| Thursday, February 13, 2020
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Thursday, February 13, 2020 | 2020 Harris Hill Ski Jump Event Guide Brattleboro Reformer | reformer.com 2
FROM THE ORGANIZERS THANK YOU to the many people, businesses and organizations whose contributions make this event possible: Volunteers - in the hundreds Sponsors - the backbone Donors & Friends of Harris Hill – true blue In-kind supporters - people, time, equipment, expertise The Organizing Committee - all-volunteer Spectators - who bring the event to life Competitors – who provide the thrills
Harris Hill Notoriety 2020 2019 2018 PHOTO BY STEVE MCLAUGHLIN
One of Vermont’s Top 10 Winter Events (Vermont Chamber of Commerce) One of New England’s Top Winter Events (Yankee Magazine) One of the Top 100 Winter Events in the U.S. (Outside Magazine online)
On the cover: Slovenian Blaz Pavlic
is the current hill record holder and winner of the 2019 Fred Harris Memorial Tournament. Photo by Steve McLaughlin
Table of Contents Letter from the organizers Competitors Schedule and Information Board and Organizing Committee Harris Hill history A few facts Opening ceremonies Trophy retirements All about ski jumping Midwest Monuments Previous winners Record holders Sponsors
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Dear Friends, This weekend Harris Hill Ski Jump comes alive once again as spectators from near and far delight in two days of breath-taking ski jumping. It’s a familiar, fun, iconic weekend that’s been a competitor and spectator favorite for nearly 100 years. Music, food, bonfire, beer tent and the ring of cow bells set a festive tone as we watch jumpers soar at speeds up to 60 miles per hour. But wait! There’s more! The excitement mounts this year as two, two-time Harris Hill Ski Jump winners each vie for a third victory and the right to retire the coveted Harris Hill Winged Ski Trophy. The trophy has been retired only 5 times in the event’s near 100year history, most recently in 2000. Brattleboro’s own Chris Lamb, who set a hill record of 102 meters (335 feet) returns to go head to head with the current record holder, Blaz Pavlic of Slovenia who holds the current hill record with a jump of 104 meters (341 feet). We will be holding our breaths. We think you will be too! Kate McGinn & Liz Richards Co-Directors
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United States Tess Arnone Sam Arquit Alexa Brabec Cooper Dodds Cameron Forbush Tate Frantz Jacob Fuller Seth Gardner Gunnar Gilbertson Mason Gorski Zak Grzesik
Logan Gundry Stewart Gundry Rachael Haerter Caroline Harrison Henry Johnstone Spencer Knickerbocker Stewart Kocher Chris Lamb Cara Larson Jack Lawrence Beckett Ledger Landon Lee
Elise Loescher Niklas Malacinski Evan Nichols Max Nye Macey Olden Aidan Ripp Zachary Selzman Cameron Summerton Adeline Swanson Canden Wilkinson Mason Winter Caleb Zuckerman
Austria Tobias Kerschhaggl Simon Viehhauser
Slovenia Zak Lubej Blaz Pavlik Urh Rosar Zak Silih
Competition Schedule
PARKING
Saturday, February 15, 2020: Pepsi Challenge & US Cup
Free parking is on-site at the hill in the field. NOTE: the field may be muddy and/or very bumpy. If you have a small or a “low to the ground” vehicle, please keep this in mind. There is additional parking at the Brattleboro Retreat and Retreat Farm on Linden Street (Route 30) with a free shuttle bus to the venue.
Sunday, February 16, 2020: Fred Harris Memorial Tournament 10:00 a.m. Gates open Jump Training 11:30 a.m. Opening Ceremonies 12:15 p.m. Trial Round 1:00 p.m. Round 1 1:45 p.m. Round 2 2:30 p.m. Target Jump (Top 10) Award ceremonies following event at the base of Harris Hill
WEATHER It’s Vermont in February! For those who aren’t used to New England winters, it can be unpredictable, so it’s always best to dress in layers. Snow gear is highly recommended: waterproof boots, hat, gloves, long johns, etc. If it’s warmer, you can always peel off the layers! Our beer tent is heated so you can warm up, but please prepare for the elements.
