Two years ago, World News Tonight ran an excellent feature by John Quinones, including interviews with several of our US athletes ... click "2006 ABC News Video" link in next story. For links to many related articles, visit Women's Ski Jumping USA by clicking their logo below right, then go to the "WSJ in the News" page.

Women in 2010 Petition Over 7800 Names
Please read petition & comments, sign, and TELL OTHERS ... WSJ2010.com
FIS official Kasper explains "reasons" for exclusion in 2006 ABC News video
Hear Kasper and Canada's Dick Pound "explaining" in YouTube Video
Rogge says women would DILUTE medals!  LISTEN ... then GET THE FACTS!
See who's been signing:   ski jumping people ... those from other sports
The folks at Women's Ski Jumping USA, www.wsjusa.com, have worked for years to develop this sport for women in ALL countries. They've been instrumental in building a great base of athletes here in the US, but they've also worked tirelessly (and successfully) in getting the FIS to create a women's series, the Ladies Continental Cup (LCOC), and in getting the FIS to recommend, by a vote of 114-1, that the IOC include women's jumping in the 2010 Olympics. Despite this overwhelming vote of confidence by the FIS, the IOC decided in November 2006 to keep the door nailed shut for female athletes in the sport of ski jumping. Jacques Rogge, IOC president, reiterated his opposition on Feb 28, 2008, stating that including women would "DILUTE" other medals! The next day, Feb 29, WSJUSA issued a FACTUAL RESPONSE. Please read this document, then if you haven't already done so, please read and SIGN THE PETITION!

BABES in BOYLAND!     Click photo to enlarge the image (P Jerome photo).
On Jan 5, at the Canadian National Championships, US jumper Lindsey Van (R) set the hill record of 105.5 meters on the NEW 90M OLYMPIC JUMP in Vancouver, and Jessica Jerome (L) flew 102. Canadian Greg Baxter set the men's record at 99 meters.  In the 90M event, the men's class was required to use a lower start gate, resulting in slightly less takeoff speed. We also want to point out that on the 120M hill, men and women started from the same gate ... Canadian Stefan Read set the hill record at 133 meters, with Van setting the women's record on the big hill at 128.5 meters. Complete official scoresheets from this event available via Schedule & Results link at left.   You will also find links to scoresheets from the US National Championships in March 2008 ... the women performed well there, too!

National Championships - US Season Finale
Spillane & Jerome grab normal hill titles:  USST report   scoresheet
Johnson & Jerome national big-hill jump titles:  USST report   scoresheet
Demong wins NC Combined, Jerome tops women's demo:  USST report
Spillane wins NC Sprint, Jerome wins women's demo:  Sprint scoresheet
Keate & Jerome win Friday SuperTour jump:   USST report   scoresheet
Team of Delaney & Demong wins SuperTour NC Sprint:   NC scoresheet

The US ski jumping and Nordic Combined season ended on Sunday March 16 at Utah Olympic Park, where Johnny Spillane won the men's national championship on the normal hill, and the women's title went to Jessica Jerome. Joining Spillane on the men's podium were Bill Demong and Anders Johnson; the top three were separated by only 2.5 points. Sharing the women's podium with Jerome were Brenna Ellis and Abby Hughes. On Saturday morning, Anders Johnson won his first national big-hill title, and Jessica Jerome won her fourth. Sharing the men's podium with Johnson were Johnny Spillane and Nick Alexander. Jerome was joined on the women's podium by thirteen year old Sarah Hendrickson and Abby Hughes. Later in the day, Spillane won the NC Sprint event, followed by Bill Demong. A women's demo class was also included; Jerome won, with Hendrickson second. Demong and Jerome won the Nordic Combined titles. Complete results available via links above.

The SuperTour series finale was held Friday morning. Skyler Keate took top honors among the men with a flight of 130.5 meters, and Jessica Jerome flew 129.0 meters to top the women's field. Behind Keate in the men's class were Chris Lamb and Johnny Lyons. Jerome's teammates Brenna Ellis & Avery Ardovino joined her on the podium. The event was held to one round by weather conditions. In the evening, Colin Delaney and Bill Demong teamed up to win the SuperTour Nordic Combined Sprint.

Demong 3rd Overall in World Cup NC
Best US finish ever in NC ... US Ski Team report ... final standings
US Nordic Combined athlete Bill Demong finished third overall in the World Cup standings for the 2007-2008 season, the highest ever by an American. Teammate Johnny Spillane also had a good season, finishing 19th overall. Read US Ski Team report and FIS final standings via links above.

