March 01, 2013 (Park City, UT) – Women’s ski jumping will be featured on NBC’s “Rock Center with Brian Williams” on Friday, March 1 at 10 p.m/9 central. The segment, “Flight Delay”, shares the story of Lindsey Van and her teammates as they train to compete and make their Olympic debut in Sochi 2014.

“Rock Center” Correspondent Kate Snow interviewed and spent time with Van, Jessica Jerome, Sarah Hendrickson, Abby Hughes, Alissa Johnson, and Deedee Corradini, Women’s Ski Jumping USA president, in Park City and in Germany during World Cup competition.

“I’ve watched Olympic ski jumping since I was a kid, but I simply never realized there was a reason I was watching only MEN do the jumping,” said Snow. “When I heard about the fight these women have waged, I wanted to meet them.”

The Visa Women’s Ski Jumping Team is ranked No. 1 in the world going into the final two World Cup competitions of the season. The team is led by 18-year-old Hendrickson, who recently won gold at the World Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy.

“The next year is going to be both exciting and critical for our U.S. women ski jumpers and we’re thrilled that Kate Snow and NBC’s ‘Rock Center’ chose to tell their inspiring story in prime time,” Corradini said.

March 23, 2012 (Park City, UT) – Ten-year-old Zia Terry is a star on YouTube simply because she showed the world her courage by soaring off a 40-meter ski jump. On Thursday, she got to meet some of her biggest fans – five members of the No. 1-ranked U.S. Women’s Ski Jumping Team.

The team and coaches surprised Zia at Utah Olympic Park where they named her an “Honorary Junior Team Member” and gave her a Women’s Ski Jumping USA certificate, team jacket, signed competition bib, Ready To Fly DVD, and signed posters.

“This is so cool. I love this. I love ski jumping,” said Zia after meeting the team.

Zia’s headcam video showing herself gaining the courage and determination to ski jump the 40-meter hill for the first time went viral on YouTube and has garnered 1.3 million views. Many have commented on the video and didn’t believe that girls could ski jump. Zia proved them wrong, and she now has the backing of the best women ski jumpers in the world.

“We just want to thank Zia for bringing worldwide attention to girls who ski jump,” said Jessica Jerome, an eight-time national champion and the ninth-ranked ski jumper in the world. “She has inspired us and obviously her video has touched so many people around the world.”

Zia told the crowd and media at Thursday’s event that she loves flight and especially ski jumping “because you can fly in the air without an engine.” The Park City fourth-grader also has aspirations to be an Olympian some day as either a ski jumper or ski racer – to which 2009 World Champion Lindsey Van said, “Ski jumping! That’s your sport.”

After a 10-year battle, women will finally be allowed to ski jump beginning in the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. Ski jumping had been the only discipline in the Winter Games that did not have an event for women. The ski jumpers’ story is told in the recently released feature film documentary, “Ready To Fly.”

Zia also got a little advice from 17-year-old Sarah Hendrickson, who just finished the World Cup season by capturing the overall title and bringing home the coveted crystal globe. “Keep working on ski jumping – it’s awesome. I was 13 years old when I tried the 90-meter jump. You can do it too – you’re just three years away,” Hendrickson said.

The presentation ended with a group hug with Zia in the middle surrounded by her mentors – and new “teammates”.

The Visa Women’s Ski Jumping team includes No. 1-ranked Sarah Hendrickson, 2009 World Champion Lindsey Van, 8-time U.S. National Champion Jessica Jerome, Abby Hughes, Alissa Johnson, Nita Englund, Nina Lussi and Emilee Anderson. The team coaches are Alan Alborn and Paolo Bernardi.

Watch Zia’s YouTube Video:

Watch CNN’s Jeanne Moos’ story on Zia’s video and Lindsey Van HERE.

October 25, 2011 – Women’s Ski Jumping USA has nominated eight of the top women athletes in the nation to represent the Visa Women’s Ski Jumping Team in one of the most historic seasons ever for the sport. Jessica Jerome, Lindsey Van, Sarah Hendrickson, Alissa Johnson and Abby Hughes (all of Park City, UT) will make up the Visa Team. Nita Englund (Florence, WI), Nina Lussi (Lake Placid, NY) and Emilee Anderson (Eau Claire, WI) will represent the Visa Development Team.

