Dave Edlund Memorial: St. Paul, MN

February 24, 2023

“Are you going to take those kids to Dairy Queen after this?” This is one famous quote that I remember Dave Edlund asking my Dad just to cause a stink with us kids. I’m not positive but I think he did this to other parents as well. Dave is a guy that you do not forget; one who liked to tease, use a few cuss words, but always a friendly face in St. Paul. These days his two sons David and Joey, and grandchildren continue the Edlund legacy at the St. Paul.  Kris Edlund continues to volunteer in registration upstairs and always can answer all the questions that I might have about St. Paul. 

This Friday, we decided to make our way for a third time this season to St. Paul. I always think we can make it there in and hour and a half but it never quite happens.  Anyhow, we are always rushing like crazy people to get there in time to have enough practice before the competition. About halfway to St. Paul, Jamison says he has a headache so we have to make a stop for children’s Ibuprofen and I cross my fingers that it kicks in and he can come out of his funk. When we arrive our plan of attack is for Jamison to eat (we cannot allow him to get hangry) and I will take Talia down to the 20 meter to try out the half bar. She is now quite comfortable with the bar start at Eau Claire, so I am crossing my fingers that the half bar is just what she needs to make it down her first 20 meter. She has been overcoming all sorts of hurdles this season so I do think she has it in her. She slides out onto the bar which she declares was “sketchy.” She sits for a bit and I can tell she is scared. Her bravery overcomes her fear this time and she leaves the bar with a short screech. 

I then ditch out to go find Jamison to see how he is doing. He has finished his taco in a bag and says he feels good enough to ski. Then he says he doesn’t want to ski. I say it’s ok if he is not feeling well. Then he decides he does want to ski. OMG. This is my life. He gets suited up and I tie his boots. We head over to the 10 meter. He gets into the track fairly quickly but falls after he lands. I go running down the hill. The snow is quite deep yet from the recent snow. Hiding in the snow is a large ice chunk that I of course trip on, followed by rolling and tumbling down the side of the inrun. This one should have been on video. Meanwhile, by the time I am up, Jamison is up and heading over to the tow rope for another go at it. He has some success on the jump says he is doing “really good”  and I leave him to go check on Talia. Talia has officially made it to the 20 meter in St. Paul, a place no parent wants to be, as it is a LONG walk up many flights of stairs. It is hard for the kids and it’s not easy for the parents either who are often helping carry skis up the stairs of doom. As I help her carry up her skis a few times, Jamison arrives at the top of stairs. Apparently he had fallen and his foot had come out of his boot on the 10 meter and no one was over there skiing anymore to help him. Luckily he didn’t lay too long before a 40 meter skier saw him and yelled for someone to help. This has him shook up and cranky however, and he has multiple meltdowns following with falls upon landing and trouble riding the tow rope. This sport sure does have its ups and downs. 

The rest of the tournament goes much better. Cameron has three kids jumping on the 20 and two on the 30. They are all making progress. Layla’s inrun is getting lower, Walter is jumping harder on the bigger hill, and Talia is getting the feel for a larger hill. Jordyn and Jaelyn are flying further and further down the 30 meter landing and working on their airflights. Awards follow the competition in the upstairs of the chalet. Everyone gets a beautiful Dave Edlund Memorial medal and we get a team picture. We take off our snowpants and head out to the van. Within a few minutes on the road, Kris Edlund sends me a message to see if Jamison has forgotten his medal. Of course he has, because it is that kind of night. She will save it for him until we return. We will see how the weather plays out in the coming weeks. We just might return again this season. For if there is snow, we will ski. 