For general information call: 802-254-4565
LOCATION
PHOTO BY STEVE MCLAUGHLIN
This all-volunteer group works year-round to put on this twoday winter sporting event. The committee is comprised of people who have a passion for ensuring that this extraordinary tradition continues. The group includes former jumpers, coaches, specialists in hill maintenance and grooming, people skilled in professional sports announcing, marketing, communications, and operations management. Todd Einig, Chief of Competition Kate McGinn, Co-Director Liz Richards, Co-Director & Development Jason Evans, Physical Plant Sandy Harris, Operations Patricia Howell, Development Gail Bourque, Finance Paul Nasuta, Operations Tom Durkin, Operations Dana Sprague, Historian Sally Seymour, Media Coordinator Karen Zelenakas, Operations Kathryn Einig, Volunteer Coordinator Amber Pillsbury, Volunteer Coordinator Mel Martin, Graphic Design Pedr Seymour, Social Media Melissa Galanes, Vendors Spencer Knickerbocker, Nordic Combined Coordinator
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Harris Hill Ski Jump is located on Cedar Street in Brattleboro, VT. Take VT Exit 2 off I-91 and turn left (east) at the end of the ramp. Drive 1 mile and turn left onto Cedar Street. If you are coming from the north on Route 30, Cedar Street will be ONE-WAY during the event and not accessible for entry off of Route 30. Follow signs into town (Main Street to High Street to Western Ave) to enter from the south.
Patricia Howell, President Liz Richards, Vice President/ Co-Director Sandy Harris, Secretary Gail Bourque, Treasurer Tom Durkin Todd Einig, Chief of Competition Kate McGinn, Co-Director Andrew Rome Sally Seymour, Competition Secretary
The Organizing Committee
2020 Schedule and Information 10:00 a.m. Gates open Jump Training 11:30 a.m. Opening Ceremonies 12:15 p.m. Trial Round 1:00 p.m. Round 1 1:45 p.m. Round 2 2:30 p.m. Target Jump (Top 10) Award ceremonies following event at the base of Harris Hill
Board of Trustees
2020 Harris Hill Ski Jump Event Guide | Thursday, February 13, 2020
Harris Hill Ski Jump Competitors: 2020
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Thursday, February 13, 2020 | 2020 Harris Hill Ski Jump Event Guide Brattleboro Reformer | reformer.com 4
LOOKING BACK, MOVING FORWARD
Vermont’s Harris Hill boasts a high-flying history The Brattleboro landmark is the only Olympic-size ski jump in New England and one of just six of its height in the nation. By K evin O’Connor
The Harris Hill Ski Jump in 2019, as seen from above.
PHOTO BY JUSTIN ALTMAN
V N ERMO R E H T NT SO U
When Blaz Pavlic broke the long-distance record of Brattleboro’s Harris Hill in 2017 with a 104-meter jump, he gave thanks to a higher power. “The headwind helped me,” said the two-time-winning Slovenian, who’s set to return this February in hopes of reaping a trophy-retiring third victory. “It lifted me up, and then I just said, ‘Go for it.’” Pavlic also had a little assist from history. A nearly a century ago, Vermonter Fred Harris was a young contemporary of the Wright brothers — inventors of the airplane in those dizzyingly heady days of the early 1900s — when the college student first strapped wooden slats to his feet and catapulted off a snow-covered ramp. “Broke my skis all to pieces,” Harris penned in his diary. But two more boards brought two more tries. “Fell twice,” he wrote. But again, persistence. “Tried jump several times, and at last made it,” Harris finally proclaimed. “Hurrah! twice Oh! ye! Gods!” If only Harris could foresee what it all would snowball into. When the Brattleboro native built the Harris Hill ski jump in his hometown in 1922, he needed only a few boards for a launchpad
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and two more to lash to his boots to leap off a peak 30 stories high at speeds of up to 60 mph. But to attract a current-day crowd of world-class athletes and several thousand spectators, a nonprofit group of volunteers had to raise nearly $600,000 to rebuild the venue — now the only Olympic-size ski jump in New England and one of a mere six of its height in the nation. That’s just the latest wrinkle in a continuing story of rising above seemingly insurmountable odds. Neither “skiing” nor “ski jumping” were household words in the United States when Frederick Henry Harris — a sportsman turned stockbroker who lived from 1887 to 1961 — “early saw the light and, gathering disciples to himself, began to preach a gospel,” the late historian Frederick Van de Water once wrote. A pioneering “extreme skier,” Harris is credited with making the earliest slalom descents of Mount Washington in New Hampshire and Whiteface in New York. Harris founded the Dartmouth Outing Club — the first such organization of its kind in the country — in 1909, then created the Brattleboro Outing Club in 1922, the same year he built the ski jump with $2,200 of his own money. “The inaugural Brattleboro Ski Jump, held on Feb. 4, 1922, served as the first Vermont State Cham-
