Extended News (items that previously appeared on the homepage) Aerial Vantage Productions Releases New Demo Video ... click to view See unique look at ski jumping from US Nationals at Norge (Chicago) Oct 1 ... CLICK TO VIEW Dan Englund has spent a lot of time in the air as a ski jumper, but these days he’s flying with feet planted firmly on the ground.  He’s been working with radio-controlled aircraft for years, most recently with a very hi-tech battery powered helicopter.  His jumping buddy Zak Hammill, also from the Kiwanis Ski Club in Iron Mountain MI, operates the helicopter’s Canon camera, also via remote control.  The link above will take you to the video from the US Nationals (ski jumping and Nordic Combined) from Chicago’s Norge Ski Club Oct 1.  See more via Dan’s recently redesigned website ... www.aerialvantageproductions.com  ... there’s a dramatic new demo video on the homepage (also can access via link above)   Former Ski Jumper Blair Tomten Has Skeletons in Her Closet Civil engineer, motorcycle rider, she adds sport of skeleton to her resume Blair Tomten was a highly competitive ski jumper when she started her studies at the University of Minnesota.  The daughter of former US Olympic jumper Dave Tomten, Blair and sister Berit began jumping as little kids in their hometown, Eau Claire WI. During her college years, she continued to jump and coached kids, too ... while pursuing and completing her degree in civil engineering.  She moved to Utah after graduation, and began her career in highway engineering.  She soon bought a motorcycle, and took up a new winter sport ... sliding head-first, face down, on a lightweight sled, using the same track used by the face-up, feet-first sport of luge.  In late October, she traveled to Lake Placid for team trials, and got that coveted spot on the US team.  Her first America’s Cup competition came Nov  9-12 in Park City, and she recently held a ceremony to retire her jumping skis! After the Park City competition, it was off to Calgary for another America’s Cup  Nov 17-18 ... where she placed sixth twice, and that’s a podium finish in skeleton!  She kept it going in Lake Placid in early December, with a 5th place finish!   (Vic Method photos - click each for larger view) Twelve Inducted Into American Ski Jumping Hall of Fame Oct 30 Large crowd attends fifth annual induction ceremony at historic St James Hotel in Red Wing MN Several old time ski jumpers, several more recent jumpers, a pair of fathers with daughters already in the ASJ Hall of Fame, several people heavily involved with the development of women’s jumping, and several whose contributions are in such areas as communications and fund-raising are included among the 2011 class of inductees to the American Ski Jumping Hall of Fame.  Visit www.americanskijumping.com ,,, see the News page for details & videos, and the HOF page to see names of these inductees (click their names to read brief bios).  Red Wing was the location of the first recorded US distance record, 37 feet, in 1887.   Another excellent article can be found on the Women’s Ski Jumping USA website, www.wsjusa.com. FIS Announces Mixed Team Competition for 2013 Worlds! First event for men & women to be held in Val di Fiemme ITA ... two men & two women per team The International Ski Federation has announced that there will be a mixed team competition on the K90 jump at Val di Fiemme during the 2013 World Nordic Championships.  Teams will consist of two men and two women.  Read entire announcement via Berkutschi ... CLICK HERE US National Titles to Anders Johnson, Sarah Hendrickson, Bill Demong Complete Championship Results, October 1, 2011:   Ski Jumping-NH     Nordic Combined-10K   * Scroll down page for second-day coverage from Norge ... click here  for Kris Edlund’s photos The Norge Ski Club of Fox River Grove, a northwest suburb of Chicago, hosted the second half of the        2012 US National Championships on Saturday, Oct 1.  This event was the “normal hill” championship, and it included both ski jumping and Nordic Combined.  The jumping competition was close, but USASJ’s Anders Johnson claimed the top spot on the podium, with teammate Nick Fairall close behind.  Third place went to one of our US Nordic Combined athletes, Olympic gold medalist Bill Demong.  Sarah Hendrickson won her first national championship, ahead of teammates Alissa Johnson and Jessica Jerome.  