February 19, 2009 (Liberec, Cze) – Due to continuous snowfall and wind, both the men’s Nordic Combined mass start ski jumping and Ski Jumping training had to be cancelled on Thursday, February 19. The new program at the Jested Ski Jumping venue on February 20 is as follows:

– Ladies Ski Jumping as scheduled
– Nordic Combined trial round at 14:45 CET (6hrs ahead of Eastern Standard Time)
– Nordic Combined mass start ski jumping 16:00-17:45 CET
– Ski Jumping training at 18:00 CET

On February 21 the Ski Jumping qualification will begin at 14:30 CET and the competition will be held as scheduled.

USSA Release – Jumps Postponed – Lodwick, Demong 1-3 in XC

Todd Lodwick (Steamboat Springs, CO) and Billy Demong (Vermontville, NY) led the way for the U.S. finishing first and third, respectively, in the cross country portion of a mass start at the 2009 Nordic Ski World Championships. Following the cross country, officials determined the wind in Liberec was too strong to safely and fairly hold the jumping competition, which was postponed.

“It was a little bit of a bummer. We were excited about getting this competition finished tonight. We felt like we were in a good spot with Todd and Billy’s races,” U.S. Nordic Combined Head Coach Dave Jarrett said. “Even if we could have had just one jump tonight and just finished it, that would have been great.”

According to Jarrett, conditions on the jumping hill started out fine, but the wind became too strong by the time the final jumping rounds were to start.

“The wind was OK in the trial run. Both Billy and Todd jumped OK in the trial round, but it was all over the place when they started the final round. It just kept getting more outside of the limits they would allow for competition and they had no choice but to cancel,” Jarrett said. “It’s a little bit hard to deal with, but we deal with it often so that the guys are trained well at handling it.”

The decision on when to hold the competition is yet to be made, but as far as Jarrett is concerned, nothing changes in the Team’s approach.

“We’re going to approach it the same way. We just need to jump as far as we can,” Jarrett said. Jumping will take place Friday with the trial round beginning at 8:45 a.m. ET, and the final rounds of jumping beginning at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Women’s Ski Jumping USA Release – U.S. women jumpers Train Despite Heavy Snowfall

Skies finally cleared a bit Thursday morning in Liberec for a second day of training as women ski jumpers from all over the world prepared for their Friday debut in the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships.

Lindsey Van, currently ranked No. 2 in the world, hit three solid and consistent jumps as she worked-out which gate she’s going to start from on Friday. Jessica Jerome pounded a 91-meter first jump that placed her fourth in that round and Alissa Johnson’s three training jumps ranked her in the top 10. The youngest U.S. team member, 14-year-old Sarah Hendrickson, fought back Thursday after having to spend more than 30 minutes in the cold on Wednesday just waiting to jump. 

Jumpers and coaches say the venue in Liberec is spectacular and gorgeous, fitting for a world event. But nonstop heavy snowfall and wind canceled jumping training Tuesday and delayed it for a couple hours on Wednesday. “(It) was a lot of suffering, a lot of sitting around and waiting,” Johnson said.

Men and women jumpers say the hill is a bit different—low flying, with lots of tail wind. And Nordic combined athletes who jumped the hill Thursday had a tough time just getting very far, mainly because of tail wind.

“It’s so low flying, if you don’t have the right wind, you’re going to land,” Van explained. Despite the conditions, the four women U.S. jumpers¬—all fiercely competitive—are thrilled to finally be allowed to compete in the Nordic World Championships. Thirty-seven women from 13 countries were signed up to jump Friday in the historic event.

And cheering the women on are some of the sport’s biggest fans: the moms. During training Thursday, the announcer highlighted the cheering section of mothers from Germany, U.S., Norway, Japan and Canada who came to see their daughters compete. For Barb Jerome it’s a dream come true for her and her daughter. She’s in Liberec to see history made.

“For Jessica, for the other athletes and families, it has been a long journey… We are here to support it. We hope this is a precursor to the inclusion on the Olympic program,” she said. “I questioned making the trip to see one event, but I decided yes, I needed to because I have been so emotionally involved in this that I could not miss anything. It is hard to believe it is happening.”

Chris Johnson is here to see two of her children compete in the World Championships, Alissa and her brother Anders, also a ski jumper who participated in the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy. The proud mom had a horrendous trip, though. Johnson ended up in Munich, Germany and had to travel more than five hours by car just to get to Liberec.

This is the first World Championships in which women are allowed to participate in ski jumping. It also helps demonstrate to the International Olympic Committee that the women ski jumpers have earned the right to be included in the 2010 Vancouver Games, as recommended by the International Ski Federation (FIS). Ski jumping is the only event in the Olympic Winter Games that does not allow women to compete.

U.S. athletes Van, Jerome, and eight other current and retired ski jumpers from Austria, Norway, Slovenia, Germany and Canada have filed a discrimination lawsuit against the Vancouver Organizing Committee in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. The women want an injunction saying they should be included. The hearing is set for April 20, 2009.