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Show “To air is human, wide, to 260-plus Gelande is divine.” Words to that enable live tances. by, according competitor to one at the Gelande National | Championships held March 1st-2nd at the Utah Winter Sports Park. To watch these skiers compete and to listen to their raw exultations as they launch into oblivion, one would Cups, and helmets. Gelande jumpers are denied the aid of aerody- namically efficient suits used by Nordic jumpers, as well as the ultra- A money motivates the few elite of peting; adrenaline and _air- nerve to remain in the contorted, piked position that gelande jumpers use. Although their fixed heels do not allow them *@ to lay out on their skis time suffice for the rest. A field of thirty-one jumpers survived Saturday’s qualifying rounds to compete ™, in the finals on Sunday. A and take full advantage of | winds and _ perfect snow conditions psyched up jumpers and spectators alike, and coc kam aia te announcer Kris “Cia vce! Mica pot % Severson kept ae very few sponsors and very little recognition. Yet these jumpers take their sport just as seriously as sanctioned athletes, and last weekend’s competition was an exciting spectacle of athleticism and mild derangement. Gelande jumping competition is ski jumping on stock alpine equipment. That means downhill skis, no longer than 225 centimeters, suits, a Lake Tahoe. of prize sion of the take-off, and the these poles, of and gelande jumping who can support themselves by com- Olympics, downhill success Utah, modicum gelande jump depends on the timing and powerful explo- aerodynamic World skis such great dis- The. never guess that their sport is an underground caricature of Nordic ski jumping. No no cm are » lift, jumpers borrowing _ %». on Nordic tech- ~ nique by splitting their skis wide in the V-style prevalent in contemporary jumping. Alta’s own Alf Engen was a founding father of gelande competition, sponsoring the first national championships won by his son Alan in 1964. Although = gelande never. reached the popularity of Nordic jumping in Europe, or even the modest attention it gets in the U.S., this sport has persevered and remains a religion in a few areas of the country, such as Montana, bluebird day with light. = shines anter esting through six rounds of competition with his mad-lib color commentary and retroactive coaching tips. At one point he announced erro- neously that “drug It came as no surprise that Jeff Wogrin dominated the day, as he has gelande com- petitions all year and for several seasons. This was one jumper in the field who truly looked like a Nordic jumper; the amazing height and lift he put into his takeoffs and the graceful and tenacious _airborne position left the field twenty points in the dust. Younger brother Mike took second place, and Park City local Doug Macisaac, the crowd favorite, placed third. The flying Wogrin brothers shared the long jump of the day at 84.5 meters. Although this is considerably shorter than an epic jump by a Nordic jumper on the same K90 hill, the steeper trajecto- defeat” fans in attendance. Hopefully events like these Nationals will earn Gelande the recognition it deserves and the sport will continue to grow; just don’t hold your breath for the 2002 Winter Games. 7 POWDER BEACH REALTY. Sait Lake Vailey ¢ Snowbird/Alta __ testing will take place immediately following the event,” giving a few jumpers who closely resembled Peter Frampton > and Frank Zappa in the early years cause for alarm. ‘by David Peck ry that gelande jumpers take _ (more height on the take-off, then a plummet to the landing) make their efforts just as courageous. As_ two-time Olympic jumper James Hunter Holland, who formerly held the record on this hill at 97 meters, said “These guys are nuts. You’d never get me to do this sport, I’d kill myself.” There were no major injuries during the competition, to the poignant chagrin of any “agony of (801) 944-9444 Park City « Deer Valley (801) 645-9444 eae tec cP cP cee Fern Baird Residential Sales ‘\ [acs Principal Broker investments Vacation ——) Rentals Property Management | ff The Tp Two N ew Year's Resolutiions: The Wasatch Telemark Series [Lose Weight 2, Get in Shape is mid way through its second decade of bringing together local and regional free-heelers. Turnout this season has brought in skiers from Oregon., Texas and even a few visiting Norwegians (to remind us who invented the sport). To further the pursuit of camaraderie and enjoyment of the sport, the 1995-96 series has expanded its number of divisions classes. This includes the familiar Open class (expert rac- Take a new approach to fitness through personal training with Certified Ski Instructor| Kathleen Leopardi, acsm, cscs ers) and citizen class (beginning racers), and adds a Never-ever class (for beginning tele-skiers), Youth (for those under 18 years), Master (over 35 years) and a Team division. The Team division consists of five skiers, of which at least one member must be of the Opposite sex — and teams are encouraged to have skiers with varying abilities. Races include: Slaloms (SL), Giant Slaloms (GS), Dual Moguls and the ever popular Classic Terrain. The SL and GS are set to FIS standards while the Classic Terrain integrates the GS coarse with a jump, a 360 degree turn and a uphill skating section. Registration is between 8-9am on the morning of the event. Individual event fee’s are $38.00 for USTSA members, $43.00 for non-members and the series fee for °(One on One, Tandem, or Group Training ° Personalized Programs: Based on Individual Goals Ski Conditioning Classes * Call for one free session FOOTHILL PERSONAL TRAINING 2350 S. Foothill Dr. teams in $800 ($160/person). Event fee’s include: lift pass, race entry fee, awards party, raffle and at certain events a learn-to-tele clinic is also offered at no extra charge. Upcoming events March 17th & 31st. See the calendar in this issue. For more information about the 199596 Wasatch Telemark Series call Sarah Bennett at 801.359.2408. 4384-2828 Call now to Register Page 7 |