SWSA heads to Alaska for summer ski jumping on grass

SALISBURY — Late June in Salisbury is when thoughts turn to swimming at the Grove, hiking the Appalachian Trail and…ski jumping? 

For a group of the Salisbury Winter Sports Association’s youth ski jumpers, that’s exactly what it meant for them. Six jumpers, Carley  and Merrick  Bannerman of Norfolk, Hazel Taylor of Salisbury, Islay  and Quin Sheil of Salisbury, and Isaac Fitch of Washington, Connecticut,  traveled to Anchorage, Alaska for a week of ski jumping. 

Team Alaska and USA Nordic hosted a week-long ski jumping camp for athletes from around the country from June 20-25. Typical days involved warm-ups, conditioning, jumping, and coaching from Alaskan coaches as well as SWSA’s own Seth Gardner, and Salisbury native and Olympic coach Larry Stone. 

Team Alaska also showed the athletes around their “backyard” with a group hike to Portage Lake into which the Portage glacier melts — all the athletes promptly jumped in before emerging with chattering teeth and huge smiles.

While the snow in the upper reaches of the Chugach Mountains was visible from the Karl Eid Ski Jumping complex in Anchorage, there wasn’t a white patch to be seen on the jumps. Summer jumping involves the use of metal tracks and artificial grass that allows the skiers to slide down the jumps and land as if on snow. 

The SWSA jumpers all improved noticeably during their trip, some progressing all the way up to the 45 meter jump, while keeping the 65 meter jump in their sights for next year. 

The athletes and their families were grateful to SWSA for the sponsorship provided to defray part of the travel costs. 

“A trip like this does not only provide a look at another part of this country and its beauty, it also shows the importance of year round training and retention of athletes within the sport.” said SWSA president Ken Barker.

— Serena Taylor is the director of SWSA and mother of Hazel Taylor.