Vassiliev Leads Bischofshofen Qualifying
UNIVERSAL SPORTS HAS SAME-DAY VIDEO . . . LINK ABOVE RIGHT!
  * Four Hills Tournament Results (below) ... World Cup standings
    Oberstdorf     Garmisch     Innsbruck     Bischofshofen quali
The Four Hills Tournament, a series of World Cup events, began in Oberstdorf GER on Monday Dec 29. Continuing his hot streak, Switzerland's Simon Ammann won, with Austria's Wolfgang Loitzl 2nd and Russia's Dimitry Vassiliev 3rd. On New Year's Day in Garmisch, Loitzl edged Ammann, with Finland's Harri Olli 3rd. On Jan 4 in Innsbruck, Loitzl scored another win, edging teammate Gregor Schlierenzauer by just 0.7 point, with Germany's Martin Schmitt third. The Four Hills finale will be held in Bischofshofen AUT Jan 6, with Vassiliev the top qualifier.

Another 2nd for Demong in World Cup NC
Spillane 12th, Lodwick 14th, Camerota 33rd in Schonach GER on Jan 4
  * Official results:   Sat Jan 3   Sun Jan 4   NC standings
After an uncharacteristic off day in Schonach on Jan 3, the US Nordic combined team had Bill Demong back on the podium Jan 4 in 2nd place, with Johnny Spillane 12th, Todd Lodwick 14th, and Brett Camerota 33rd. Demong remains second in overall World Cup NC standings, with Lodwick 13th and Spillane 16th. In two successive weeks recently, USA Today named US Nordic Combined skiers "Athlete of the Week" ... Lodwick 12/30 ... Demong 12/23.

Nick Alexander 18th in Braunlage COC
US teammates Chris Lamb 25th, Mike Glasder 28th in Germany Jan 4
  * Official results:   Sat Jan 3   Sun Jan 4   COC standings
Three Americans made the final round in Continental Cup (COC) competition in Braunlage GER on January 4. Nick Alexander led the "Project X" athletes by finishing in a three-way tie for 18th, following a 26th place on Saturday. Also in Sunday's final round were Chris Lamb at 25th and Mike Glasder 28th. These are encouraging results for this young group of athletes which is independent of the US Ski Team! American ski jumping needs your financial support ... scroll down for info on how you can help!

Hendrickson x3, Glasder x2 in Lake Placid
Friberg 2nd twice in women's class, Bliss gets win, two 2nds in men's
  * Official results (jumping):   Mon Dec 29   Wed Dec 31-1   Wed Dec 31-2
    (Nordic Combined results at bottom of applicable scoresheets)
Tiny Sarah Hendrickson, at age fourteen the youngest member of the US Ski Team's jumping squad, flew 96 and 95 meters, scoring 247.5 points, to win the women's class in Lake Placid on Monday Dec 29; she followed up that performance by winning again TWICE on Dec 31; the previous day's competition had been postponed by weather, which is why the action was doubled up on the 31st. Karin Friberg placed 2nd on Monday and also in the final competition on Wednesday, with Nina Lussi taking 2nd in Wednesday's first event.

In men's competition on Monday, Mike Glasder blasted a 102.5 meter flight in the second round, following up a 99 meter effort in the first round, scoring a total of 268.5 points. Andrew Bliss was only three points behind on flights of 99 and 99.5 meters. In the postponed competition, Glasder again finished ahead of Bliss, this time with distances of 101 and 100.5 meters and 271 points, compared to 96.5 and 99 meters, 259.5 points for Bliss. In the final event on Wednesday, Bliss finally topped Glasder on jumps of 99 and 103.5 meters, for 276 points. Glasder had distances of 95.5 and 104 meters, scoring 266.5 points. Thanks to Don West of www.skijumpeast.com for posting each day's results so quickly.