All the action took place under a bright blue October sky, with an enthusiastic crowd looking on and cheering.                                                       (click any photo to enlarge)       Men’s Ski Jumping                     Women’s Ski Jumping                     Men’s Nordic Combined           Anders Johnson                         Sarah Hendrickson                                 Bill Demong   Nick Fairall / Bill Demong      Alissa Johnson / Jessica Jerome     Johnny Spillane / Bryan Fletcher                                                        (click any photo to enlarge) Following the conclusion of two jumping rounds, the Nordic Combined athletes ran a 10K roller ski race on the roads at the base of the hill.  Action was fast and furious, with Bryan Fletcher taking a commanding lead over Demong and his Olympic teammate, Johnny Spillane, a silver medalist.  They finally chased Fletcher down and passed him in the last few seconds, making for an extremely close and exciting finish. Bryan Fletcher and Sarah Hendrickson Top Norge Podium on Sunday Anders Johnson & Jessica Jerome take second spots            Official Results:  Sun Oct 2nd Bryan Fletcher, who just missed a win in the US Nationals Nordic Combined event on Saturday, came roaring back on Sunday to win the Norge Ski Jumping Tournament ahead of newly-crowned National Champion Anders Johnson.  Todd Lodwick, Fletcher’s US Nordic Combined teammate, five-time Olympian and former World Champion, was third.  With the entire men’s jumping and Nordic combined teams here, it was a highly competitive event.                 (click photo to enlarge) On the women’s side, Sarah Hendrickson of the VISA Women’s Ski Jumping Team, who won the National title Saturday, made it two in a row on Sunday.  Her teammates Jessica Jerome and Alissa Johnson were second and third, swapping their positions from Saturday.  Abby Hughes, also of WSJUSA, was 4th.     (click photo to enlarge) Christian Friberg won the Long Standing comp with a flight of 74.5 meters, a half meter longer than 2010 Olympian Peter Frenette and Norge Masters competitor Kris Kowalczyk. Frenette & Jerome Win National Large-Hill Titles:  Results July 30  “Normal Hill” event in Chicago Oct 1 ...  Articles:  wsjusa.com   usaskijumping.org   usskiteam.com  At the US Large-Hill Nationals in Park City on July 30, Peter Frenette (124.5M, 126.5M, 250.3 points) won the men’s title ahead of teammate Chris Lamb and US Nordic Combined athlete Bryan Fletcher.  Jessica Jerome (127.5, 126.5, 242.2) captured the women’s title; Sarah Hendrickson finished 2nd, and Lindsey Van was 3rd.    Peter Frenette ... Jessica Jerome ... USSA photos by Tom Kelly ... click on photo to enlarge) Christian Friberg won the unofficial “long standing” comp by flying 136 meters ... scoresheet ... video Women’s podium pic ... L-R Sarah, Jessica, Lindsey.  To see detail, just point at the pic with your mouse, and you’ll see ‘em “up close and personal.”  (Dan Campbell photo) Men’s podium pic (below right) ... L-R Chris, Peter, Bryan  (Casey Colby photo) Springertournee results: Wed 7/27 (includes small hills plus K64, K90)   Thurs 7/28 (K64, K90 only)  The first round of competitions in the 13th annual Springertournee have been completed.  Full results from all hills are available via the link above.  In Class 2 Girls action on the K64 Wednesday, three Canadians landed on the podium; Alexandra Pretorius, Raven Yip, and Mahni Bruce, followed by a pair of Americans, Sabina Gasienica 4th and Elizabeth Wallace 5th.  In Class 2 Boys, Kevin Bickner of the US finished 2nd, between a pair of Canadians; Rogan Reid and Matthew Soukup.  Canada’s Jean Chanon Pretorius was 4th, and Ben Loomis of the US 5th.  There was also action on the 10, 20, and 40 meter hills; see results link above.  On Thursday, the first three positions in the women’s competition went to Yip, Bruce, and Pretorius, with Gasienica and Wallace again in 4th and 5th.  In men’s action, Bickner was the winner, followed by Nicholas Madden and Soukup.  (complete results via links above) On the K90 hill Wednesday, Jessica Jerome led four of her VISA Women’s Ski Jumping teammates to the top five positions.  Sarah Hendrickson was 2nd, Alissa Johnson 3rd, Nina Lussi 4th, and Abby Hughes 5th. Jerome repeated as the winner on Thursday, with Johnson finishing 2nd and Lindsey Van 3rd (Van had missed Wednesday’s comp).  Hendrickson was 4th, Hughes & Lussi tied for 5th,  See results links above. Nick Alexander of USA Ski Jumping took the Men’s K90 win on Wednesday ahead of teammates Peter Frenette and Chris Lamb.  