| OCR Text |
Show JIN bump skiers take top spots in Jackson Hole U.S.S.A. meet 'i o U 0 ... Bump skiing is a bit like break dancing. Both are mongrel sports which are rapidly becoming respectable. respect-able. Bump skiing (and freestyle in general) will reach the height of respectability in 1988 when they become sanctioned events in the Calgary W inter Olympics. And skiers in the Intermountain Division (Utah, Idaho and Wyoming) are getting ready. About 85 of them were in Jackson Hole last weekend for a meet sanctioned by the United States Ski Association (U.S.S.A. ). Park City was represented Dy two groups: the Park City Freestyle Club, made up of skiers in the Junior II (14-15-year-old) class and older, and the Park City Mogul Team,, made up of Junior IH (ages 12 and 13) and younger competitors. Some of the most impressive results (from a Park City perspective) perspec-tive) came at the Jin level, where P.C. Mogul Team members took the top four spots In the bumps. First place went to Craig Rodman, followed by Mark Verrone, Sean Smith and Kevin Holliday. In the JII class, Park City's Eric Long finished in second place, also in the moguls. While Park City skiers more than held their own in the moguls, skiers from Bogus Basin, Idaho dominated the aerial events, according to local sponsor organizer Fred Birch. "Some of the boys reached altitudes of 30 or 40 feet," he said. "It was like a 70-meter hill." Birch noted that the aerials bear little in common with the hair-raising stunts performed by hotdoggers in the 1970s "Our training programs and our Junior Olympic programs do not include inverted aerials," he said. "As a parent I'm really thankful for that." Birch said Bogus Basin skiers have such an edge in the aerial category because the resort has a certified jump where the kids can practice. "We do not have a certified jump anywhere in Park City." He said the freestyle groups are working to establish a jump in the local area. Park City's young bumpers will get the chance to show their stuff in front of the locals Feb. 2 when . ParkWest hosts a moguls competition. competi-tion. A competition in ballet, the third facet of freestyle skiing, is scheduled to take place at Solitude Feb. 3. Eric Long finished second in moguls. |