Women’s ski jumping makes its debut on the International Ski Federation World Cup circuit this winter, which means better ski jumping venues and more international support and broadcast time for the events. Also, the inaugural Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck, AUT, in January will be the first International Olympic Committee-sanctioned event to include women’s ski jumping on the program.

Alan Alborn, WSJ-USA head coach, said team members have worked hard this summer in preparation for the season and believes they have gained strength not only physically and technically, but mentally as well.

“The World Cup season will push them to their limits and I believe that we have the strongest team in the world,” Alborn said.

To make the Visa Team, the jumpers had to meet criteria including performance benchmarks on last year’s Continental Cup. Development team nominations are per the coaches’ discretion and the athletes have to be junior-level status.

“The World Cup is something bigger compared to the Continental Cup and it will present a new challenge even for the most experienced athletes,” said WSJ-USA International Coach Paolo Bernardi, who will be traveling with the Visa Team. “I want to make that challenge and the new atmosphere a plus for their performance.”

There will be 14 competitions on the women’s World Cup (WC) circuit, including stops in Germany, Italy, Poland, Austria, Slovenia and Japan. The WC opener is Dec. 3 in Lillehammer, NOR and the season ends March 9, 2012, in Oslo, NOR on the Midstubakken hill, the same venue that hosted the 2011 World Ski Jumping Championships.

Also this year, Jessica Jerome and Lindsey Van have met U.S. Ski Team criteria to receive some support and access to elite athlete resources offered through the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association in addition to the primary support they receive from WSJ-USA.

2012 Visa Women’s Ski Jumping Team Nomination

Team A
– Jessica Jerome, Park City, UT
– Lindsey Van, Park City, UT

Team B
– Sarah Hendrickson, Park City, UT

Team C
– Abby Hughes, Park City, UT
– Alissa Johnson, Park City, UT

Development Team
– Nita Englund, Park City, UT
– Nina Lussi, Lake Placid, NY,
– Emilee Anderson, Eau Claire, WI

Fifteen-year-old Emilee Anderson, of Eau Clair, WI, will represent the U.S. and the Visa Women’s Ski Jumping Team at the Innsbruck 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games.

The Winter Youth Olympic Games is an international multi-sport event held under the authority of the International Olympic Committee that will take place every four years, consistent with the current format of the Olympic Winter Games. The Innsbruck Games will run from Jan. 13-22, with an expected 1,057 athletes between the ages of 14-18 from more than 80 countries participating.

Anderson won her spot on the team through a qualifying competition at the Flaming Leaves Festival ski jumping competition in Lake Placid, NY, in October.

Anderson started ski jumping when she was 5, following in the footsteps of her older sister, Elisabeth, a former jumper who now attends Westminster College in Salt Lake City. “My sister stuck with it and did so good and I wanted to be able to do that,” Anderson said.

Anderson’s longest jump so far of her young career is 86.5 meters on a K90 jump. While she travels many weekends for competitions, she’s never been to Europe to compete.

“It’s a really big honor for me (to go to the Youth Games),” she said. “It’s one of my goals and a dream come true.”

Julie Anderson, Emilee’s mother, said she’s excited for her daughter to be part of something so historic. “This is so important because women’s ski jumping is finally a legitimized Olympic event now and Emilee has a big responsibility to represent that well.”

According to the IOC, the Youth Olympic Games aim to inspire youth around the world to embrace, embody and express the Olympic Values of excellence, friendship and respect. It will create a lasting sport, culture and education legacy for youth from around the world, as well as enhance and elevate the sporting culture locally and regionally.

“I’ve watched her come up for the past two years and Emilee has gained confidence and increased her technique on the hill,” said WSJ-USA Head Coach Alan Alborn. “We’re excited for her to be part of this team.”

September 30, 2011 (Fox River Grove, Illinois) – The Visa Women’s Ski Jumping Team is in suburban Chicago this week to participate in the U.S. National Ski Jumping Championships, hosted by the Norge Ski Club.

Jessica Jerome, Sarah Hendrickson, Alissa Johnson and Abby Hughes will jump Saturday, Oct. 1, in the normal hill (K70) competition. Jerome won the large hill national title in July in Park City, Utah. Lindsey Van is nursing a leg injury and will not be competing.

The Norge Ski Club is hosting a National Championship for just the second time in the club’s 107-year history.

“It’s terrific to have Nationals here,” said Visa Team Head Coach Alan Alborn. “The Norge hill is one of the few in the nation of this size (K70). It’s not too big and not too small, so it’s a great venue for older, more experienced jumpers and the young up-and-comers, too.”