Brian Wallace was 4th, with Anders Johnson of USASJ 5th and Christian Friberg 6th.  On Thursday, Frenette grabbed the top spot, with Johnson moving up to 2nd and Wallace capturing 3rd.  Fairall and Lamb were 4th & 5th.  Canada’s Erik Lynch was 6th, with Friberg and Alex Haupt tied for 7th.  Complete results can be found via links above. “Ready to Fly” Documentary Nearing Release ... see the film’s website Filmmaker Bill Kerig focuses on Lindsey Van to tell story of women’s fight for Olympic inclusion It’s been in the works for several years, and is expected to be released this fall ... “Ready to Fly” will be of interest to those who’ve followed this fight for years, and it’ll be an eye-opener for those who haven’t.  It focuses on Lindsey Van’s personal journey from a little kid with a dream, to winning the first FIS World Championship for women in 2009, through a fight in the Canadian courts, and finally seeing the decision made iby the IOC n the spring of 2011 to include women in the 2014 Olympics. Norway’s Johan Remen Evensen Flies 246.5M at Vikersund! Sets new world record in qualification for World Cup Feb 12-13    >> WATCH VIDEO OF WORLD RECORD FLIGHT ... CLICK HERE When the big hill in Vikersund was rebuilt, they were hoping it might lead to a new world record in ski flying ... and they expected that flights up to 250 meters would be possible.  They didn’t have to wait long ... their own Johan Remen Evensen flew 243 meters in training on Friday, then followed that up with a 246.5 meter effort in qualifications for this weekend’s World Cup.  That counts as an official world record! Frenette 18th in Sapporo World Cup Jan 16 Scores a top 20 finish and World Cup points Sunday, was 33rd Saturday   * Results:   Saturday Jan 15     Sunday Jan 16 Peter Frenette was 27th among 40 qualifiers on Friday in Sapporo.  This is his first  World Cup tournament.  The qualifiers, plus 10 prequalified athletes (the current top 10 in standings) make up the starting field of 50 of the world’s best ski jumpers.  He just missed the cut to the final round of 30 on Saturday, finishing 33rd.Germany’s Severin Freund captured his first-ever World Cup victory. Austria’s Thomas Morgenstern was 2nd, Poland’s Adam Malysz 3rd. On Sunday, Frenette qualified 24th, then not only made the final round, but placed himself solidly in the top 20 by finishing 18th ... scoring points in his first weekend of World Cup competition!  Austria’s Andreas Kofler was the winner, with Freund on the podium again in 2nd, and Morgenstern was 3rd.  Fantastic ... Congratulations, Peter!!!   (click photo to enlarge image) Frenette has been having an outstanding year.  He won the US National Championship last summer, scored an  FIS Cup win in Sweden, set a hill record in Lake Placid, made the final round in a number of Continental Cup tournaments, placed in the top ten last Saturday in Sapporo, and then scored his first COC podium last Sunday, finishing 2nd. Frenette 2nd in Sapporo Continental Cup Jan 9 First career COC podium finish; Slovenia’s Jernej Damjan was winner   * Results ... COC:  Sat Jan 8   a.m.   p.m.       Sun Jan 9 Peter Frenette had the longest jump in training on Friday, before weather forced the rescheduling of Friday’s competition to Saturday evening.  He missed the final round in the morning competition, but saved the best for last.  His first jump of 101.5 meters in the  evening event left him in 30th place, just squeaking into the finals.  But he made the final round count, with a huge flight of 127.5 meters.  That lifted him into the top ten, in 8th place.  The top three places went to Slovenia.  Nick Alexander, 16th after the first round with a flight of 107 meters, had a shorter second jump, but finished 28th.  Nick Fairall was 40th, Anders Johnson 42nd.    (Peter Frenette in flight, Lake Placid Oct 2010 ... Don West photo ... click to enlarge) Official results Sunday morning carried great news for the USA ... Frenette was 2nd behind Slovenia’s Jernej Damjan, and ahead of another Slovenian, Rok Zima.  He’ll remain in Sapporo all week, training for a World Cup event next weekend on the same hill. Made with Xara Designer Pro                © 1999 - 2012  KJA & Associates Click photo for larger view Do you know which well-known ski jumper painted this picture? The answer may surprise you ... see our Archives & Misc page!