Unfortunately, many people do not consider fun to be an important part of their daily agenda. For me, that was always a high priority in whatever I was doing.
Chuck Yeager
A few years back, after thinking about retiring, I got hooked on the ski jumping scene. I totally fell in love with it and now volunteer quite a bit at the jumps here in Anchorage. I did not know much about ski jumping at first, even though I grew up downhill skiing, racing, and took up cross-country skiing here in Alaska. Skiing has been such a wonderful sport to be involved in, and it’s not just a lifelong thing; it has so many different aspects, varieties of activities, and levels..
As I’ve gotten older, volunteering has become more common. The city has given me so much, and I feel like it’s time to give back. The skiing world seems to appreciate its volunteers, no matter how much they contribute. I truly believe that having a variety of activities makes the world a better place. Not everyone skis, but being part of a community makes it a better place. And I’m proud of the communities, whether I’m personally involved in them or not.
Ski jumping is a small, fairly specialized group, mostly with younger athletes. I’ve jumped myself, but that’s not really why I volunteer. It’s a group of parents, people, and kids who have found their place. Kids start at 5 years old and progress, sometimes going on to become national and world champions, sometimes passionate for a few years, then moving on to other activities, leaving the ski jumping word for other interests. I’ve talked to several parents who are disappointed when their kid leaves ski jumping for another community because our group is somewhat unique, welcoming, and caring. As one coach told me years ago, he doesn’t care if he has good ski jumpers (he was being dishonest), but he wanted good citizens. I’m all in.
I mainly help keeping the facility running smoothly, which means handling plumbing, electrical work, carpentry, snow conditions, hill preparation, and ensuring everyone’s safety. Gaining these skills is a real plus, as I believe lifelong learning is key. I often work in the background, which suits me just fine. I put in a lot of hours, and when the administrators offered to pay me a bit, I was happy to accept. I’m retired and don’t need the money, but I told them it would be nice, though not essential. I did stipulate that if they paid me, it had to be what I thought I was worth. Being smart people, they accepted my offer to volunteer. Ski jumping doesn’t have much money, and I haven’t seen a program in North America with enough funds. My wife, Jeanne, has volunteered and repairs and makes the small kids’ ski jump suits. Now, both of us are fully involved.
Over the years, I’ve learned a lot and still learning, although I haven’t quite figured out how to teach kids to jump, but it’s great to see them learn and improve. While the coaches will tell the kids how to improve with some minor details after each jump, when I’m asked, I usually say, “That was a good jump, next time go farther.” When I occasionally fill in for the coaches, I joke that it takes a few weeks for the real coaches to get back with the correct form.
Since ski jumping community always needs volunteers of all kinds, I’ve now jumped into the judging world! In ski jumping, a competition is all about two things: how far you jump and how well you do it. There’s a formula that gives you points for the distance you fly, which is super important. Then there are style points. Ski jumping is a sport with its own special rules about how you jump. No tricks allowed! Style is all about how you fly, land, and progress down the hill, with specific points for each part. I’ve been taking classes and traveling to learn how to judge properly over the last few years. Even though it’s a bit of a personal thing, there are really clear rules about what’s allowed and not allowed. A friend once said that any activity judged subjectively isn’t really a sport. A lot of people might disagree, but ski jumping is pretty clear about how far and how you jump with every aspect given a specific criteria. Right now, I’ve gotten certified at the national level, which is the highest I can go because of my age. Now, I can judge local competitions and even national ones!
National Championships, especially for juniors, are four-day events with lots of excitement. The athletes are the stars, and the venues make sure they have a great competition and a good time. Parents come to watch, and there are often fun activities for them too. There are opening ceremonies, different competitions (individual and team), a bracketed elimination, and a closing ceremony. My job was one of five judges who judged style, while others measured the distance. For many this is the first time on the national stage. Plus, there are lots of people behind the scenes who keep the hills in top shape for a national championship.
Steamboat Springs is a charming town in northern Colorado, known for its history in ranching and skiing. When I was in college in Colorado, our team often traveled to races in Colorado Springs. It always seemed like a nice place, not as fancy as some other spots. We always stayed at the Rabbit Ears Motel, and I’ve stayed there many times since—Great Divide Bike rides, other ski jumping events, and a great place. Like anywhere, it’s changing and has changed a lot, and people are still debating whether it’s good or bad. It’s just growing and evolving.
Steamboat Springs has a big ski resort, but there’s also a smaller community skiing hill with training facilities for ski racing, mogul skiing, tricks, sledding, and a jump facility with ski jumps of 10, 30, 40, 75, 90, and 120 meters, though some are not being maintained right now. Howelsen Hill, started in 1915 by a Norwegian immigrant, is the first and longest-running ski area in the United States. The Rabbit Ears Motel and downtown are just a 1 km walk away with a great trail along the Yampa River.
This year, the weather in the western United States hasn’t been great for skiing. Many areas had their worst snow year in decades, including Steamboat Springs. The hill crew put in countless hours to keep and maintain the jump for the competition. Somehow, through magic and incredibly long hours, they pulled it off. Maybe a few standards had to be lowered to hold the competition, but the officials certified the jump as OK, and the competition went on, despite ice, wind, warm, and cold.
The sport is inclusive and very helpful when needed. When a binding or clothing item, or some equipment didn’t work, teams helped each other create a friendly atmosphere.
And ski jumping has two variations. One is just the ski jumping the other is nordic combined, which utilizes both ski jumping and cross country ski racing into one combined sport. Folks will ski jump then cross country race according to how well they do jumping. The first one across the finish line at cross country wins the event. The nordic combined can be quite exciting.
Then there was the return home. I have come to the conclusion that traveling 18 continuous hours is too much for me. I arrived for the shuttle at the motel, went to airport, flew to Denver, layover for 3 hours, fly to Seattle layover for 1.5 hours and fly to Anchorage where my baggage did not arrive with me, and fell into bed 18 hours after arriving for the shuttle.
I had to fly United airlines out of Hayden airport at Steamboat Springs and reclaim my baggage in Denver then recheck in with Alaska Airlines. The attendant at Hayden airport worked some sort of miracle and managed to check my baggage between airlines, so I would not have to leave airport and return going through the long security lines. Thank you United airlines clerk. But alas baggage did not make it to Anchorage until it was delivered to our house yesterday evening 19 hours after my arrival in Anchorage. Delayed me having to do laundry for a bit.
jrpatee 