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like us, who are doing this completely pro bono with little fundraising background, wished for one angel donor who would just rescue them?” volunteer Patricia Howell said upon receiving the gift in 2008. Supporters would reap a total of nearly $600,000 to reopen the hill in 2009. Spencer Knickerbocker was a 16-year-old Brattleboro Union High School sophomore when he made history of sorts by being the first athlete to test out the 90-meter jump before its grand reopening. “I think it was important to have a local do it,” Knickerbocker said after his successful flight, “because the whole community came together for the fundraising support.” (For a moment, Knickerbocker’s inaugural leap was record-setting, too: Because the renovated steel takeoff ramp is higher than its wooden predecessor, officials re-
HARRIS HILL ARCHIVE
Ski Jump founder and extreme skiing pioneer Fred Harris on skis, above, and with daughter Sandy Harris.
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1927,” his timeline reports, “Reginald and Carol Kendall of Norwich take a toboggan off Harris Hill and through a flaming hoop.”) But natural tree-lined hills like the one Harris cleared by hand eventually gave way to metal towers with slick plastic ramps that don’t need help from Mother Nature. The local jump’s survival is due less to its storied past than to the ongoing support of its present caretakers. Volunteers added a snowmaking system in 1985 (thanks to the Mount Snow ski area in West Dover) and a new $20,000 judging stand in 2003 (courtesy of the Brattleboro Rotary Club). In 2005, as the late Harris was inducted into the Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum’s Hall of Fame, a 16-year-old Slovenian borrowed another jumper’s skis (an airline had lost and then broken his) to continue the founder’s tradition and fly off with that year’s annual tournament. Soon after, the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, concerned less with the hill’s history than its seemingly antique wooden takeoff, ruled the jump unsafe and refused to sanction any more competitions. The venue sat unused for three winters as volunteers sought designs and dollars not only to replace the tower but also to add a steel launch ramp, peak-to-parking lot staircase, required safety features and water and electrical fixtures for snowmaking. Volunteers feared that funding 50 tons of steel and 160,000 pounds of cement was too big a leap, even with generous community giving. Miraculously, they received an unsolicited $130,000 from a foundation that asked to remain anonymous. “How many times have rookies
2020 Harris Hill Ski Jump Event Guide | Thursday, February 13, 2020
pionship and drew over 2,500 spectators,” reads a hillside tribute sign headlined “The Genius, Genesis and Enduring Legacy of Fred Harris.” In his 1941 book “Winter in Vermont,” author Charles Crane cited only one credential for his sports chapter: “I knew Fred Harris, and Fred knew all. Harris was more than a prophet and exhorter; he was a practical and doggedly determined leader, and he made his dream come true.” Since its opening, Harris Hill has hosted nine national championships, starting in 1924 with the first finals held in the East and continuing up — “aside from a few hardscrabble years when winter was barren and when World War II raged,” the tribute sign says — to the U.S. qualifiers for the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. At its zenith in 1951, the jump set athlete and attendance records with 168 sportsmen and 10,000 spectators — fittingly, on the day the facility was officially named “Harris Hill.” Back before liability insurance and high school hockey, local teenagers considered the sport as common as football, basketball or baseball. Dana Sprague knows the jump both as a past athlete up on the launch and as its present historian and photographer down on the landing. Sprague can tell you the hill’s Winged Ski Trophy has been retired by five jumpers who each won at least three times — Torger Tokle of Norway in 1942, his brother Arthur Tokle in 1951, Art Devlin of Lake Placid, N.Y., in 1957, Hugh Barber of Brattleboro in 1974 and Vladimir Glyvka of Ukraine in 2000. (Another one of Sprague’s don’t-try-this-at-home tidbits: “In
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Thursday, February 13, 2020 | 2020 Harris Hill Ski Jump Event Guide
PHOTO BY DOUG LEARNED
Spencer Knickerbocker, the first skier to brave the renovated slope before its reopening in 2009, takes to the air.