Central Championships: Coleraine, MN

February 18-19, 2023

It’s the weekend we have been waiting for. The weekend of Central Championships. The weekend at Grandpa Doug’s. Going home. This time is most definitely different though, as my dad is retiring from the sport. This means next season will be different. We won’t see him at all the events and we will most definitely miss his presence. At this point, he doesn’t know what he is going to do with the trailer house, the house I grew up in. The trailer house at the ski jumps, where I would ski home after a jump on the old 40 meter. I guess it’s possible, this will be the last time sleeping in my old room, last time waking up to look out at the ski jumps, last time sitting down by the woodstove, last time scrounging for breakfast of toast and coffee. 

The weekend in Coleraine is always a great one, with ski songs blasting over the speakers, tiny ski jumpers skiing the “Sue Slide” and people across Central coming together, usually for one of the last tournaments of the season. I love that Saturday is an entire day for training. The kids can all really get the feel for the hills they are jumping and even make some improvements in their form. And Saturday this year was a beautiful day. You couldn’t ask for better. We walked over to the jumps a little before nine to find most of the Cameron team ready to go. My older two suited up and I tied ski boots. At 9:00, eight Cameron skiers waited at the bottom for the lift to start. I wish I could have gotten a picture because it was awesome. I am also grateful that that morning both of my kiddos, who sometimes wimp out on new hills that they are not used to, make it off their jumps within 10 minutes! Talia even goes by herself! Whoop! Despite long lines at times at the Poma, the kids get lots of jumps.

I would be mistaken to not share about the famous Teddy Bear Race that happens each year at Mt. Itasca. What is a “Teddy Bear Race” you may ask? Basically a bunch of kids race on cross country skis through the woods, each rescuing or collecting a stuffed animal as they race. This is a fun race and there are no winners and losers. You win a stuffed animal, which I’m sure the parents are really excited about. LOL. It really is fun though. I heard one kid come in saying, “There is a shark the size of a kindergartner out there!” Soon enough, a kid is coming out of the woods carrying it! This year my two oldest skied the race and I will most definitely have Caiya do it next year.

Sunday morning arrived a little cooler than Saturday with winds blowing. Nothing a neck gaiter and toe warmers can’t solve though. I mean last year on Sunday morning it was 23 below so 20 and windy is no problem. The Cameron team was again some of the first on the hill so I went up to flag on the bigger hills for a while. Talia has been working on keeping her arms still on take off over the weekend and she is also starting to get some “pop” on the 15. I watch the “Flying Sedarskis” sail to bottom of the 20 meter and remind a number of kids to get into lower inrun positions. Over the weekend three of our Cameron skiers made it off the 40 meter which was very exciting for me, their families, and the entire team. 

The tournament started around noon. I didn’t check the exact time as I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to get Caiya to the bathroom, eat lunch, get food for the kids, and get Jamison in ski gear before I would sing for the opening ceremonies. Open ceremonies included kids skiing down the landings with American flags and small children skiing through rings of fire. Only in Coleraine. After open ceremonies we go to the Sue Slide (a jump for the tiny tots). I think this is my favorite part of the weekend. Kids who are not ready for the eight meter jump the Sue Slide. Most of them are 5 and under. I notice many of them are little siblings of jumpers on the larger hills with last names Gerstner, Maki-Foust, Jacobson, Whiting, Ahmed, Kuehl. Many get hauled up on the backs of their parents and they start at varying points on the hill. They smile, they crash, they giggle, they cry. It is just the most adorable competition ever. They are all awarded prizes immediately following the competition as Sue knows that some of them will need a nap! 

The other hills followed with I think record breaking numbers. I don’t have results handy, but there were a ton of kids! I know at least 35 just on the 15 meter and a similar number on the 20 meter. I judged on the 15, 20, and 40 meter and the pages just kept coming and coming. Jamison skied well on the 8 meter with two jumps of 6 meters (his personal best) Talia hit 11 meters on the 15 (her personal best). I think I heard a few others hit personal bests over the weekend including Zoe, Jordyn, and Jaelyn. A fantastic weekend of fun for everyone.

