July 6-10, 2005 INTERMOUNTAIN LADIES SKI JUMPING CLINIC

Thanks to everyone for making this camp/clinic happen, and for getting it out there for the public to see.

At the inaugural Intermountain Ladies Ski Jumping Clinic held this past week in Park City we saw 16 young athletes come from as far away as Lake Placid, Eau Claire, Iola and St. Paul to participate. The idea behind the camp was to get as many young female ski jumpers together from around country for a week of training on all size hills, from K-10 to K-90. The coaching staff for the camp were our very own top ranked lady ski jumpers. Utilizing their expertise and experiences allows the young athletes to learn from and connect with the women that are laying the foundation for a successful international program. Hopefully the coaches get a little insight into their own jumping after being in the coaching role for a week.

The 16 athletes had the opportunity to jump every day, take part in some team building activities, do a little physical testing with the coaches, and even ski alongside the acting coaches on the K-90 after the competitions were finished.

The cost for the camp was kept to a bare minimum thanks to the efforts and generosity of Women's Ski Jumping USA, who provided lunches, hill fees, prizes and coaching. Nancy Hendrickson was the one that got the ball rolling, tackled the logistics and made things run exceptionally well all week long, Thanks Nancy. Some of the visiting jumpers were housed with the families of local athletes, and we would like to thank those families for helping out; the Hendrickson's, Shurtleff's, and the Rhoads'. Thank you Scott Sine, Photographer extraordinaire, for getting the pictures and the word out while the camp was still going on.

This was the first extended training camp of its kind, just for the ladies, on all size jumps, and I am sure that it won't be the last.

Casey Colby