Another 2nd for Lodwick in World Cup NC!
Demong 8th, Spillane 10th as three US athletes crack top ten
USA Today Athlete of the Week:   Lodwick 12/30 ... Demong 12/23
  * Official results:   Sat Dec 27   Sun Dec 28   NC standings
Dec 28 was a historic day for the US Ski Team in World Cup Nordic Combined, with three Americans placing in the top ten. For the second day in a row, Todd Lodwick was second, finishing 6.9 sec behind the winner, Finland's Anssi Koivuranta, and 7.9 ahead of Jason Lamy Chappuis of France. Bill Demong took 8th place, 55.6 sec back, and Johnny Spillane was 10th, 58.1 sec behind the winner.

On Saturday Dec 27, Lodwick finished .3 sec behind Norway's Magnus Moan, just missing a win in his first World Cup action since returning from retirement. Demong, who had a win and a second place last week (also by .3 sec), placed 5th. Johnny Spillane initially appeared to have finished 7th, but a transponder problem resulted in disqualification. We encourage you to visit the US Ski Team website, as well as the US Nordic Combined website, both links at left!

Johnson 32nd in Engelberg COC Dec 27
Alexander finishes 34th in Sunday competition, Johnson to World Cup
  * Official results:   Sat Dec 27   Sun Dec 28   COC standings
Norwegians took the top two podium spots on Dec 27 in Engelberg SUI. Sigurd Pettersen won, with Kenneth Gangnes 2nd. Lukas Hlava of the Czech Republic finished 3rd. Once again, an American came close to making the cut to the round of 30, with Anders Johnson in 32nd place. Chris Lamb finished 53rd, Nick Alexander 59th, and Blake Hughes 66th. On Sunday, Johnson was in Oberstdorf for World Cup competition. Alexander finished 34th, Lamb 47th, and Hughes 67th.

Anders Johnson 7th in Liberec COC
Nick Alexander advances to second round, finishes 27th
  * Official results:   Sat Dec 20-1   Sat Dec 20-2   COC standings
The US men's development team, known as Project X, scored a breakthrough on Saturday, Dec 20 in Continental Cup (COC) action at Liberec CZE.  2006 US Olympian Anders Johnson flew 121.5 and 123 meters, scoring 235.6 points to finish 7th. In addition, Nick Alexander made the cut to the second round, finishing 27th. Austria's Daniel Lackner was the winner, with flights of 130.5 and 122 meters, good for 250.0 points. Chris Lamb finished 31st, and Blake Hughes came in 49th. Nice to see two Americans in the final round ... and one in the top ten!

Because of weather concerns, the event scheduled for Sunday was also run on Saturday, and the Americans didn't fare quite as well, with Alexander 34th, Johnson 37th, Hughes 48th, and Lamb 56th. This second event on Dec 20 was won by Norway's Atle Pedersen Roensen.

Ammann, Schlierenzauer Score WC Wins
Top three in standings continue dominating World Cup podium!
  * Official results:   Sat Dec 20   Sat Dec 20-2   WC standings
Switzerland's Simon Ammann padded his World Cup points lead with another win on Sat Dec 20 in front of a home crowd at Engelberg SUI, in the first of two days of competition. He scored 275.4 points on jumps of 138.5 and 137 meters. He was joined on the podium by Austrians Wolfgang Loitzl and Gregor Schlierenzauer. On Sunday, it was Schlierenzauer taking the win, Loitzl again in 2nd, with Ammann 3rd. This trio continues to hold the top three spots in season standings, with Ammann in the lead.

Bill Demong Wins World Cup NC in Ramsau
Follows Saturday win by taking 2nd Sunday, just .3 sec back!
The US Ski Team is very strong in Nordic Combined (jumping PLUS cross-country), and has been strong for years. Bill Demong won the World Cup event in Ramsau GER on Dec 20, then came back on Sunday to finish only three-tenths of a second back of winner Bjorn Kirchheisen. That leaves Demong third in Nordic Combined World Cup standings. We encourage you to visit the US Ski Team website, as well as the US Nordic Combined website, both links at left ... frequently! Demong was named the USA Today Athlete of the week on Dec 23 ... read article!

