VIDEO and PHOTOS From This Year’s Tournament!                  The helicopter video was shot by Kiwanis Ski Club jumper Dan Englund using a remote-controlled electric helicopter that he built.  You can see more of his work on his website, www.aerialvantageproductions.com.  The photo album was shot by Tom Bickner of the Norge Ski Club, and it contains 409 photographs. You can find more videos and pix from this and previous tournaments on our “FIS Continental Cup” & “Video/Photo” pages.  More at bottom of this page, too.   GERMANY’S MARINUS KRAUS SCORES HUGE WIN FEB 1 Eisenbichler 2nd, Johansson 3rd, Frenette top US athlete in 8th    > > > Results Sunday Feb 12:   training    competition    Thursday’s open practice at Pine Mountain was held in spectacular weather, but on Friday Mother Nature showed up with a stiff breeze, and the FIS-required official training session was postponed to Saturday morning. It was cold and windy again on Saturday in Iron Mountain, preventing any jumpers from getting off the ground, but it didn’t keep a huge crowd from filling the parking lot.  Tailgate parties and socializing filled the day, while FIS and the Kiwanis Ski Club made plans for a compressed schedule on Sunday. When the sun rose on Sunday, it was still a bit windy, but the required training round for 46 jumpers got underway just after 9:00 ... and it took most of the morning, with several wind delays, to get the round completed.  Norway’s Robert Johansson of Norway had the longest flight of the sesson at 135 meters, but several US jumpers also had impressive jumps.  Christian Friberg, age 17, of St Paul, a member of the USA Ski Jumping development team, was first to jump and he flew134.5 meters.  Chris Lamb of Lake Placid hit 133.5, Mike Glasder of Norge Ski Club (Chicago) flew 130, Anders Johnson landed at 122.5, and Peter Frenette was marked at 117.  It was a promising start for the young US squad. After a break for opening ceremonies, competition began, and the first round was finally completed in mid-afternoon.  There were frequent wind delays, and the wind still caused problems for some jumpers, but when the round was over, Germany’s Marinus Kraus was leading on a jump of 142.5 meters, just one meter short of the hill record.  Frenette was 2nd, with a jump of 136.5, and Johansson was 3rd with a distance of 135.  Friberg had a solid ride to 122.5 meters, and was 10th after the opening round.  Wind had clearly been favorable for some jumpers, not so much for others, and the sun was getting lower in the sky, but the decision was made to get a second round underway.  There were several more delays for wind.  Some of the jumpers caught the breeze just right and greatly improved on their first-round distances, while some had the the opposite kind of luck, coming up a bit short.  But when it finally ended at 4:30, Kraus was the winner, having had the second-best jump in the final round (133.5) to add to his huge first jump for a very high total score of 292.3 points.  His German teammate Markus Eisenbichler finished 2nd, with 266.5, and Johansson was 3rd with 257.  Frenette didn’t get the much-desired bit of headwind, landing at 122, but combined with his strong first jump, it earned him 8th overall.  Friberg also was hampered by wind, landing about 20 meters short of his big first jump, but was good enough to give him an 18th place finish in his first Continental Cup.  One of those who got a boost from the wind in the final round was Anders Johnson, who had been 26th after the first round.  His second jump was eighth-best of the round, and it put him in 17th overall.  Nick Alexander, 27th after the first round, finished 24th. It was a good day for the US team in front of a home crowd for the only time this year.  One in the top 10, two more in the top 20, and another making the final round of 30. We want to give a shout out to all of the athletes and coaches, and to the Kiwanis Ski Club of Iron Mountain for once again running a first-rate tournament, and for having the persistence to get in a full competition despite the efforts of Mother Nature to keep it from happening. Area info opens in a separate window Click logos to visit sponsor websites Made with Xara - KJA & Assoc ©  Kiwanis Ski Club  2010-12  Nita Englund Headed to  Junior Worlds in Turkey Local jumper one of three women representing USA **  team announcement **  event website Nita Englund will compete Feb 22-25 in the Junior World Championships in Erzurum TUR, a beautiful new jumping venue.  She’ll be joined by Nina Lussi of Lake Placid, and Sarah Hendrickson of Park City UT, the runaway leader in the first year of FIS Women’s World Cup. Englund on Podium Three Times in Calgary KSC junior gets 2nd and 3rd in individual comps, 3nd in first- ever mixed team jumping! The North American Junior Ski Championships were held in Calgary AB on Jan 1-3.  Nita Englund finished 2nd on New Year’s Day behind her US teammate Sarah Hendrickson. The following day, she teamed with three US men to take 3rd in mixed-team competiton.  She was 3rd in the individual comp on the last day, Jan 3rd; the winner was again Hendrickson.  More on SkiJumpingUSA.com. Eric Hiatt in ASJ HOF Inducted into American Ski Jumping Hall of Fame Oct 30 in Red Wing MN ceremony www.americanskijumping.com Eric Hiatt, one of Kiwanis Ski Club’s great competitors, and now a club member and officer, joins Kiwanis Ski Club athletes Mark Konopacke, Therese Altobelli-Olsen, Dick Rahoi, Willie Erickson, Butch Wedin,  Rudy Maki, and Walt Bietila, and long-time Iron Mountain News sportswriter EO “Buck” Erickson, in the American Ski Jumping HOF.  He was introduced by his close friend and 1992 Olympian Bryan Sanders ... WATCH VIDEO    Nita Englund Honored Wins Therese Altobelli Award as Central Division Female Skier of the Year for 2011 It’s kind of like the Packers bringing home the trophy named for Vince Lombardi! Nita Englund, Kiwanis Ski Club athlete, currently a member of the VISA US Women’s Ski Jumping Team, brought home the award named for Therese Altobelli, Kiwanis Ski Club’s own pioneering female jumper. Congratulations to both Nita and Therese for outstanding achievements in ski jumping.  It’s exciting to have a local jumper given this honor!   A jumper flies past our huge   American flag in the late     afternoon sunlight. (Rex Bell photo) (Susie Fox photo) Nita Englund Click photo to see an enlarged image. ARTICLE Eric Hiatt Click photo to see an enlarged image. S C E N E S   F R O M   T H E   2 0 1 2   C O N T I N E N T A L   C U P Tom Bickner photos Click on any small picture at right, and you’ll see it enlarged in the left window.  To zoom in even closer on details of the photo, just point your mouse at the area you’d like to see in more detail. First 17 photos by Tom Bickner, last 3 by Kirsten Erickson.