Historical Information About American Ski Jumping
This page contains some basic historical information about the sport of ski jumping in the United States, and links
to various resources. The list of videos at right will show you the progression of ski jumping technique ... we’ll add
a few more to include some more recent footage.
** Don West is the webmaster of www.skijumpeast.com, the online voice of USSA’s Eastern Division. He’s also
the oldest active ski jumper in the USA ... he’s jumping in Masters Class V, which includes athletes age 70-79.
This website contains a lot of historical information, including a number of interesting lists of national
champions, Olympic and FIS team members, etc. There’s also a lot of info on Masters classes and competitions.
** Here’s a website which catalogs ski jumps around the world, and it’s got a huge listing of American jumps, past
and present ... www.skisprungschanzen.com. That’s German for “ski jumping hills.” It’s in both German and
English. The link will bring up the homepage in English, but if you navigate to a page that’s in German, look for a
little British flag logo in the upper part of the left (blue) column to switch to English. Click on Ski Jumps, choose
United States, and you’ll find a lengthy list. Some material may be outdated, but you can contact the webmaster if
you have more complete or current info. Prepare to spend some time ...
Here’s an example of what you can find there ... a listing for a ski jump in Berkeley, California. There was a
description of two events held there in the 1930s, with a link to a YouTube VIDEO compiled from black & white
movies shot on site. There’s a sharp right turn at the end of the outrun, and one of the jumpers has to dodge a
dog! As Master Card would say, “Priceless!”
** The International Skiing History Association publishes a terrific comprehensive quarterly magazine called
Skiing Heritage. Their website is www.skiinghistory.org. Its subject matter covers all skiing disciplines, and of
course it’s international in scope. They have published articles about American ski jumping and Nordic combined,
and it’s well worth the time to become familiar with their website. Back issues of the magazine are online.
** See a historical insert from the Red Wing Republican-Eagle Feb 7, 2007. PDF, 24 pages
This was printed at the time of the first American Ski Jumping Hall of Fame induction, and contains a lot of
information on the early days of ski jumping in the USA.
** Learn about the Morgedal Valle in Norway, where ski jumping began ... Morgedal.com
Find more links on our “Museums, etc.” page ... along with info in collections, books, etc.
Custom Search
Made with Xara
Looking Back ... All The Way To 1887
Thank you for your interest in the history of American ski jumping!
We hope you’ll find this site interesting and informative. Find out
how this organization began and learn about its mission. Check for
announcements and upcoming events. Visit our online Hall of Fame, and
find links to other ski jumping history resources. You’ll find all of these
things via link buttons at the top of each page. We’ll also invite you to
become a member of Friends of American Ski Jumping!
Hover mouse on each thumbnail above to see larger image at left.
Red Wing MN, late 1880s. Second from left is
Mikkel Hemmestvedt, who set the first US
distance record of 37 feet at Red Wing in 1887.