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tired their old record book and opened a new one.) Harris Hill, being a real slope rather than a ramp atop scaffolding, is one of the few venues in the country that allows spectators to climb it to eye athletes up close. “We think it’s a great thing for people to get an appreciation of the speed and skill that’s required,” says Rex Bell, a former coach of
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the U.S. Olympic ski jumping team who helps lead hill competitions. Visitors also can see how snowmaking guns funnel and freeze gallon upon gallon of water before grooming machines smooth the result. “If we get a foot of natural snow and compact that, it’s 2 inches,” says Jason Evans, a Dummerston contractor in charge of hill prepa-
ration. “And natural snow melts a lot quicker than manmade snow. No matter how much snow falls, we still make it.” Because the jump is managed and maintained by volunteers, it opens only one weekend a year — traditionally for a two-day February competition capped by the annual Fred Harris Memorial Ski Jumping Tournament. Harris’
daughter, Sandy, presents the contest’s Winged Ski Trophy, just as her father and mother, Helen, did. “I want to do this because of how much this community has honored my father,” she says. “It means a lot to me to think Brattleboro has carried on his vision, his passion, his legacy.” And a history that continues to spark interest. In 2012, the hill celebrated its 90th anniversary with a new coaching tower and the first International Ski Federation cup competition ever held in the United States. “When most ski jumpers climb to the summit of Harris Hill, they can see all the way to New Hampshire,” Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Stan Grossfeld wrote in the Boston Globe that year. “But Karin Friberg, 22, who routinely trains with the U.S. women’s ski jumping team, can see Sochi, Russia.” That’s because Brattleboro welcomed female athletes long before they competed in the Olympics — which began with male ski jumpers at the first Winter Games in 1924 but didn’t allow women until 2014. As for the future? The hill is reaching out to new generations on its website, harrishillskijump. com. But it’s still grounded just above a cornfield as one of the few natural jumps on the continent. “Everyone who has contributed to preserve the tradition of ski jumping in Brattleboro can be proud,” volunteer Liz Richards said upon the hill’s recent restoration. “Proud that we did not let this amazing piece of local history become history.” Brattleboro writer Kevin O’Connor can be contacted at kevinoconnorvt@gmail.com.
A few facts... • Harris Hill Ski Jump cost $2,200 to build upon its opening in 1922. • The neighboring Brattleboro Outing Club began the same year as the ski jump. • The annual Fred Harris Memorial competition has been won by jumpers from 10 different countries. PHOTO BY DOUG LEARNED
• The event’s Winged Ski Trophy can be retired if won by the same
athlete three times. Only five jumpers have done so: Torger Tokle of Norway in 1942, his brother Arthur Tokle in 1951, Art Devlin of Lake Placid, N.Y., in 1957, Hugh Barber of Brattleboro in 1974 and Vladimir Glyvka of Ukraine in 2000. • Bing Anderson of Berlin, N.H., who set the hill record in 1922 and 1925, was convicted of murder and hung in Nova Scotia in 1930.
The BUHS singing group Madrigals will return for their second year to sing at opening ceremonies on Sunday, February 16. Ceremonies will also include the introduction of competitors and the Harris Hill Nordic Junior Jumpers. It will start at 11:30 am each day at the base of the jump. The BUHS Madrigals is an auditioned vocal chamber ensemble directed by Elyse Wadsworth. The Madrigals perform a wide range of a cappella music both at BUHS and in the Brattleboro community. Recent performances have included Norman Luboff’s African Mass, the Vermont premiere of Rich Campbell’s ‘In Those Years of No One Slept’, and performed in collaboration with Northern Harmony. Madrigals is a graded class, focusing on vocal technique, musicianship, and ensemble skills. The group is comprised of Ella Aquadro, Jenna Barry-Stoughton, Sarah Gordon-Macey, Jonah Johnson, Hannah Kowalski, Alexandra Miskovich, Virgil Neddenriep, Sophia Renaud, Jordan Roach, and Amar Vargas.
