A competitor takes a run
down the Norge Ski Jump in Fox River Grove
during the 2006 Winter Jump last January.
Attendance is expected to be high for this
years event, as many international ski events
have been cancelled due to lack of snow. (Justin
Runquist file photo)
FOX RIVER GROVE – Scott Smith
was five days away from taking off for Finland when
he got the news.
The Nordic country didn’t have enough snow to accommodate
ski jumping.
“It [the weather] has been terrible,” said Smith,
a coach for Fox River Grove’s Norge Ski Club. “Around
the whole world, not just here.”
Such tales have been common this year in the world
of competitive ski jumping. Warm weather patterns
have forced the cancellation of jumping tournaments
across the globe, and Norge spokeswoman Mary Jo
Schauer said that meant that the club’s 102nd annual
ski jump should be better than ever.
“Since there are other tournaments around the globe
that are canceling, we are certainly going to attract
more jumpers,” she said. “We should see jumpers
from Canada, of course all the best in the United
States, and there will be some from the Ukraine
and Russia.”
At least 60 competitors are expected to take flight
during the junior, senior and master-class jumps
Jan. 21, Schauer said.
The Junior competition and the Bob Immens Memorial
Jump contest are scheduled for Jan. 20, along with
a post-flight bonfire and karaoke.
Regardless of the competitors’ ages, Smith said
spectators should expect to see some spectacular
skiing during the two-day event.
“The best are coming from all over the country,
I know that for sure,” Smith said. “One of the reasons
is it’s part of the qualifiers for international
competitions. Definitely the quality of skiers is
going to be at a high level.”
Across the nation, communities have been recording
higher-than-average temperatures, meaning that the
weather has been less than ideal for ski-jumping
conditions.
And despite a relatively snowless winter – the only
major accumulation in McHenry County was in early
December – both Schauer and Smith said next weekend’s
jumpers should be landing on snow. Norge jumpers
might compete even without the white stuff by jumping
onto plastic sheeting that mimics snow, and the
club can make its own snow if the temperatures dip
to 18 degrees or colder.
Only once in Norge’s history – last year – has the
January jump taken place on plastic, Smith said.
“Mother Nature wasn’t really with us last year,”
he said. “Once you start skiing on snow, nobody
wants to go back to plastic. It is a winter sport
... there’s nothing like skiing on snow.”
Schauer said Norge was planning to make the snow
once the winter chill set in. That could happen
as soon as Monday, Casey Sullivan, a meteorologist
with the National Weather Service in Romeoville,
said Thursday.
Temperatures are forecast to drop over the weekend,
and the tonight’s predictions call for a 30 percent
chance of snow, according to the weather service
forecast for Fox River Grove.
“It’s a very complex weather system that is developing
for this night into the weekend,” Sullivan said.
“Somewhere across the southern lakes, northern Illinois
... there could be significant snowfall. By the
20th or 21st, it looks good.”
Admission for the tournament costs $10 in advance
or $15 at the door. Gates open at noon both days.
If the Bears advance in the NFL playoffs to play
next Sunday, spectators still will be able to see
the game, Schauer said.
“We rented a big screen so we can watch the Bears’
playoff,” she said. “You don’t have to choose between
ski jumping and the Bears, you can have both.”
For information on the tournament, visit www.norgeskiclub.com.