Sagen Wins, Jerome 3rd in LCOC Finale
Ardovino 12th, Johnson 14th ... US Ski Team reports:   Saturday   Sunday
FIS results & standings ...  Mar 8   Mar 9   final standings
Jessica Jerome placed third, behind Norway's Anette Sagen and Austria's Daniela Iraschko in the final LCOC event of the season in Zao JPN on Sunday March 9. Other US results Sunday were Avery Ardovino 12th and Alissa Johnson 14th. Sagen is once again the series champion. On Saturday, Jerome placed 11th, with Ardovino 12th and Johnson 16th. Click links above for articles on US Ski Team website, and for FIS final standings.

Lyons & Bliss in Top 30 in Vancouver
Kaltenboeck & Cikl win, Johnny Lyons 22nd & 24th, Evan Bliss 26th
COC Results:  Sat Mar 1    Sun Mar 2    standings
FIS Results:    Feb 28 am   Feb 28 pm
A surprise winner topped the podium Sunday in Continental Cup action on the new 120 meter Olympic jump in Vancouver. Martin Cikl of the Czech Republic edged Austrians Martin Hoellwarth and Daniel Lackner. American Johnny Lyons followed up yesterday's 22nd with a solid 24th, and US teammate Evan Bliss qualified for the second round, finishing 26th. Germany's Erik Simon pushed the hill record out to 138.5 meters. On Saturday, Austrian Bastian Kaltenboeck took top honors, with Norway's Thomas Lobben 2nd and series leader Stefan Thurnbichler of Austria 3rd. Lyons was the top American at 22nd.

FIS Cup competition was held Feb 27-28 on the K90. Wednesday's FIS comp was postponed to Thursday morning. Three Austrians swept the podium in both events. Austria's Markus Eggenhofer won the afternoon event, setting a new men's record of 105.0 meters. Andrew Bliss was the top US jumper in the morning at 13th, and Evan Bliss was 13th in the afternoon.   American female jumper Lindsey Van's 105.5 meter flight on this hill at the Canadian Nationals in January remains the overall hill record ... IOC president Jacques Rogge proclaimed on Feb 28 that admitting women to the Olympics would "dilute" the medals of other athletes! See his comments and WSJUSA's response via links in "crawler" at top of page.

Hendrickson, Johnson in Top 20 at JWSC
Newcomer Sarah Hendrickson places 16th in women's event
2006 Olympian Anders Johnson 17th in men's competition
Men place 8th of 18 in men's team competition
JWSC Jump Results:   Women's indiv   Men's indiv   Men's team
JWSC N/C Results:   Men's 10K   Men's Team relay   Men's Sprint  
Thirteen year old Sarah Hendrickson led the American women with a 16th place finish in women's jumping at the Junior World Ski Championships (JWSC) in Zakopane POL. Austria's Jacqueline Siefriedsberger was the winner, joined on the podium by Italy's Elena Runggaldier and Slovenia's Katja Pozun. The other Americans finished as follows ... Avery Ardovino 20th, Karin Friberg 29th, and Brenna Ellis 33rd.

In men's individual jumping, the top US finisher was Anders Johnson, 17th.  Germany's Andreas Wank was the winner. Other Americans were Chris Lamb 32nd, Nick Fairall 41st, and Nick Alexander 56th. In team jumping, the US finished 8th among 18 teams.

Italy's Alessandro Pittin was the winner of the 10K NC event. The top American was Taylor Fletcher, 38th. Other Americans were Nick Hendrickson 49th, Brett Denney 56th, and Daniel Englund 58th. The US finished 10th among 14 teams in the team 4x4 event. In Saturday's NC Sprint, Hendrickson placed 41st, Fletcher 49th, Denney 56th, and Englund 59th.

Demong Third in Zakopane NC
American 2nd overall in World Cup ... results:   Feb 24   standings
In World Cup Nordic Combined action at Zakopane POL on Feb 24, Bill Demong finished third behind Germany's Bernhard Gruber and Switzerland's Tommy Schmid. World Cup leader Ronny Ackermann of Germany finished 11th. Demong now trails Ackermann 841-1040 with four events remaining.

Sagen, Vtic, Tanaka Grab LCOC Wins
Sagen Wins, Jerome 9th, Hendrickson 11th in Schoenwald ... Feb 23
Canada's Tanaka wins, Sagen 2nd, Jerome 9th in Baiersbronn ... Feb 20
Sagen, Vtic Win, Van 2X2 in Breitenberg ...   Feb 16   Feb 17   standings
The final European event in this season's Ladies Continental Cup (LCOC) series was held in Schoenwald GER. Only one round was completed, and Norway's Anette Sagen got back on top of the podium. Germany's Magdalena Schnurr was 2nd, and Switzerland's Bigna Windmueller finished 3rd. Wednesday's winner, Canada's Atsuko Tanaka tied for 7th with Japan's Izumi Yamada. The top US finisher was Jessica Jerome in 9th, with Canada's Katie Willis 10th. The youngest US competitor, thirteen year old Sarah Hendrickson, tied at 11th with Italy's Lisa Demetz. The season will conclude Mar 7-9 in Zao JPN.