The season is now winding down, with mother nature dumping lots of snow over much of Wisconsin. My plan is to get out today and try to get our hill in shape for practice tonight. We will see if I can get out of my driveway. Looks like winter wants to hang on a bit longer. We will head to St. Paul Friday night for the Dave Edlund Memorial and then it will be time to rest. The season is short but crazy busy. We have a blast but are exhausted. I love it but look forward to the end. And I can’t wait to see what next winter brings!

further and further down the 30 meter landing and working on their airflights. Awards follow the competition in the upstairs of the chalet. Everyone gets a beautiful Dave Edlund Memorial medal and we get a team picture. We take off our snowpants and head out to the van. Within a few minutes on the road, Kris Edlund sends me a message to see if Jamison has forgotten his medal. Of course he has, because it is that kind of night. She will save it for him until we return. We will see how the weather plays out in the coming weeks. We just might return again this season. For if there is snow, we will ski.

Cameron Ski Jumping Club: Cameron, WI

February 11, 2023

Seven years ago, I had a two year old daughter and I wanted her to be able to ski jump and experience the sport the same way I had growing up. The problem was that we lived in Cameron, Wisconsin and the closest ski jumps were in Eau Claire, WI, a short jaunt of about an hour. Well I knew this could work, it was not ideal for small kids. I needed something closer so we wouldn’t have to travel two hours a night and be up until past bedtimes with little ones. First we needed a hill the right size, then we needed some equipment, and finally we needed some kids. Our first season, we had seven kids join using some older downhill equipment. Last Saturday, we had our seventh annual tournament and took our team picture. Our team picture had 23 kids in it! We have eleven kids traveling regularly down to Eau Claire to train and a slew of little ones training on our 7 meter jump in Cameron. 

Last Saturday we were blessed to have gorgeous weather with a high of about 35 degrees. This is especially helpful for our club as our “Clubhouse” is an old announcers booth/concession stand building with no insulation and a propane heater. Thirty-five degrees was a dream for the concession workers and kids getting changed. The sun shined on our venue and kids and families started to arrive. We never have a huge turn out,  but just enough to have a lot of fun. Our Cameron team had around 10 competing and we had visiting families from Eau Claire and Coleraine.

After training and the decorating of the hill in competition colors, the tournament started just after noon with the national anthem sung by four girls from the Cameron team. The jumping started with an individual competition. In borrowed bibs, kids ages four and up jumped one by one, getting judged and flagged by their older teammates. After the individual event, the kids were placed in teams for a team competition. This helps them get to know the kids from other clubs and it’s fun to jump as a team! The competition wrapped up with a parent jump with eight mostly enthusiastic parents (and one grandparent) taking to skis. Some even jumped in jumping skis. I think only one had a redwing though. In the end, the Cameron/Eau Claire team took the win over the Coleraine team, all in good fun. Soon after medals and ribbons were awarded and a bunch of kids went home with awards and smiles. 

Going to add a shoutout to all the people that helped to make our tournament a success. Thank you to the families that traveled to come and ski our little hill. Thanks to all the parents and older kids who stepped in to do all the needed jobs and providing food for our concession. Thanks to my hubby and mom for helping with the kids while I announced. Thanks to my dad for all he has done to support me in developing a ski jumping program. Thanks to our team for working hard and doing your best. I love my ski jumping family!

Iola Winter Sports Club: Iola, Wisconsin

February 5, 2023

In a turn of events, we decided to attend the tournament in Iola, WI. Early in the season, Talia had said she did not want to go to Iola as the 10 meter jump was too big. We went last year and she was like “No way.” I was really not too excited to drive 3 hours for that to happen again. However she finally got on the 15 meter in Eau Claire and decided that made her ready for that intimidating 10 meter with the high take-off. I agreed. I like Iola anyway and the weather was supposed to warm up from the bitter cold that we had experienced in St. Paul a few days earlier. 

