October 29, 2013 (Park City, Utah) – Women’s Ski Jumping USA has named the athletes to represent the Visa Women’s Ski Jumping Team this year on the World Cup and Continental Cup circuits. This season also marks the first time women will be competing in ski jumping in the Olympic Winter Games.

2014 Visa Women’s Ski Jumping Team
(Teams determined by performance criteria and coaches’ discretion).

Team A
– Sarah Hendrickson, Park City, UT

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

Team C (World Cup)
– Abby Hughes, Park City, UT
– Alissa Johnson, Park City, UT

Team C (Continental Cup)
– Nina Lussi, Lake Placid, NY
– Nita Englund, Steamboat Springs, CO

Development Team
– Emilee Anderson, Eau Claire, WI
– Manon Maurer, Park City, UT

The U.S. women are going into the 2014 winter World Cup season as the No. 1-ranked team in the world for a second year in a row led by 2013 World Champion Sarah Hendrickson and long-time pioneers of the sport Lindsey Van and Jessica Jerome.

“As a team and as individual athletes we’re all looking forward to this World Cup season,” said Van. “While it does carry a little more weight with it being our first Olympic season, we’ll continue to train hard, prepare, and have fun just like we do every year.”

This marks the third year for a women’s ski jumping World Cup circuit. In previous years, the International Ski Federation held only the lower tiered Continental Cup circuit for women jumpers. A World Cup circuit means better ski jumping venues, more international support, larger winnings, and mandatory broadcast time for the events.

But what will dominate headlines this season is the upcoming Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games where women’s ski jumping will debut after a long push to be included.

“Our goal is to have more women on the podium,” said Head World Cup Coach Paolo Bernardi. “We want to start this World Cup season with a clear idea of where we are compared to the other teams, be more consistent, and be in the best shape possible, and absolutely ready for the Olympic Games.”

Bernardi said the other nations to watch are Slovenia, Germany, and Japan — home to teen phenom and 2013 World Cup champion Sara Takanashi.

Hendrickson won’t be starting the World Cup season in December. She will be continuing with her rehabilitation after surgery to repair torn ligaments in her right knee – an injury sustained during an August training jump. Her focus and goal is to be back and ready for the Olympic Games.

Hendrickson, Van and Jerome also have met U.S. Ski Team criteria. They, along with the entire Visa Team, receive access to resources offered through the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association.

Notes:

• There are 18 individual competitions on the women’s World Cup winter circuit, including stops in Norway, Austria, Russia, Germany, Japan, Romania, Slovenia, and Sweden.
• The WC opener is Dec. 7 in Lillehammer, NOR.
• Nordic Junior World Ski Championships are Jan. 27-Feb. 2 in Val di Fiemme, ITA
• U.S. Olympic Trials for ski jumping are Dec. 29 in Park City, UT and will be broadcast live on NBC.
• The official 2014 Olympic Ski Jumping Team will be announced Jan. 19.

• Olympic Winter Games are Feb. 7-23 in Sochi, Russia. (Women’s ski jumping event is Feb. 11)

Women’s Ski Jumping USA is the primary support group for the VISA Women’s Ski Jumping Team and aims to foster development level athletes throughout the U.S. WSJ-USA, a 501c3 foundation, also advocates for equality for women and girls in sports.