Canada's Atsuko Tanaka flew 89 and 91 meters on the K85 jump, amassing 241.5 points, to stand atop the podium on Wed Feb 20 in Baiersbronn GER. Series leader Anette Sagen of Norway was second, and Germany's Carina Vogt placed third. Jessica Jerome was the top US finisher in 9th, and her 13 year old teammate Sarah Hendrickson placed 20th. Other US athletes were Brenna Ellis 24th, Avery Ardovino 26th, Alissa Johnson 29th, and Karin Friberg 40th. Lindsey Van had a sore knee and did not jump.The next LCOC is in Schoenwald GER Feb 23.

In Breitenberg GER on Feb 16 & 17, Norway's Anette Sagen won the Saturday event, with Lindsey Van of the USA second. On Sunday, Slovenia's Maja Vtic broke Sagen's stranglehold on the top of the podium; Sagen and Van tied for second. Van now ranks fourth overall in the season's standings. Representing the USA are (L to R) Karin Friberg, Jessica Jerome, Lindsey Van, Sarah Hendrickson, Brenna Ellis, Alissa Johnson, and Avery Ardovino, with coaches Larry Stone (L) and Kjell Ivar Magnussen. Next week Brenna, Avery, Karin, and Sarah will head to Zakopane POL for the Junior World Championships Feb 25 - Mar 1. Click photo to enlarge.

Eric Camerota on NC Podium in Japan
Alex Glueck 9th, Bryan Fletcher 13th, Alex Miller 19th
In World Cup B Nordic Combined action at Hakuba JPN on Feb 19, Eric Camerota had his second podium finish of the year, taking third place. Teammate Alex Glueck also made the top ten, finishing 9th. Bryan Fletcher took 13th and Alex Miller was 19th, putting four Americans in the top 20. Details available on the US Nordic Combined site, link at left (below USSA).

Thurnbichler Wins Iron Mountain COC
Austrian, two Norwegians on podium ... results:   Sat 2/16   standings
Heavy snow wiped out the Sunday Feb 17 Continental Cup tournament on the 120 meter jump in Iron Mountain MI. On Saturday Feb 16, series leader Stefan Thurnbichler of Austria took first place, ahead of a pair of Norwegians, Henning Stensrud and Andreas Vilberg. Norwegian Lars Bystoel, Olympic gold medalist in Torino, 2006, placed 6th. Austrian Andreas Widhoelzl, a regular on the World Cup circuit for many years, finished 10th. The top US finisher was Christopher Lamb of Lake Placid.

An open class competition was held Saturday morning for jumpers who were not part of the Continental Cup field. Nick Johnson of Minneapolis was the winner, followed by Dan Englund & Zak Hammill of Iron Mountain, Karl Denney of Coleraine MN, Will Schott of Madison WI, Kris Kowalczyk of Chicago, and Elliot Maraccini of Iron Mountain. Click photo to enlarge ... Schott, Hammill, Johnson, Englund, Denney (L-R).

Norway's Bjerkegen Flies 130 at Westby!
Midwest's big-hill week starts off with a bang ... Results:   Saturday   Sunday
On a cold and breezy Sunday, a field of outstanding jumpers put on quite a show at Westby WI. Norway's Frederik Bjerkegen won for the second consecutive day, followed by teammate Tord Markussen Hammer. St Paul's Johnny Lyons placed third again, as he did yesterday. Will Schott of Madison topped the Open class both days.

In Saturday's SuperTour competition, Bjerkegen and Andre Fredheim took the two top spots, with Lyons third (Johnny was also third behind these two last weekend in Eau Claire). The Blackhawk Ski Club of Madison WI also held their winter tournament Sat Feb 9; results are posted on our Schedule and Results page, link at left.

WSJUSA announces VISA Women’s Team
Karla Keck named Team Director on Dec 3 in Park City
The Women’s Ski Jumping USA Board of Directors has approved the establishment of the VISA Women’s Ski Jumping Team. The Team will consist of U.S. Ski Team athletes as well as development athletes from around the country. The purpose of this expanded team is to provide competition and training opportunities to development level athletes from different regions throughout the U.S.

Selection will be performance based with athletes being nominated to the team by their regional coaches. Training camps, which will begin this ummer, will also be an integral part of the VWSJT program.

