Ski jump ramps up exposure
Event commemorates Harris Hill reopening
Harris Hill in Brattleboro, Vt., one of only six Olympic-size ski jumps in the country, reopens this weekend after being closed in 2005 for safety reasons. A community fund-raising effort garnered $300,000 to restore the storied 90-meter jump, which once was considered a world-class venue and generated appeal for generations of fledgling jumpers.
Built in 1922, the natural-hillside jump has hosted 18 national and regional championships. Harris Hill served as the qualifying site for the Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, in 1992.
Four years ago, the jump's takeoff platform was deemed so dangerous that ski jumping's regulatory organizations refused to sanction any events there until Harris Hill was modernized. The fund-raising organizers cleared trees, replaced the hill's wooden tower with a steel framework, renovated the spectator stairs, and upgraded water and electrical lines for snowmaking.
"We hosted the ski jump competition for so many years and unless we rebuilt the hill, the tradition would die. The community decided to preserve the tradition," said Liz Richards, development director for the Harris Hill Ski Jump and mother of former US Ski Team jumper Drew Richards.
Gates open at 10 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday for the 85th Annual Fred Harris Ski Jumping Competition, and athletes from around the globe will launch at noon. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children, and parking is free.
"There are seven European jumpers," said Richards. "They are juniors and tend to be between 16 and 18. Traditionally, Europeans do well at our hill."
Also expected to compete are US Ski Team member Willy Graves from Putney, Vt., and 16-year-old Spencer Knickerbocker, a four-time Junior National Team member from Brattleboro.
Women's ski jumping is not included in the curriculum for next year's Olympics in Vancouver, so Harris Hill is the best place to catch the top US amateurs. The five Americans scheduled to compete are Tara Geraghty-Moats, 16, from West Fairlee, Vt.; Danielle (17) and Nina Lussi (15) from Lake Placid, N.Y.; Karin Friberg, 20, from Roseville, Minn.; and Nita Englund, 15, from Florence, Wis.
Up to 40 kids taking the clinics will be invited to compete in the 1-dog junior amateur division of the Purity Spring Sled Dog Race Classic March 7-8. The Classic features skijoring, a 12-mile open division, and categories for teams of four, six, and eight dogs. For more information go to www.kingpine.com.
Sled dog racing season is getting in full swing. The World Championship Derby series in Laconia is this weekend. The region's richest weekend, with $8,000 in purses, is at Burke Mountain in Vermont Feb. 28-March 1. Purity Springs in East Madison, N.H., closes out the season for the New England Sled Dog Club March 7-8. All races are free and open to the public, and a spectator's guide is available at www.nesdc.org.