Norge Ski Club is part of the U.S. Central Division for ski jumping. There are 14 clubs in Central (Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin), with each having at least one ski jump. Alborn said the Central Division has by far the most active young female jumpers in the nation – at least 60 between the ages of 5 and 16.

“This atmosphere and this competition will provide a great opportunity to naturally see how our team is performing and it will be a good indicator for what’s to come this winter,” Alborn said. The inaugural FIS World Cup tour for women begins Dec. 3 in Lillehammer, Norway. World Cup status means better jumping venues and more television broadcasts for the women’s events, as well as increased prize money.

Alborn, the Visa Team’s new head coach, is based in Park City and also is the head coach for the Nordic Program at Utah Olympic Park. Growing up in Alaska and later Steamboat Springs, Colo., Alborn was a natural ski jumper. He competed on the World Cup for 10 years and is a three-time Olympian. He notched six National Championship titles in his career and still holds the American distance record for ski flying – 221.5 meters, or 720 feet, which he earned in the spring of 2002 at Planica, Slovenia. He retired in 2007.

Alborn is joined by International Coach Paolo Bernardi to help lead this year’s Visa Team. Bernardi, from Italy, was the ski jumping head coach for the Italian Nordic Combined Team and most recently was the wax tech and technical consultant for the USA Nordic Combined Team. He is a former Nordic Combined athlete who twice won Italy’s National Championships.

For more information about Saturday’s National Championship event, go to www.norgeskiclub.com.

The Visa Women’s Ski Jumping Team is sponsored and organized by Women’s Ski Jumping USA, a 501c3 nonprofit foundation. To learn more, go to www.wsjusa.com.

January 11, 2011 (Schonach, Germany) – Two members of the Visa Women’s Ski Jumping Team finished in the top five Saturday in a Continental Cup event that was overshadowed by the tragic and unexpected death of a young Italian jumper. Day 2 of the competition was cancelled on Sunday morning due to strong wind and rain.

The Italian Winter Sports Federation confirmed that Simona Senoner, just 17, died suddenly Friday in Schonach, Germany after feeling ill in her hotel room. The Associated Press reported that Senoner was airlifted to a local hospital after her roommate discovered her collapsed, but she was declared dead upon arrival. No cause of death was given, though early reports cite cardiac arrest. Senoner finished 10th in the 2008 junior worlds.

Visa team member Jessica Jerome said all the women jumpers wore armbands over their jumpsuits during competition Saturday in memory of Senoner and they observed a moment of silence at the prize ceremony.

Jerome finished 4th, Lindsey Van was 5th, Alissa Johnson was 22nd and Abby Hughes was 24th. Austria’s Daniela Iraschko won the event.

“It is absolutely unfathomable what the Italian girls are going through right now,” Jerome said. “I didn’t know Simona well, but she was very well loved by her teammates. She was always smiling and happy. All the jumper girls are still in shock. I admire the Italian girls’ ability to come together and perform the way they did Saturday.”

Hughes said she plans to wear her armband in honor of Simona for the remainder of the COC season. “I really admire the Italian girls for competing this weekend. Evelyn Insam finished 7th and she told me she did it for Simona,” Hughes said. “It’s amazing how this community has come together for her team, friends and family. It has definitely given me a different perspective.”

Higher than normal temperatures gave way to rain this week in Schonach, causing training delays, though Saturday’s comp was smooth. Van was third after her first jump of 95 meters on the 106-meter hill and Jerome was sixth with 92 meters. Jerome edged forward after her second jump of 97.5 meters – highest of the round.

“My second jump was exactly what I wanted, much better technically and flying in the air and I hope to carry that into competition on Sunday,” Jerome said.

Jerome and Van are currently in second and third in the women’s Continental Cup overall standings.

The next event is scheduled in Hinterzarten, Germany on Jan. 12.

“It has been very difficult for women’s ski jumping with the loss of Simona and our hearts go out to her family and the Italian team during this difficult time. They have shown amazing strength and they are an inspiration,” said Alissa Johnson.

4. Jessica Jerome, USA (95, 90.5) 227.9
5. Lindsey Van, USA, (88.5, 91.0) 222.9
22. Alissa Johnson, USA (82.5, 83.5) 182.8
24. Abby Hughes, USA (82.5, 83.5) 178.6