Victory at last: 2011 Junior Olympic Championships

LAKEVILLE — In 1926, the town of Salisbury built a ski jump.The 65-meter wooden structure erected on Satre Hill quickly distinguished itself from the surrounding evergreens, reaching high above the ancient pines and hemlocks to dominate the Salisbury skyline. For the next 85 years — and counting — Salisbury has hosted regional ski jumping competitions and championships, becoming a popular destination among the competitors. It’s that small-town feel and the community pride that separates the Satre Hill jump from its counterparts elsewhere in the U.S.But even though townsfolk and the Salisbury Winter Sports Association (SWSA) greet each ski jumping festival as though it were an audition for the Winter Olympics, the sport’s most elite competitions were always held elsewhere. Finally, in 2009 the town’s commitment to the sport was recognized when SWSA President Ken Barker was told Salisbury could host the 2011 Junior Olympics. But there was one condition: The old wooden jump would have to be replaced with a new steel structure. Barker agreed. The cost: $800,000. The timeframe: less than two years.Completing the fundraising and getting the new facility built were just the first victories in the 2011 U.S. Junior Olympic Championships in Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined. The Junior Olympics is the premier event for skiers age 17 and younger. Last week’s competition drew athletes from Wisconsin, Minnesotta, Utah, Colorado. Success at the Junior Olympics is essential for skiers with international and Olympic aspirations.The Nordic combined event consisted of ski jumping and a Gundersen style cross-country race, with both individual and team contests. The cross-country race took place at Mohawk Mountain Ski Area in Cornwall.In ski jumping, each participant takes two jumps, scored on distance and style. The jumper who amasses the most points in the first jump starts first in the cross-country race — this is the Gundersen format. A two-second delay is accorded to each racer for every one point they finish behind the winner in ski jumping. The first person across the finish line is the overall winner.Not everyone who jumped competed in the cross-country race.After two days of practice jumping and training, the competition started Thursday morning from the new tower at Satre Hill with two rounds of individual jumps. Unlike the annual SWSA Jumpfest, which features only contestants from the east coast, the Junior Olympics attracts members from the Central, Intermountain and Rocky Mountain divisions as well.The Central Division made the strongest showing, especially in the boys J-2 class, sweeping the individual jumps. While the Central Division dominated Thursday’s ski jumping competition, it was the Rocky Mountain Division that sent the highest number of contestants to the podium after the cross-country race Thursday afternoon.After a full day of rain, Friday’s nighttime elimination jump was canceled. The volunteers on the grounds crew worked through th enight to get the track on the jump tower and the landing hill in good condition. Their efforts paid dividends as the jump was in great shape Saturday morning for Nordic combined and jumping competitions.In Nordic combined, the pairs for the Nordic combined sprint jumped together to determine the starting positions for the race later in the day at Mohawk Mountain. A large crowd was on hand to watch the teams sprint along the groomed trail. As in the international Winter Olympics, the teams fought with every ounce of their strength and many collapsed on the ground (or into the arms of proud parents) as they crossed the finish line. Salisbury and SWSA also worked flat out for two years, preparing for the 2011 Junior Olympic Ski Championships. Asked if they lived up to his expectations, SWSA’s Barker declared emphatically, “Oh yeah. It was a great weekend.”He was also quick to acknowledge the role that Mohawk Mountain played in the tournament’s success.“They did an enormous amount of work here at Mohawk and we owe them a huge thank you,” he said. The Junior Olympics will return to Salisbury in five years, after the competition completes it rotation through the four other regions. For full coverage of the events, visit The Lakeville Journal website at tcextra.com. For complete weekend results, visit 2011juniorolympics.com.