PHOTO BY DANA SPRAGUE
• In 1950, 10-year old Roger Dion of Lebanon, N.H., became the youngest athlete to jump Harris Hill. • In 1955, Martin Ingel of New York suspended a cable and boatswain chair above the landing hill to photograph athletes jumping straight at him. His work appeared in the 1956 winter
PHOTO BY DANA SPRAGUE
Chris Lamb celebrates his second Fred Harris Memorial Tournament win in 2013 with Harris’ daughter, Sandy Harris.
PHOTO BY DANA SPRAGUE
Blaz Pavlik, pictured with Sandy Harris, shows off the Winged Ski Trophy with his second win of the Fred Harris Memorial Tournament in 2019.
issue of Vermont Life magazine. • The Harris Hill Ski Jump is one of six Olympic-size (90-meter) ski jumps in the country. • There are 187 spectator steps that lead from the bottom to the top of the landing hill. • The event has been named one of the Top 10 Winter Events by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce.
PHOTO BY STEVE MCLAUGHLIN
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• In 1935, Harris Hill began announcing results over a loudspeaker.
A pair of two-time Harris Hill Ski Jump winners are vying for a trophy-retiring third victory at New England’s only Olympic-size venue Feb. 15-16. Only five jumpers in the venue’s nearly centuryold history have retired its Winged Ski Trophy by winning it three times — Torger Tokle of Norway in 1942, his brother Arthur Tokle in 1951, Art Devlin of Lake Placid, N.Y., in 1957, Hugh Barber of Brattleboro in 1974 and Vladimir Glyvka of Ukraine in 2000. Marlboro College graduate Chris Lamb won the Fred Harris Memorial Tournaments in 2010 and 2013. In 2010 he set a new hill record of 102 meters, or 335 feet. He will be returning this weekend to go head to head with the current record holder. Blaz Pavlic of Slovenia set the current hill record in 2017 with a jump of 104 meters, or 341 feet. He was 18-years old. “The headwind helped me,” he said of the historic leap. “It lifted me up, and then I just said, “Go for it.” Pavlic won the tournament that year and returned in 2019 to see his name engraved on the coveted Winged Ski Trophy for a second time.
2020 Harris Hill Ski Jump Event Guide | Thursday, February 13, 2020
Harris Hill Ski Jump could BUHS Madrigals to sing at opening see trophy retiring in 2020 ceremonies
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Thursday, February 13, 2020 | 2020 Harris Hill Ski Jump Event Guide Brattleboro Reformer | reformer.com 8
FACT SHEET
All about ski jumping The first known ski jumper was Norwegian Olaf Rye, who jumped 9.5 meters in 1809 before an audience of other soldiers. By 1862, ski jumpers like Sondre Norheim were tackling much larger jumps, and competing in official ski jumping contests. Ski jumping saw radical new development in 1985 with the innovative V-style, where a ski jumper holds his skis in a V-shaped position (instead of parallel) while in the air. Swedish ski jumper Jan Boklöv was the first athlete to employ this technique, after suffering an in-air seizure, using the technique to save himself from a crash landing. Other competitors quickly realized that V-style produced additional lift - was later verified to create 28 per cent more lift - and universally adopted the style. Men’s ski jumping has been part of the Olympic Winter Games since the first Games in Chamonix, in 1924. The large hill competition was added for the 1964 Winter Games in Innsbruck. Ski jumping for women has been recognized by the FIS and as an Olympic Sport. In ski jumping, an athlete skis down a long ramp, referred to as the inrun and launches into the air at speeds of up to 95 km/h. Technique is integral to ski jumping as athletes must perform a very precise and well-timed takeoff. Once in the air, athletes assume the V-style airfoil and adjust their position to maximize lift and minimize drag. Competitors are evaluated on distance and style. While there is a very close relationship
between distance and style, and the skier with the longest jump will often have the highest style points, an exception to this can be found in the landing portion. Long jumps can make landing in a controlled telemark position more difficult. The quality of landing can therefore be a determining factor in deciding on finishing place if the distances are similar. Two jumps are used in Olympic competition: normal hill and large hill, with the normal hill being the smaller of the two. The jump’s actual height is of little importance; it’s the length of jump that the hill is designed to accommodate that’s key. Athletes can travel 105 meters on a normal hill and 140 meters on a large hill. The only American to win an Olympic medal in ski jumping is Anders Haugen, who placed 4th in 1932, but due to the discovery of a calculation error more than 50 years after the competition, he was awarded a bronze medal. “Ski flying” in a radical new feature of ski jumping. Although not contested in Olympic competition, ski flying is regularly featured in the World Cup, and has a World Championship every second year. The current world record is 239 meters, and it required a full nine seconds of flight time to cover that distance! The distance ski jumpers travel in competition is closely regulated by a jury. At the start of the competitive round, the jury selects a start gate that allows the best athletes to fly close to the maximum safe distance. All athletes start from the same gate and, as a
PHOTO BY STEVE MCLAUGHLIN
result, less proficient jumpers fly a shorter distance. Ski jumps are designed with many start benches allowing the jury to select the appropriate start gate based on conditions as wind, temperature, humidity, snow type and other factors which can impact the distance a jumper flies.