Athletes interested in being included as part of the team for the 2007/2008 Winter season should contact Karla Keck at VWSJT@yahoo.com of call her at 435 649 3736.   Webmaster's note:  to read more about Karla Keck, a pioneer in women's ski jumping, click here

US Men's Development Program
New development organization is independent of US Ski Team
For the past few years, the US Ski Team's men's squad has consisted of just two athletes, Alan Alborn and Clint Jones, skiing selected World Cup and Continental Cup events. Al's a three-time Olympian, Clint a two-timer. Both have now retired, and are coaching younger skiers in the NSF program in Park City. Funding for development programs went from scarce to non-existent over the same years, and there are currently no men on the US Ski Team's "A" squad.

A new organization called Ski Jumping Development USA is taking on the challenge of filling this void (no, it's NOT affiliated with this website). They've hired a coach, Jochen Danneberg, and have selected an initial group of athletes, some of whom will be in action at upcoming FIS Cup tournaments in Germany Sept 1-2 and Sweden Sept 8-9. For details on coach, athletes, plans, schedule, budget, and fund raising, please visit  skijumping.wikispaces.com. At the bottom left of their homepage, you'll find a link to Team Updates. There's a detailed writeup by Alan Johnson, father of one of our top male jumpers, Anders ... and one of our top women, Alissa.

There's an e-mail distribution list for those interested in ski jumping; it's been very encouraging to read the large number of positive responses to this new development organization since it was announced. If you wish to register to receive information via this e-mail list, you'll find signup info at the bottom of www.nordicjump.org; former US Olympic jumper Jim Holland runs this service.

Long Flight Videos!
Johnny Lyons flies 140M in training at Klingenthal GER
We recently received a great video of Johnny Lyons of St Paul MN, with a flight of 140 meters (459 feet) during training at Klingenthal GER in August 2007 ... Lyons 140M.   The world record flight of 239 meters (784 feet) was set in Planica, Slovenia in 2005 by Norway's Bjorn-Einar Romoeren ... Romoeren 239M.   The longest flight ever by an American was at Planica in 2002 by Alan Alborn, who flew 221.5 meters (727 feet). That flight is shown in the 8-minute ski jumping video, which you can see via link at right.

American Ski Jumping Hall of Fame
Online HOF was introduced at Red Wing on June 17
Check out the virtual American Ski Jumping Hall of Fame, which resides within the AmericanSkiJumping.com website. There's a "Hall of Fame" link at the top of the homepage, and the HOF page includes a link to a nomination form. It was formally introduced during the Red Wing MN festivities on June 17.

History on Display in Red Wing MN
St James Hotel is site of permanent ski jumping exhibit
On June 17, as part of Red Wing's 150th anniversary celebration, a permanent historic display was unveiled at the historic St James Hotel, recognizing the city as the "Birthplace of American Ski Jumping." The first North American distance record was set in 1887 in Red Wing by a Norwegian immigrant, Mikkel Hemmestvedt. The city was the home of the pioneering Aurora Ski Club, which hosted US National Championships in 1928 & 1936.

2007 Year-End Homepage Access
See stories & coverage from the end of 2007 and earlier seasons
Each spring, we archive our homepage with end-of-year stories. You can view these pages via the links below.

• 2007 - Malysz #1 in WC, Van & Demong US Champions
• 2006 - US Women #1 Team, Torino Olympics
• 2005 - Romoeren Flies 239M at Planica
• 2004 - Ahonen World Champ, Women Fly in Norway
• 2003 - Hautamaeki 231M, Spillane Wins First US Gold
• 2002 - Kids Learning to Jump, Alborn Flies 221.5M

Our Visitor Traffic Continues To Grow
Olympics, Women's Continental Cup drew 100K+ visitors
During the winter 2005-2006 season, we set all-time visitor records. We had 22K+ visitors in January, 42K+ visitors for February, and 20K+ in March. We drew just about 100K for the winter 2006 competition season from December through March, at about 5 minutes per visit. We averaged well over 300 per day throughout the summer, up significantly over last year, with much of the increase driven by the Olympics.

Ski Racing magazine
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WomensSkiJumpingUSA
click link below to read
**athlete updates**

Mom's Perspective
Her son began jumping at 5 ... Susana Field's article gives a mom's reflections on his progress over ten years. Cliff is now 15, and he's been a Junior Olympian, a winner at Lake Placid, and a competitor in the first event held at the Vancouver Olympic complex.

Flashback!
Remember our "Behind the News" page? It ran during our 2002 and 2003 seasons. We've updated it a bit, but left it in the original layout. Click here to read a bit about big ski jumps, female jumpers, questions jumpers get asked, a cool mobile wind tunnel, and famous folks who were once ski jumpers!

Ski Jumping Video
(run time 8 minutes)
Chris Broz, former jumper now coaching kids in Minneapolis, has created a new introductory video to give kids and parents a sense of the excitement of ski jumping, from World Cup Ski Flying to youngsters on local jumps.