Rather than getting up at 5AM, I decided that we would get a hotel Saturday night. We packed up around three and dropped off Caiya at Grandma’s.  I wasn’t interested in taking 3 without a second parent and my husband had to work over the weekend. We did pick up an extra kid in Cameron though, an older and well behaved child, so a good trade off.

We were one of the first to arrive Sunday morning in Iola as the basement door wasn’t even unlocked. Everyone seemed pretty pumped so I had high hopes for the day. Things turned quickly as we were getting ready and Jamison fell and hit his face on the concrete basement floor. I was able to get his gear on and get him out to the 5 meter but it didn’t take long for me to realize this was not going to be a skiing day for him. His face hurt and the track was “too slippery.” (Yes, we all know that is the point but…) Meanwhile, Talia who has talked a big game is also stuck at the top of the 10. For about 15 minutes I jump between the two in attempts to get them to ski. After I give up on Jamison, I get Talia in and out of the track several times. She gets lots of pep talks from her fellow competitors. “You can do it.” “It’s really easy.” And “The scariest part is starting.” I keep repeating, ”it is smaller than the 15, it is smaller than the 15…” And she finally goes! A small miracle for the day. After that it is smooth sailing. Jamison hangs out with Grandpa Doug for most of the day and Talia gets lots of jumps in, gaining more and more confidence each ride. Mason, who rode down with us is having a great day, jumping close to the bottom of the hill and we work on getting his knees out and  straightening his inrun position. 

The tournament starts at noon and we have three jumping on the 10 and two jumping on the 30. Today I have split my judging gig with Kim Larson so she judges the small hills and I take over after watching Talia on the 10 meter. She had the longest jump in her class of 8 meters so she is happy with how she did. I make my trek up to the 30 and take off my jacket for a while. The sun beating on my face is glorious. Thirty kids fly by on the 30 and ten on the 60 meter. The 60 meter competition is followed by the YMCA that is danced by the jumpers, officials, hill markers, and crowd. This is the best tradition ever! The day ends with a long standing jump on the 60 and me getting my hot chocolate with enhancement in the lower chalet. One must not miss this at Iola! 

Results come in a timely manner, and all of the Cameron skiers make the podium! Talia and Mason both win their classes. Zoe ends up in third. Jordyn takes the 2nd place spot in U12 followed by Jaelyn in 3rd. Our trip to Iola is a good one! 

Ishpeming Ski Club: Ishpeming, Michigan

January 20 and 21, 2023

A few years ago was my first time back to Ishpeming in about 20 years. It’s funny how you view things so differently as an adult. Pretty much what I remember about Ishpeming is details about the ski jumps and having to eat pasties every day at J.O.’s (Junior Olympics, now called Junior Nationals). But when I returned as an adult, what I mostly noticed was how beautiful the Ishpeming Ski Bowl is surrounded by snow covered pines. I also noticed how friendly the people were. I also tried a pasty again and do like them much more as an adult. After that trip, I decided I for sure wanted to return to Ishpeming each year, despite the 5 hour car ride that can be difficult with young children. 

This year we took off for Ishpeming mid-morning as I needed to arrive Friday night to judge the 90 meter tournament. It had snowed the day before across northern Wisconsin and the U.P., making the drive absolutely stunning. I was constantly pointing out the beautiful trees blanketed in snow to the girls (I had my daughter and her friend along) until I’m sure they were tired of it. The pines in the Chequamegon National forest and along the rocky bluffs once we got into Michigan were my favorite. With the stunning scenery, the drive felt shorter, despite the fact that we lost an hour along the way (and I had forgotten to account this into drive time). I was freaking out for a short while thinking we would be late, until I called Kim and found out they were running late due to snow removal and hill preparation in the morning.

Friday night under the lights was really fun with a great atmosphere, good size crowd, bonfire, and adult beverages being served. I enjoyed singing the National anthem, followed by a cheer that roared up the hill. This was my first time in the judges box of a 90 meter, since trial judging and I enjoyed judging longer and prettier flights. 

