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Sheil soars to Junior National podium

Sheil soars to Junior National podium

Islay Sheil jumping during Junior National competition in Alaska.

Billy Sheil

A team of Salisbury Winter Sports Association (SWSA) members flew to Anchorage, Alaska, recently to compete, volunteer, support and officiate at the 2024 Junior Nationals (JN) ski jumping tournament.

The competitor was Islay Sheil, a member of Team SWSA who jumped in the U16 division, earning a bronze medal in the team event with teammate Caroline Chor from the Ford Sayre club in New Hampshire.

Islay earned a place on the 2024 Eastern JN team during Jumpfest’s Eastern U.S. ski jumping championships in Salisbury.

SWSA directors Matt Bannerman and Serena Taylor volunteered as markers, and SWSA President Ken Barker served as assistant technical delegate. Carley Bannerman, another SWSA jumper, and Islay’s parents, Billy and Kristin Sheil, filled the rolls of “jumper support.”

The Eastern division team enjoyed even more success by the competition’s end. The U20 and U16 boys division swept the podium against competitors from the four other divisions. This was a first for any division in the competition’s history.

The JN, which is the premier event for jumpers 20 years old and under, marks the official end of the ski jumping calendar, and the warming temperatures have brought SWSA’s training sessions to a close for the season.

To learn more about SWSA, visit jumpfest.org

Islay, center, flanked by fellow Junior National ski jumping competitors.Billy Sheil

Lakeville Journal

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