Vtic, Haefele Winners in Vancouver LCOC
LINKS TO RECENT WOMEN'S COVERAGE AT   WWW.WSJUSA.COM
  * Official results:   Wed 12/17    Thurs 12/18    LCOC standings
Whistler Olympic Park, site of the 2010 Olympics, hosted two days of Ladies' Continental Cup (LCOC) action on Dec 17-18. On Thursday, the competition was held to a single round. Four athletes exceeded 100 meters, with Germany's Ulrike Graessler flying 105M, just a half-meter short of the hill record of 105.5 set last year by Lindsey Van of the US. But it was Germany's Anna Haefele, winner of both events last week in Park City, who took the win with a flight of 104.5M, scoring 129.5 total points (including judge scores). Norway's Anette Sagen placed second with a distance of 103.5M (126.5 points), and Graessler finished third with 105M (scoring 125.5 points). Canada's Nata De Leeuw just missed the podium, in fourth with a distance of 103.0M (124.5 points). Lindsey Van once again led the US Ski Team, finishing 6th, with Jessica Jerome, Alissa Johnson, and fourteen year old Sarah Hendrickson 16th, 17th, and 18th, respectively. Abby Hughes tied for 19th, Avery Ardovino was 26th, and Karin Friberg finished 27th. Technical note ... takeoff speeds today were in the 88KmH range.

On Wednesday, Slovenia's Maja Vtic soared 99.5 meters in the first round, then came back with 102.0 on her second jump to take first place. Graessler flew 100.0 and 100.5 to finish 2nd, and four-time series champion Sagen was 3rd with flights of 100.5 and 99.5. De Leeuw took 4th place, with Haefele finishing 5th. Three Americans placed in the top ten, led by Johnson in 6th, with Van 8th, and Jerome 9th. Hendrickson finished 15th, Hughes 21st, Ardovino 22nd, and Friberg 26th.   Remember ... American ski jumping needs your financial support ... scroll down for info on how you can help!

Anna Haefele Wins Twice in Park City
Lindsey Van 2nd & 6th in LCOC, ranks 2nd overall ... Vancouver next
  * Official results Dec 12:   afternoon   evening   LCOC standings
The Ladies' Continental Cup (LCOC) season began Dec 12 in Park City UT. Because of an incoming storm, both scheduled competitions were held Friday. In the afternoon event, Germany's Anna Haefele took first place, with Lindsey Van of the US Ski Team second, and Austria's Jacque Siefriedsberger third. Just missing the podium was four-time champion Anette Sagen of Norway. Other US finishers were Alissa Johnson 6th, Jessica Jerome 14th, fourteen-year-old Sarah Hendrickson tied for 16th, Abby Hughes 22nd, Avery Ardovino 23rd, Tara Geraghty-Moats 27th, Nita Englund 29th, Nina Lussi 30th, Karin Friberg 31st, Danielle Lussi 33rd, and Elisabeth Anderson 34th. Among five Canadians, Nata De Leeuw was seventh, and Atsuko Tanaka just missed the top ten with a tie for 11th.

Haefele came back to capture the top spot on the evening podium, with Canada's Nata De Leeuw taking second, and Haefele's German teammate, Ulrike Graessler third, and Sagen fourth again. Van continued to lead the Americans, finishing 6th, with Jerome 11th, Hendrickson in a three-way tie for 13th, Johnson 16th, Hughes 23rd, Englund 25th, Ardovino 26th, Geraghty-Moats 27th, Friberg 30th, N Lussi 31st, Anderson 33rd, and D Lussi 34th. Tanaka scored another top ten finish for Canada, finishing in a tie for 9th.

US Ski Jumping Needs Your Help!
US Ski Team, independent men's & women's development teams
Here's a quick rundown on how ski jumping is supported in the USA ... this is a shameless pitch for financial support from individual donors and/or potential sponsors, and there are links at the bottom of this article to help you reach a pair of websites where you can make donations to support the development of our dedicated and motivated young athletes, both men and women.

Let's start with some background. There are three separate organizations involved in funding ski jumping in America; the US Ski Team, Women's Ski Jumping USA, and the men's development program, known as Project X. This isn't ideal, but it is what it is.

The US Ski Team has for years supported only a handful of top athletes, primarily in fielding an Olympic team, and a bare-bones presence in World Cup, which in recent years consisted of only Alan Alborn on a regular basis, and Clint Jones in selected events. After the 2006 Olympics, Al and Clint retired. In 2007, the USST named six women to the ski jumping team; this remains the situation; there is no USSA funding for development programs, and there hasn't been for years. We do not suggest donating through USSA or the US Ski Team, because they WILL NOT PERMIT YOU to designate your contribution specifically for ski jumping!