Saturday morning we arrived bright and early for training on the small hills. Cameron had eight skiers competing on the 13 meter and 25 meter that morning. At tournament time, I again took the mic for the national anthem and then filled a spot on the side of the landing, marking distances. Cameron skiers had a great day, with five taking home some hardware. My daughter Talia finished second with Layla right behind her in third. Tori, Walter and Jaelyn all took home first place in their divisions. Layla also took a quick pace in her cross country race to take home first in Nordic combined. Jordyn, Brad and Weston all continue to make progress on their prospective hills. Rylan jumped later in the day on the 60 meter, taking home the 5th place spot. It was definitely an eventful day for the Cameron team.

As the hours passed, I could feel my body tiring. The girls were obviously getting tired and a little cranky, but we had one more night tournament on the 90 meter to go. We got some food in our bellies. (Thanks to the yummy soup provided for the volunteers). The girls got a second wind, sliding down the side of the 90 meter landing hill with dozens of other kids and climbing back up to do it again and again. I found my place once again in the judges stand. My eyelids were a little heavier that night but the jumps were longer and fun to watch on Saturday night. Jason Colby of Steamboat took the overall top spot with jumps of 85 and 91 meters. Shane Kocher of Norge won the Sr. class with jumps of 87 and 88 meters. Adeline Swanson of St. Paul took the win in the U20 female class. The night ended with an exciting target jump and fireworks above the bowl. It was a 13 plus hour day at the U.P Nordic ski complex but I wouldn’t have changed a thing.

St Paul Ski Club, Saint Paul, MN

January 15, 2023

Growing up and traveling with the Coleraine team in the 1990’s was lots of fun. However, I was often riding with a van full of boys. When my sister was old enough she also came along. At the tournaments, I often went home with a medal or trophy as there were usually three or fewer girls in my class. Things have changed since then and definitely for the better. The induction of women into the Olympics was in 2014 and it was a long time coming. Since then the numbers of girls have continued to grow and grow. St. Paul had a huge number of 123 skiers today. And on the smaller hills the boys and girls numbers were very comparable. The 10 meter had fourteen girls total and thirteen boys. The 20 meter was tied up with nineteen of each gender. The thirty meter jump had 16 girls and 23 boys in total. The larger hill is where we often see a drop in the number of girls. Jumping on the 46 meter today, there were only two out of the 16 competitors. I have faith in the group of U12 and U10  girls making their way up though. They are strong competitors and there are lots of them.

We have a large group of 23 skiers jumping with the Cameron team this year and 15 of them are girls. Eight of them competed today. Jaelyn, our lone girl on the 30 meter, had respectable jumps of 18 and 19 meters to finish 7th out of 14 in U12. This was her first weekend competing on the 30. Layla Gerstner had jumps of 11.5 and 13 to finish 9th out of 14 in the U10 division. Brynn Macklam jumped very well with jumps of 14.5 and 13.5 to win the Girls 20 meter open. She was followed by teammate Jordyn Sedarski in third with jumps of 13 and 13.5 meters. My own girls Talia and Caiya placed 1st and 2nd in their divisions on the 10 meter. Zoe Mulinex finished 6th and Tori Harder finished 3rd in her class.

Adeline Swanson of St. Paul had some beautiful jumps toward the bottom of the hill at 44 and 45.5 meters to win the U20 division. Elisa Whiting from Norge, remains one to watch winning the U12 and U14 classes on the 30 and 46 meter hills. Behind her on the 30 were Francis Langer from Cloquet and Ava Chapman from St. Paul. The gold medal went to Teresa Myhra, of St. Paul in the U10 class. She was trailed by Rowan Rockenstein of Cloquet and Ava Chapman. Evelyn Kuehl from Eau Claire won the girls U8 and has had strong finishes all season. Perhaps we will see some of these names on an Olympic roster in years to come. Go Ladies!

