th, Jerome 12th. Sat Jan 7: Windmueller wins, Van close 2nd, Demetz 3rd, Hendrickson 9th ... results Lindsey Van showed she was back in top form. She placed 2nd in her first action of the season, only eight tenths behind Switzerland’s Sabrina Windmueller. Italy’s Lisa Demetz finished 3rd. Van’s teammate Sarah Hendrickson, winner of the first-ever Women’s World Cup in December, was 9th, Jessica Jerome 27th, Alissa Johnson 32nd, and Abby Hughes 38th. Better weather is expected for tomorrow. (Lindsey Van ... click to enlarge) More coverage on the Women’s Ski Jumping USA website ... www.wsjusa.com. Lindsey’s comeback is remarkable. Last year after the World Championships, she cut her season short. She’d registered as a marrow donor, and had been asked to go to San Francisco for a donation procedure. During the summer, she was having numbness in one leg, so had surgery to remove a cyst that was pressing on a nerve. She was back on skis this fall, and began training with the goal of being in World Cup competition after Jan 1, but took time away to respond to another call to be a marrow donor, for the same patient ... who’s now in remission. And, as they say, “She’s baaaaaaack!” BECOME A DONOR! Christian Friberg & Sarah Hendrickson 3X Winners at Nor-Ams in Calgary! Nita Englund also 3X on podium Results: Jan 1 men wmn Jan 2 mixed team Jan 3 men wmn On Tuesday Jan 3, two US athletes completed sweeps of the men’s, women’s and mixed team events at the North American Junior Championships in Calgary. Sarah Hendrickson blasted out another dominant win, almost 80 points ahead of Canada’s Taylor Henrich; Sarah’s US teammate Nita Englund 3rd. That was the third podium of the weekend for Englund, who had been 2nd on Sunday, was part of the US #2 team that placed 3rd on Monday. L-R Hendrickson, Friberg, Englund ... click pix to enlarge! St Paul jumper Christian Friberg scored an amazing 31 point victory Jan 3 over second-place Eric Mitchell of Canada, piling up 274 points on flights of 98.5 and 101.5 meters on Calgary’s K89/HS95 Olympic hill. This performance put a big exclamation point on his three-day trip north of the border. A new event ... mixed team jumping ... was featured on Jan 2, the second day of the North American Junior Championships in Calgary, Teams consisted of one woman and three men. The US #1 team took the top spot in this historic event. This team consisted of Sarah Hendrickson, Christian Friberg, Brian Wallace, and Will Rhoads. Canada #1 finished 2nd, and US #2 placed third. That team was comprised of Nita Englund, Dillon Maurer, Alex Gantick, and Hyrum Bailey. Find complete results via the link above. On Sunday, Hendrickson (of the VISA US Women’s Ski Jumping Team) won the women’s event, with teammate Nita Englund second. On the men’s side, Friberg (USASJ Men’s Development team) was the winner, with teammates Rhoads 3rd and Wallace 5th. Hendrickson made history last month by winning the first-ever Women’s World Cup event, followed by two podium finishes in Continental Cup action. USASJ’s Chris Lamb 30th in Continental Cup at Engelberg SUI Dec 27 First action of 2012 season for the US men’s team RESULTS: Tues 12/27 Wed 12/28 Chris Lamb, who’s been studying and training in Norway, flew 121 meters in the first round in Continental Cup action at Engelberg SUI on Tues Dec 27, which earned him a spot in the final round. He placed 30th. Norway’s Kenneth Gangnes was the winner, followed by Slovenia’s Jaka Hvala and Austria’s Wolfgang Loitzl. Lamb’s US teammates Anders Johnson, Peter Frenette, and Mike Glasder had just arrived from the US, and were a bit jet-lagged, so didn’t fare as well as they’d hoped ... 67th, 69th, and 78th respectively. Gangnes and Loitzl tied for the win on Wednesday, and Hvala once again made the podium in 3rd. Lamb’s first jump came up short, and he slipped to 78th. His teammates each improved on yesterday’s results, with Frenette 52nd, Johnson 57th, and Glasder 73rd. USASJ website Sarah Hendrickson Dominates First Women’s World Cup! Had longest flight in every round; training, trial, & comp ... scored 277 points (101.5 & 95.5M) Results: World Cup trial training Articles: WSJUSA ESPN USOC Berkutschi LadiesSkiJumping In a sensational start to the first season of women’s World Cup ski jumping, US teen Sarah Hendrickson blew away the rest of the field in stunning fashion. In training on Friday, she had the longest jump in each round (95 and 98 meters). In Saturday’s trial round, she sailed 103.5 meters ... 10.5 meters beyond Norway’s great champion, Anette Sagen. That was a clear preview of what was to come when the first-ever Women’s World Cup began. Sarah hit 100.5 meters on her first jump (watch video) in the competition, 95.5 on her second, and piled up 277 points, 29.3 points ahead of France’s Coline Mattel. Germany’s Melanie Faisst was 3rd. The other three US competitors all made the final round, with Jessica Jerome taking 15th place, Alissa Johnson 19th, and Abby Hughes 21st. Congratulations to our team for great results in this historic event! Follow the veam via their website ... www.wsjusa.com ... and their Facebook page! Lindsey Van Has Another Big Goal ... Asks Your Help! First women’s world champion is on a mission Deseret News 2/27/11 Denver Post 12/27/11 On Feb 25, Lindsey Van, the first Women’s World Champion in ski jumping, was in Oslo to defend her title at the famed Holmenkollen. She wasn’t able to repeat, but she then took on an even more important challenge. On March 14-15, she was in the UCSF hospital in San Francisco, as a bone marrow donor for a leukemia patient. As of Dec 2011, the recipient is in remission, but she took time off of training to go back to SF in mid-December to donate again. She expects to be back to competition in January. She has a simple request for you ... please consider registering as a marrow donor. Her mission is help increase the number of registered marrow donors. You can read about how Lindsey became involved with this cause ... and why it’s also become important to the family of your webmaster. Learn how simple it is to register! PLEASE CLICK, READ, and CONSIDER SEE OUR EXTENDED NEWS PAGE FOR MORE STORIES ... GO >>>