Normal Hill Individual The normal hill individual event is usually the first ski jumping event in the Olympic schedule beginning with a qualification event on the day prior to the competition. The 15 top-ranked ski jumpers on the World Cup circuit are pre-selected and do not necessarily have to participate in the qualification event. The remaining athletes must rank in the top 35 to receive a start. In the official competition, there are two rounds of jumps. The first round sees 50 starters (15 pre-qualified and 35 qualified) and only the top 35 skiers from this round move on to the final round. The starting order for the second round of competition is in reverse from the first round, leaving the best jumps
for the end of the competition.
Large Hill Individual The large hill individual event follows the same format as the normal hill individual competition except that it is held on the large hill. Most World Cup events occur on the large hill with only one or two normal hill competitions occurring throughout the season.
Large Hill Team In this event, each team is comprised of four athletes and there are two competition rounds. In the first round, one skier from each team jumps. Then, the second skier from each team jumps. Then the third, followed by the fourth skier, until all the skiers have jumped one round. In the second round, only the top eight teams from the first round compete. Similar to the individual events, the starting order for the second round sees the less proficient jumpers go first and the best jumpers go last. The team with the highest total score over all eight jumps wins. This information provided by USSA.
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Ski jumping has evolved over the years. The equipment has improved at a rapid pace allowing for further jumps and safer flights. Jumps are updated regularly, looking like modern works of art cut into hillsides. There is one place in the world though, where ski jumping seems to have maintained its roots – the American Midwest. Ski jumps are scattered across the Midwest in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, and Illinois. The towers groan with famed wind gusts.
These scaffold towers have lived through our country’s greatest triumphs and tragedies – monuments of sorts. In fact, these towers will probably outlive us. Every year these monuments are honored with a ski jumping tournament. Some of these tournaments date back to the 1800’s making them among America’s oldest sporting events. Young ski jumpers shake with nerves while gazing up at the hill, unsure if they are worthy for the gusty conditions. The hill crew rakes the landing hill and sweeps the track, many proudly donning Green Bay Packers or Minnesota Vikings hats. Ads have been playing on the local radio station and thousands of pins have been pre-purchased at local retailers around town, it’s Tournament night. For some of these Midwest ski jumps, one night a year is all they will get. The entire town will flock into the arena, proudly wearing their
2020 Harris Hill Ski Jump Event Guide | Thursday, February 13, 2020
Midwest Monuments
buttons on the outside of warm jackets. Some gather around huge funeral pier bonfires, others sit in their running trucks- honking horns after a long ride. The concession stands serve local cuisine: bratwurst, pasties, and of courseice cold beer. Ski lifts aren’t prevalent in these part. Instead, the athletes stick their skis in pickup trucks and are driven to the takeoff – an economical mode of transportation. For the takeoff, the athletes hoist long skis onto shoulders and scale the scaffolding on icy wooden steps. Then, they soar. Every competition ends with one round of longest standing – a self-explanatory game. Whoever jumps the farthest without crashing, wins. To many, this seems reckless or maybe not worth the risk. Especially in a society today that seems to obsess over safety. The athletes who take part though, they savor every moment of flight and every applause, because at the end of the day – it’s all about putting on a show. A hat passes through the crowd, green bills of all sizes get tossed in to reward the champion; the true definition of an invested crowd. A champion is celebrated and the handsome purse is awarded. Fans cheer and horns are honked. Then just as quickly as the thousands of people appeared, they disappear into the night. The dirt parking lot empties, minus a few cars. Lingering are the people behind the scenes - the coaches, event coordinators, judges, hill markers, and hill crew. These are just fancy names for what these people really are, ski jumpers. Most don’t jump anymore as it isn’t an old man’s game- but they did once, and that’s all that matters. In this sense, maybe ski jumping is a lifetime sport. As the equipment on the hill is disassembled, there is chatter of what went well and what to improve upon next year. At some point, the discussion shifts and past stories are told. The ski jump, still awake and sparkling under the lights, listens to these stories and smiles. For a second the lights seem to brighten upon this monument. Then the breaker gets pulled and a dark cloth falls over the hillside. This monument goes to sleep – until next year.