The Unsung Heroes of Our Sport

Last night, as I lay in bed, my shoulders and arms ache from Learn to Ski and my back aches from shoveling and clearing snow. I think of all the others in our sport who are probably feeling the exact same way as me as they lay down after a hard day of work at the ski jumps. Some clubs have more volunteers and some have less. Someone always takes the lead and does more than their share of the work. These fantastic people are the reason our kids get such great opportunities. Many times these people are the parents of the junior skiers. Some of them were jumpers themselves and others found the sport along with their kids (they had no idea what they were getting into, lol).

I have said before that getting ski jumps ready is a small feat and it is so true. Some of the work is technical but much is just good hard labor (My new nick name for winter is "Sore Back Season")  If you find yourself new to this awesome sport, find out how you can help. Because the people out there, though they enjoy it, are probably tired and would so appreciate you! 

By the way, we have an awesome group of volunteers in our Cameron Club! 

Flying Eagles Ski Club: Eau Claire, Wisconsin

January 8, 2023

It is the first ski jumping weekend of the new year and we spent the weekend down in Eau Claire. I head down Saturday for training with my two oldest children who are 9 and 7. It is the first time that I have had two skiers jumping and that is very exciting, especially since it is Jamison’s first tournament. However, I am now outnumbered, at least for most of the weekend as my husband stayed home with my youngest and will come down to watch Sunday.
Being a ski jump mom can be very rewarding, as you can see your children conquer their fears and see the joy in their faces as they jump well or earn a medal. It can also be frustrating, exhausting, and even maddening. Every kid is so different and sometimes the way they see things just doesn’t make sense to you. I have one that plays huge mental games with herself. The hill is too steep, the take-off is too high, she doesn’t like the bar start or the tracks are too hard to get into. She wants to ski the larger hill so badly, but she just hasn’t gotten there yet. Every new hill is a significant hurdle. There have been lots of tears (less this year which is good). However, she loves the sport and continues to improve and I still have faith that she will make it off that 15 meter this season.
My son on the other hand, has watched ski jumping from the bottom and side of the hill the past few years with little interest to do it himself. I have tried to not push. Every year at the beginning of the season, I simply ask if he wants to try it. This year he had more interest and it was so fun to see him ski today on the 8 meter. When I put his #13 bib on over his helmet, he was ALL smiles and so was I. On Saturday, when we got there, he wanted to go straight to the top. I tried to convince him to ride the landing but was unsuccessful. He left the start with no hesitation. He skis down nice and steady. He takes three jumps and says he’s done. He says he just wants to ski at Cameron (insert frustrated mom face). I ask him what is wrong and I finally get out of him that he is having trouble stopping and turning at the bottom. Luckily we figured out this problem Sunday, as I just have to remind him to do the “pizza” lol. At the end of the day he takes home a fifth place ribbon and Talia a 2nd place medal. They are both happy and I am relieved we have made it through the weekend with very few tears.

In addition to my ski mom duties this weekend, I thoroughly enjoyed coaching the Cameron team. Everyone worked hard and many had great results. Some highlights were Walter Gerstner and Mason Drott taking 2nd and 3rd in the eight meter open. Walter (who almost quit this season) has made great gains since last season and was really jumping well. On the 15 meter, the Cameron girls cleaned house in 15 meter open. Jaelyn Sedarski took the number one spot, Jordyn Sedarski took 3rd with a whopping 15 meter jump (with a fall) and Brynn Macklam had two solid jumps to finish in 4th. The Cameron team had 13 jumpers competing today in Eau Claire, a very strong showing.

Finally toward the end of the day I took my place in the judges stand, judging for the 30 and 55 meter. I had to snap a picture as we had 3 ladies in the judges stand today. When I started judging four years ago I was the only woman in Central. Since then, I have been joined by ski mom, Kim Larson from Ishpeming. Today Mckenna Kueler, of the famous Kueler family, is trial judging (judge in training) and we are happy to have her. 

