September 13, 2008 (Lillehammer, Norway) – When a season ending knee injury caught Lindsey Van (Park City, Utah) off guard mid way through the 2008 winter, the 12-time women’s jumping champion could have taken her plight as an opportunity to rest. But, while she made her way back to the hill this season, rest hasn’t been a big part of Van’s vocabulary as she re-habbed, did yoga and coached herself back to health.

“I’m definitely excited to be back. I took three jumps the other day and they were alright, but my knee is still pretty sore,” Van said. “I’m at about 80 or 85 percent. I’m not expecting to be 100 percent till winter.” Van, who coached her teammates while their coach was away in Europe, credits her leadership experience with keeping her close to the sport and eager to get back.

“It was a good experience. It kept me with the sport more than I would have been had I not been doing it. I really enjoyed it,” Van said. “It was definitely different and I’m glad I got to work with these ladies. It was fun to work with high-level athletes.”

According to Van, coaching a group of her peers was a little strange, but the group quickly adapted. “It was [hard] at first, but they got used to it pretty fast because that’s just how it had to be,” Van said. Van also packed her days with yoga and re-hab for her knee, but even at 80 percent she says she’s excited to be back and ready to start competing because, ” It feels normal to me. I felt out of place when I was injured and I feel back where I should be now.”

Van gets her first taste of competition this weekend with Continental Cups on Saturday and Sunday in Lillehammer, Norway and the following weekend in Oberstdorf, Germany before the jumping team competes on what will be their venue for the first World Championships in women’s ski jumping in Liberec, Czech Republic on October 3-4. “I missed the jumping, the camaraderie, and competing,” Van said. “It’s good to be back.”

New Gear
For a lot of winter athletes, what clothes they wear on the hill is an afterthought to having the right wax job on their skis – but not when you’re a ski jumper and the suit you wear helps control an athlete’s performance. Thursday, the U.S. Ski Jumping Team spent seven hours being fitted for five ski jumping suits in Norway, which the athletes say will affect everything from speed to air time during a competition.

“The fit matters the most. If it’s too tight, your jumping is going to be terrible and if it’s too big you get disqualified – more than 6cm away from the body on any part will get you disqualified – because it gives you more lift,” Lindsey Van (Park City, Utah) explained. “It’s really nice to go there because you get the best fitting suit that you can get. It’s nicer to spend time there than have to fix it yourself.”

The jumpers, who usually have their speed suits shipped or waiting for them at the start of competition season in Europe, preferred to work with two suit makers in Norway because it guarantees they won’t have any last minute worries to deal with.

“When you get to Germany and you have a suit waiting there for you and it’s too big, you just have to find a needle, and use dental floss to fix it,” said Jessica Jerome (Park City, Utah) who’s had to fix her suit with dental floss countless times. “I’ve only been to a suit maker four times, so from the time I was 12 till I was 18, I’ve had to sew every suit I got and it’s a pain.”

The women, who said the experience had them spending their time inside a house with two Norwegian women, chose the colors of their suits based on the speeds that the various fabrics would allow them to go. “Mine is grey in the back, which is a faster material, and the front is a puke-ish green, which is a slower material,” Jerome said. “The way the air passes in your flight position feels good to me.”

Van, who described her suit as dark grey and yellow like a bumble bee, will be competing for the first time this season on Saturday after a knee injury sidelined her halfway through last year. “I usually feel nervous about competitions, but I feel a lot less this time because I’m not really expecting anything. I’m hoping to have two good jumps and get back into competing again. I just want to get back out there and not kill my knee,” Van said.

Outfitted in their new custom gear, the women will be jumping in Lillehammer, Norway on Saturday and Sunday as they kick off a season of Continental Cup competitions in the lead up to the first World Championships for women’s ski jumping in Liberec, Czech Republic on Feb. 20.