November 10, 2010 (Salisbury, CT) – For 85 years the Salisbury Winter Sports Association (SWSA) has hosted traditional Nordic ski jumping during its annual February Jumpfest at Satre (pronounced Say-tree) Hill.  This winter SWSA will unveil the new $700,000 community funded, Olympic-size ski jump and host, for the first time, the coveted USSA (United States Ski and Snowboard Association) Junior Olympics in Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined competition – to view large version of SWSA Campaign for New Jump as pictured below click here.

“The Junior Olympics is the premier ski jumping event in the United States for jumpers 17 years and under,” said SWSA President Ken Barker.  “We’re a tiny town of less than 4000 residents and the honor of hosting the Junior Olympics is thrilling.” Seventy of the nation’s best jumpers will be competing during the five-day event held from February 22 to 26, 2011.  The Nordic Combined event includes ski jumping at Satre Hill in Salisbury, CT and cross-country skiing at the Mohawk Ski Area in nearby Cornwall, CT.

Satre Hill has a long tradition of hosting the U.S. Eastern Championships, and Junior Olympic hopefuls have regularly competed at this event during the annual Jumpfest. Dave McCahill, a coach for the New York Ski Educational Foundation and a former top ranking jumper, believes the new jump will profoundly impact the quality of Eastern Ski Jumping and reestablish Salisbury as a national hub for high level jumping.

“Satre Hill will offer top regional juniors the best opportunity to make huge gains in technique,” said McCahill. “Being the only hill of this size on the East coast, we’ll surely see Eastern talent honing their skills in years to come.-

This year’s Jumpfest is February 11 to 13, 2011. The event kicks off on Friday night with Under the Lights Target Jumping, followed by the Nordic Kids Salisbury Invitational Championships on Saturday. The event concludes on Sunday with the U.S. Eastern Ski Jumping Championships, a competition that determines the Junior Olympic ski jump team.  Admission is $10 per adult each day.  Children under 12 years old enter for free.  Jumpfest offers affordable family fun complete with ice carving competitions,  hot chocolate,  bonfires and the communal ringing of cowbells to cheer on jumpers as they soar 200 feet through the air at 50 mph.

A New Ski Jump For Satre Hill
Satre Hill originated more than 85 years ago when its namesake John Satre, a Norwegian immigrant, skied off of a neighbor’s barn roof in efforts to promote his ancestral sport of ski jumping.  His extreme act compelled the local Rod & Gun Club to lease him land to build a permanent ski jump for an annual competition.  Since 1926 the original wood-framed ski jump had been extended, repaired and maintained by volunteers.

At the close of the 2010 Jumpfest, SWSA President Ken Barker petitioned the USSA for Satre Hill to be the official site for the 2011 Junior Olympics.  SWSA was sanctioned as the new host; however, the honor was contingent on replacement of the wood frame ski jump with a steel structure.  Furthermore, capital funding needed to be immediately secured in order for construction to be completed in less than one year.  After a nearly unanimous town vote to support the new venue, SWSA began a competitive bidding process among regional builders.

Based on their economical approach and sharing SWSA’s vision for advancing Satre Hill’s legacy, Churchill Brothers, a local construction company, won the contract. “We see this as a landmark project- a project our children will be proud of and can share with their friends,” said contractor Rafe Churchill.  “My brother, Seth and I had been bringing first-timers (spectators) up here for nearly a decade and everyone always fell for the old world charm of the ski jumps.”

About SWSA (Salisbury Winter Sports Association)
This all-volunteer organization is dedicated to promoting Alpine and Nordic Skiing in the northwest corner of Connecticut.  SWSA supports this mission through the efforts of its volunteer work force, local sponsorship, donations, and ticket sales. For more information, visit www.jumpfest.org or contact Andes Hruby, PR Coordinator, at 860-248-9680 or swsapr@gmail.com.