I am home and exhausted and will certainly fall asleep soon after my head hits the pillow, but I had to get my words on the page first. We had beautiful weather and it was a wonderful weekend in Eau Claire.

Cloquet Ski Club: Cloquet, Minnesota

December 30, 2023

Friday morning we are up bright and early packing up the van for our trip to Cloquet, actually just a relatively short jaunt from Coleraine (when it comes to ski jumps anyhow…just ask anyone from Ishpeming or Norge). We arrive at the Pine Valley ski jumps just a few minutes after nine to a bustling little ski complex. I have not been here in a few years but very little has changed, actually in the last 25 years since I skied here as a kid. Cloquet has a 10 meter, 20 meter and 40 meter jump and fantastic cross country trails. Today I am not judging, but coaching. Cameron has 7 skiers competing today. This is a great number for our first tournament of the year. I must not leave out that I will be wrangling my own children (along with my hubby) as two of the three plan to ski today. 

We entered the chalet, which could be described as cozy with a small number of people in it but today that is not the case. I would pretty much describe it as complete chaos most of the time, with people and ski equipment scattered across the floor and tables. Needless to say, I did not stay long. (Luckily the weather is seasonable, otherwise I am known to push myself into the best spot by the fireplace.) I found my spot alongside the 10 meter, doing my best to coach as many kids as I could. It is early season and the kids are finding their grooves. I am proud to see the Harder boys of Cameron make it to the twenty meter after a few warm-up rides on the 10 meter.

The morning flies by and soon it is time for lunch. They have some great food with a food truck down by the parking lot. I find my husband and youngest in the chalet and she says she is not skiing. However, she changes her mind when she sees how cool her ski bib is! We go outside for a few practice runs (she can’t even ski the entire landing of the itsy bitsy 5 meter). I can tell she is tired and then declares she has a stomachache. I cross my fingers that she can make it the 20 minutes until the start of the tournament. Her head bobs and she lays in the snow. We sit her up in a last ditch effort to keep her awake. I don’t think she would have got up and skied if not for the cheer of the small but enthusiastic crowd and the announcer saying her name.

We move over to the 10 meter where a large group of kids are ready to jump. I continue to be amazed by the large group of girls in the U10 class. There are fifteen of them vying for the top spot today. The announcer, Crimson Hanson, ski mom, announces each name.  One by one boys and girls put forth their best effort, jumping as far as they can off the 10, 20 and 40 meter jumps. Cloquet had 51 jumpers in all from seven different clubs including Itasca, Cameron, Blackhawk, Norge, Minneapolis, Eau Claire, and the home club Cloquet. Hats off to Cloquet for putting on a wonderful junior tournament.

The Cameron skiers fared well with Caiya Maki-Foust coming in first in U6 and Tori Harder coming in 2nd in 5 meter open. Talia Maki-Foust and Layla Gerstner both had good competition jumps and came in at 6th and 7th, less than a point from each other and just 10 points behind the leader. Zoe Mulinex landed in 4th in the 10 meter open division. Weston and Brad Harder battled it out on the 20 meter. But Brad had a strong second jump of 14.5 meters and end up taking this one. Brad finished in 8th and Weston in 12th in the U12 Boys division.

Winners of the day included Sylvia Kilpela and Daniel Ilkev on the 5 meter. Cole Stanton and Evelyn Kuehl in U8. Astrid Morris took the win in the large U10 girls class. David Whiting finished 1st in U10 Boys. Emily Kinnunen had very stylish jumps to win 10 meter open female and Oliver Stenglen led 10 meter open boys. Winners in U12 on the 20 meter were Elisa Whiting and Ethan Kuehl. Clara Thompson and Ephram Marc won the open class divisions. Elisa Whiting made it a sweep, also taking home the U14 top spot. Isiah Langer won U14 Boys with an impressive lead over the rest of the field. Peyton Swanson took the win in 40 meter open class.