Over the past ten years or so, a well-organized group based in Park City and known as Women's Ski Jumping USA (WSJUSA), has raised their own funds for the coaching and travel of a growing number of young female athletes. They are NOT affiliated with, nor funded by, the US Ski Team. When FIS created the international Ladies' Continental Cup (LCOC) series in 2005, the US women quickly established themselves among the best in the world. In 2007, the US Ski Team named the top six women as the US Ski Jumping Team; their coach is Kjell Ivar Magnussen, formerly coach of the Norwegian women's team. The WSJUSA foundation remains as the funding and organizational entity for female ski jumpers in the USA. Because VISA is still a primary sponsor, the development team is known as the VISA Women's Ski Jumping Team (VWSJT). Its director is former US star and pioneer female jumper Karla Keck. The president of WSJUSA is Deedee Corradini, former mayor of Salt Lake City, who was involved in the planning for the 2002 Olympics. The VISA sponsorship does NOT cover all expenses, therefore WSJUSA & VWSJT continue to seek individual donors and corporate sponsors.

A new men's development team, Project X, was organized for the 2008 season, also independent of, and not funded by, the US Ski Team, although we were told they received some start-up money from USST. In their first year, the group raised sufficient funds to hire Jochen Danneberg, a 1976 Olympic silver medalist who formerly coached the German, Swiss, and Korean men's teams. A group of athletes was selected, and they competed regularly in the men's Continental Cup series as well as some FIS Cup events, posting some encouraging results. Jochen has returned for the 2009 season, and the group has an ambitious season-long competition schedule. Among the people involved in this effort are Alan Johnson and Mike Holland. Alan is a former US jumping coach, and the father of one of our top male jumpers, 2006 Olympian Anders Johnson, and also one of our best female jumpers, Alissa Johnson, who got her first LCOC win this summer. Mike is a former US Olympian and the only American to ever hold the world distance record. This independent group also seeks individual donors and corporate sponsors.

We ask you to please consider financially supporting US ski jumping. We wish that the USSA and US Ski Team would choose to fund a development program, but they don't, they haven't, and they're not likely to. We would like to think the day will come when our men's and women's development programs will share a single funding source, but that's not the case today. So ... you may choose to support our men ... or our women ... or both! Here are the links to both groups' websites, and on each site you'll find a link to their donations page. We suggest you strongly consider splitting your support between them. Your contribution to either development team (or both) is, of course, TAX DEDUCTIBLE!

• WSJUSA ... Women's Ski Jumping USA ... click "Make a Donation"
• Project X ... US Men's Ski Jumping Development ... click "Fundraising"

New and Improved for 2009
Facility upgrades completed at multiple US jumping venues
The re-opening of the 90 meter Harris Hill in Brattleboro VT will be one of this season's highlights on the US ski jumping scene. Completely rebuilt junior jumps at Fox River Grove IL (Norge Ski Club) and Eau Claire WI (Flying Eagles complex at Mount Washington) will be ready for use this winter, and equipped for year-round use with plastic surfaces. In addition, the 40M jump in Ishpeming MI and the 52M jump in Wisconsin Rapids WI have been given plastic surfaces, so they're now ready for summer use as well. We're awaiting info about facility upgrades in the west, and will bring you more info as we receive it. The schedule for the upcoming 2009 winter season is now posted on our Schedule & Results page, link at left.

US National Championships - Lake Placid
*** Saturday Oct 11:  National Jumping results
*** Saturday Oct 11:  National N/C results
*** Sunday   Oct 12:  SuperTour results
The US National Ski Jumping Championships were held on Saturday Oct 11 in conjunction with Lake Placid's annual Flaming Leaves Festival. With eleven women and fifty men from all regions of the US and Canada, it was a strong field, and it was a good competition. Thanks to Don West, webmaster of www.skijumpeast.com, for posting all these results so quickly!