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Thursday, February 13, 2020 | 2020 Harris Hill Ski Jump Event Guide
Harris Hill Ski Jump winners
Compiled by Dana Sprague
1922 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954
John Carleton, Dartmouth, Mass., U.S. Bing Anderson, Berlin, N.H., U.S. Alf Jansen, Chicago, Ill., U.S. Lars Haugen, Canton, S.D., U.S. Norman Berger, Montreal Ole Jansen, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S. Everett Davidson, Berlin, N.H., U.S. Harlvor Bjorngaard, Reduing, Minn., U.S. Strand Mikkelsen, Greenfield, Mass., U.S. No Jump - No Snow Harold Sorensen, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S. No Jump - No Snow Harold Sorensen, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S. Rolf Munson, Lake Placid, N.Y., U.S. Sigurd Jorgensen, Norway Aurele LeGere, Rumford, Maine, U.S. No Jump - No Snow Birger Rudd, Norway Merrill Barber, Brattleboro, Vt., U.S. Torger Tokle, Norway Torger Tokle, Norway Torger Tokle, Norway No Jump - War No Jump - War No Jump - War Art Devlin, Lake Placid, N.Y., U.S. Merrill Barber, Brattleboro, Vt., U.S. Arthur Tokle, Norway Arthur Tokle, Norway Art Devlin, Lake Placid, N.Y., U.S. Arthur Tokle, Norway Sigurd Sorensen, Norway Jon Riisnaes, Norway Art Devlin, Lake Placid, N.Y., U.S.
1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988
Art Devlin, Lake Placid, N.Y., U.S. Roy Sherwood, Salisbury, Conn., U.S. Art Devlin, Lake Placid, N.Y., U.S. Art Devlin, Lake Placid, N.Y., U.S. Bernie Dion, Lebanon, N.H., U.S. Roy Sherwood, Salisbury, Conn., U.S. Ansten Samuelstuen, Steamboat Springs, Col., U.S. Art Tokle, Brooklyn, N.Y. - Norway Kjell Sjoberg, Sweden Jacques Charland, Threerivers, Quebec Sepp Lichtenegger, Austria Eric Merrill, Brattleboro, Vt., U.S. John Bower, Auburn, Maine, U.S. Peter Robes, Etna, N.H., U.S. Adrian Watt, Duluth, Minn., U.S. Peter Robes, Etna, N.H., U.S. Scott Berry, Deadwood, S.D., U.S. Hugh Barber, Brattleboro, Vt., U.S. Hugh Barber, Brattleboro, Vt., U.S. Hugh Barber, Brattleboro, Vt., U.S. Jerry Martin, Minneapolis, Minn., U.S. Walter Malmquist, Post Mills, Vt., U.S. Scott Sobezak, Cloquet, Minn., U.S. Chris Bergrav, Norway Walter Malmquist, Post Mills, Vt., U.S. No Jump - No Snow No Jump - No Snow Jeff Volmrich, Lake Placid, N.Y., U.S. Chris Hastings, Norwich, Vt., U.S. Hans Johnston, Carlisle, Mass., U.S. Jan Henrick, Troen, Norway Jeff Volmrich, Lake Placid, N.Y., U.S. Risto Laakkone, Finland Stefan Horngahar, Austria
HARRIS HILL ARCHIVES
1989 Steiner Bratten, Norway 1990 Mike Holland, Norwich, Vt., U.S. 1991 Andraz Kopal, Yugoslavia 1992 Dimitri Zucz, Russia 1993 Andreas Aschauer, Austria 1994 Harold Deiss, Austria 1995 Jim Holland, Norwich, Vt., U.S. 1996 Vladimir Glyvka, Ukraine 1997 Randy Weber, Steamboat Springs, Col., U.S. 1998 No Jump - No Snow 1999 Vladimir Glyvka, Ukraine 2000 Vladimir Glyvka, Ukraine 2001 Tadej Lenic, Slovenia 2002 Casey Colby, Lake Placid, N.Y., U.S. 2003 Jakob Seifried, Austria
2004 Luka Bardorfer, Slovenia 2005 Primoz Kozar, Slovenia 2006 No Jump - Construction 2007 No Jump - Construction 2008 No Jump - Construction 2009 Christian Reiter, Austria 2010 Chris Lamb, Andover, N.H., U.S. 2011 Mike Glasder, Cary, Ill., U.S. 2012 Anders Johnson, Utah, U.S. 2013 Chris Lamb, Andover N.H., U.S. 2014 Miran Zupancic, Slovenia 2015 Samet Karta, Turkey 2016 Gasper Bartol, Slovenia 2017 Blaz Pavlik, Slovenia 2018 Claudio Mörth, Austria 2019 Blaz Pavlic, Slovenia
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Harris Hill Ski Jump Record Breakers by year
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PHOTO BY STEVE MCLAUGHLIN
Slovenian Blaz Pavlic, winner of the 2017 Fred Harris Memorial Tournament and new hill record holder.
