Made with Xara Web Designer Mission Statement This website is devoted to the rich heritage of the sport of ski jumping in the USA, beginning with the first recorded tournament in 1887 at Red Wing MN and continuing through the present and into the future.  It incorporates the online American Ski Jumping Hall of Fame.  Scroll down the page a bit for background on this organization and website. Inaugural Festivities - June 17, 2007 On June 17, 2007, in conjunction with the 150th anniversary celebration in the city of Red Wing, a permanent diorama depicting the 1928 National Championships, which were held at Charlson Hill, was unveiled at the St James Hotel. It has since been moved to the county courthouse.  Also, the first group of inductees into the virtual American  Ski Jumping Hall of Fame were announced (there's a link to our Hall of Fame page above). Contact Us                                                                                                            For information about this organization or website, contact: Jerry Borgen, Chairman   jerryborgen (at) charter.net Ken Anderson, Webmaster   webmaster (at) skijumpingusa.com About AmericanSkiJumping.com First induction ceremonies, June 2007 - views of display Background ... How We Came To Be In late 2005, informal discussions began among a number of former ski jumpers in Minnesota. The impetus came from a desire on the part of several remaining members of the Aurora Ski Club of Red Wing, which disbanded in the 1950s, but which was one of the most important of the early clubs. There was a desire on their part to have some sort of recognition of their city as the birthplace of American ski jumping. Members of the St Paul Ski Club, which was founded in 1885 and is still operating, concurred with this designation, although in fact, records show that St Paul had held a tournament two weeks earlier. For many years, the 37 foot flight of Norwegian immigrant Mikkel Hemmestvedt in Red Wing has been published as the first American distance record. As a result of the deliberations of this group, The City of Red Wing was authorized to issue a proclamation in May 2006, recognizing their community as the "birthplace of American ski jumping." The slide presentation at right incorporates photos from a meeting at the St James Hotel in Red Wing in November 2006. On Feb 2, 2007, a 24-page insert appeared in the Red Wing Republican-Eagle, containing historic pictures and articles about ski jumping in Red Wing. We want to recognize Jerry Borgen and Fred Johnson of Friends of American Ski Jumping, along with Annie Stumpf and Kayla Staub of the Republican-Eagle for doing a terrific job on this impressive insert! Click here to view a 2.8MB pdf file showing all 24 pages of the insert. One of the immediate concerns among those who have been involved in our discussions has been to identify museums and private collections related to ski jumping. This would include such institutions as the National Ski Hall of Fame (Ishpeming MI) and the Engen Museum (Park City UT), the clubhouse collections at such places as the St Paul Ski Club  and the Norge Ski Club (Fox River Grove IL), and individual collections and mini-museums.  A list of museums and collections can be found via a tab at the top of this page.  We have created a form for submission of information regarding museums and collections, but we will NOT publish information about private collections, or contact information about them, without the express consent of the individual collector. You can find out about these resources by visiting the "Museums, etc." page via a link at the top of this page. Inevitably, discussion of lasting recognition for ski jumpers crept into our conversations. While a number of jumpers have been enshrined in the National Ski Hall of Fame, the decline of numbers of US jumpers over the past fifty years, along with the growth of recreational skiing and snowboarding, makes the future recognition of jumpers by NSHF seem less likely. There have been some outstanding jumpers in the recent past, as well as the present.  This includes both male and female athletes. These accomplished athletes, and those in future years, should know that their achievements will be recognized and remembered in a Hall of Fame dedicated to the discipline of ski jumping. The general consensus among those who have attended meetings, or who have had individual discussions about the possibility of establishing a HOF for jumpers, led us to explore how this might be done. While the folks from Red Wing have concentrated on developing a permanent physical display including hall of fame pictures, biographies, and artifacts, all seem to agree that the HOF should be virtual ... i.e. web-based, and not confined to any specific location. A committee was established to develop guidelines for nomination and selection, and that committee continues to perform and refine the process. Please visit this site regularly; it will be our primary means of communicating to people interested in the sport of ski jumping ... past, present, and future ... throughout the United States.    Use Google Search to find more info about ski jumping!