Highlights from National Championship Ski Jumping Sat Oct 11:
It was the thirteenth national championship for Lindsey Van of the US Ski Team.  Lindsey and Jessica Jerome, who placed 2nd, are both coming back from knee surgery ... Jessica missed all of last season, and Lindsey missed the last half. Alissa Johnson, who placed 3rd, recently won her first LCOC (Ladies' Continental Cup) event. Alissa's younger brother, Anders Johnson, won the men's title, followed by a pair of outstanding Nordic Combined athletes, Johnny Spillane and Billy Demong; both are former Olympians. Spillane won the only gold medal ever for the US in a World Championship (2003 Nordic Combined), and Demong won silver in the same event in the 2007 World Championships. In fourth place among the men was Nick Fairall, who has been jumping well in recent men's Continental Cup events. Todd Lodwick, four-time Olympian coming back a year after retiring, placed fifth. The longest flight of the event was 102 meters by Fairall; the longest among the women was 96 meters, by both Van and Jerome.

Highlights from National Championship Nordic Combined Sat Oct 11:
Former Olympian and World Champion Johnny Spillane won his first US Championship on Saturday in Lake Placid, less than a second ahead of Billy Demong. Multi-time US Champion Todd Lodwick placed 3rd, less than 40 seconds off the pace, after a year in retirement; both Demong and Lodwick are also former Olympians. Their event consisted of a single jump on the 90 meter hill, and eight laps (on roller skis) of a 1.68Km loop. A women's championshop event was held, with Jessica Jerome taking the win by less than one second over Abby Hughes, with Avery Ardovino 3rd just 8 seconds back.

Highlights from the NYSEF SuperTour Sunday Oct 12:
Following up on their victories in the National Ski Jumping Championships, Lindsey Van won the women's class and Anders Johnson took top honors in the men's Open class. In addition, there was a Junior class on Sunday, and the winner was Yukon De Leeuw of Canada. Following Van in the women's class were Jessica Jerome and Avery Ardovino. In the men's Open, Eric Camerota was 2nd and Nick Alexander 3rd. Canada's Matthew Rowley finished 2nd in Junior, followed by Brian Wallace.  Johnson had the longest flight among the men on Sunday at 102 meters, and Van topped the women at 98.5.

American Ski Jumping HOF Induction
Event was held in Red Wing MN, "Birthplace of US Ski jumping"
The second class of inductees to the American Ski Jumping Hall of Fame was honored on Sunday Nov 2 in a 2:00 p.m. ceremony at the historic St James Hotel in Red Wing MN. We'll have more info soon ... view the ASJ website, including the HOF, at www.americanskijumping.com.

US Men's Development Team Report
"Project X" is independent of US Ski Team ... 2008 season-end summary
For many years, the US Ski team has funded one or two top athletes to compete in World Cup and the European Summer Grand Prix. With the retirement last year of our two top jumpers, Alan Alborn and Clint Jones, the US Ski Team dropped the men's program entirely. It had been years since they'd funded any development program for younger jumpers. Before the start of last season, they named six women who had been developed through the Women's Ski Jumping USA organization in Park City, which was also INDEPENDENT of the US Ski Team. The women's program had achieved strong results in the Ladies' Continental Cup, and had attracted VISA sponsorship. We applaud the formation of this INDEPENDENT MEN'S PROGRAM, which has become known as "Project X," and we hope they'll have similar success in developing young athletes! Their greatest need now, just as it has been for the women's development program, is for FUNDING. We encourage individuals and companies to DIRECTLY support INDEPENDENT development programs. This will result in their dollars supporting ONLY ski jumping!

Year-End Homepage Access ... All Years
See stories & coverage from the end of 2008 and earlier seasons
Each spring, we archive our homepage with end-of-year stories. You can view these pages via the links below.

• 2008 - IOC's Exclusion of Women Dominates 2008 News
• 2007 - Malysz #1 in WC, Van & Demong US Champions
• 2006 - US Women #1 Team, Janda Wins World Cup
• 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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(formerly WCSN)

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www.wsjusa.com

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!

Beginner Video
How do kids begin to learn the sport of ski jumping? Here's a one-minute video of youngsters learning on the little 10 meter jump at the St Paul Ski Club!