Year
Jumper
Feet
Year
Jumper
Feet
2017
Blaz Pavlik, Slovenia
341
1969
Adrian Watt, Duluth, Minn.
251
2010
Chris Lamb, Andover, N.H.
335
1965
Wolfgang Happle, Germany
241
2009
Christian Reiter, Austria
331.65 1951
Art Tokle, N.Y. – Norway
239
2001
Primoz Delavec, Slovenia
320
1942
Torger Tokle, N.Y. – Norway
230
1996
Vladimir Glyvka, Ukraine
310
1941
Torger Tokle, N.Y. – Norway
223
1995
Alex Diess, Austria
304
1938
Birger Ruud, Norway
220
1987
Risto Laakonen, Finland
299
1936
Aurele Legere, Rumford, Maine
197
1986
Reed Zuchlke, Eau Claire, Wis.
287
1933
Harold Sorensen, Brooklyn, N.Y.
192
1982
Jeff Volmrich, Lake Placid, N.Y.
279
1925
Bing Anderson, Berlin, N.H.
190
1978
Chris Bergrav, Dartmouth, Mass.
261
1924
Henry Hall, Detroit, Mich.
180
1975
Chris Bergrav, Dartmouth, Mass.
259
1923
Norman Berger, Montreal
160
1974
Hugh Barber, Brattleboro, Vt.
256
1922
Bing Anderson, Berlin, N.H.
158
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Lead Sponsors
Jumper Sponsors
Mount Snow NorthStar The Richards Group
Al’s Towing BPOE 1499 Brattleboro Country Club Brattleboro Memorial Hospital C & S Wholesale Grocers Grafton Village Cheese GS Precision
Mascot Sponsors Brattleboro Savings & Loan Park Place Financial Advisors
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Twin Banner Sponsors Anson Baldwin Tree Service Brattleboro Area Realty Brattleboro Retreat Brattleboro Subaru Cota & Cota
DMI Industries Eastern Ski and Nordic Combined Foard Panel Green Mountain Creamery J. Evans Construction Lawton Floor Design Retreat Farm Stop & Go Instant Oil Change Swiss Precision Turning Trust Company of Vermont Wells Fargo
Banner Sponsors Allard Lumber Barrows Fisher Oil Brattleboro Food Coop Brattleboro Portable Storage Cersosimo Industries Dead River Company Downtown Brattleboro Alliance Four Columns Inn Friends of the Sun Holton Home/Bradley House Kresge’s Alignment Landmark College Ninety-Nine Restaurant Perkins Home Center Rentals Plus, Inc River Valley Credit Union St. Michael Catholic School Savings Bank of Walpole The Grammar School Thompson House The Works Bakery Café Vermont State Employees Credit Union
2020 Harris Hill Ski Jump Event Guide | Thursday, February 13, 2020
Harris Hill Ski Jump Sponsors: 2020
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PHOTO BY SALLY SEYMOUR
Holiday Inn Express
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Thursday, February 13, 2020 | 2020 Harris Hill Ski Jump Event Guide