Ski Jumping is one of the 16 original Winter Olympic events. It is often referred to as “the original extreme sport.” Despite its rich history, most people don’t know what ski jumping is, and almost no one understands it. If you fall into either of these categories, then this series is for you. Click here to view other articles in this series.

When people hear Ski Jumping, they envision a skier jumping on snow, which is true in the winter. In the summer, however, ski jumpers can still jump. How?

In the summer, the ice and snow melt off the inrun, revealing the summer plastic tracks below. The summer tracks have round bumps on the bottom that reduce friction between the skis and the track. The bumps, combined with a system of misters that spray down the track, “make it feel almost exactly like snow,” says Jack Kroll ’26.

Ski Jump summer tracks. Photo by Everslide.com

Snow nets are being installed on the 90M at the Lake Placid Olympic Jumping Complex. Photo by Lake Placid Legacy Sites.

For the landing hill, it is a little more complicated to go from winter to summer jumping. When the snow melts, it reveals large snow nets that cover the entire landing hill. These are massive cargo nets attached to the concrete beneath the landing hill, preventing snow from sliding off the slippery summer landing. The nets must be removed before summer jumping can start. The summer landing hill consists of plastic sheets with nylon bristles that resemble weed-whacker string. The sheets are roughly 2 feet long, and they overlap each other down the landing hill like shingles on a roof. On the side of the hill, there is a sprinkler system that waters down the plastic. These sprinklers are turned off while someone is jumping, as they interfere with the flight. Then, there is a water break when the plastic gets too dry. If the plastic is dry, there is a lot of friction between the skis and the plastic, which can cause the jumper to stick to the landing hill and fall.

Snow nets installed at the Olympic Jumping Complex. Photo provided.

Summer jumping makes Ski Jumping a year-round activity. Northwood Ski Jumpers can train on the hill for all but three and a half months a year. Northwood Ski Jumpers are extremely lucky, as they get to call one of the two American Olympic-sized jumping complexes their home hill in the summer.

Ski Jumping is one of the 16 original Winter Olympic events. It is often referred to as “the original extreme sport.” Despite its rich history, most people don’t know what ski jumping is, and almost no one understands it. If you fall into either of these categories, then this article is for you.

Before every practice or competition, athletes must prepare. They spend substantial time warming up and preparing for a jumping session. Northwood ski jumper Henry Loher ’26 says, “First, I wax my skis, then I go for a short run. Then, I play one bounce,” (the American ski jumper version of a popular Norwegian soccer game). “Once we finish one bounce, I go and stretch for ten to twenty minutes. Then, I do some plyometrics and balance work with my coach. When my coach gives me the ok, I go and suit up.” Once suited up, athletes head up the jump and put their skis and jets on. For more on equipment, click here. Then, they slide out onto the bars. Now for the actual jump.

First is the in-run. When an athlete gets on the bar, a coach will put their hand up. The coach watches the wind and waits for the right, safe conditions. The coach waves their hand, and this is the athletes’ signal to go. They then get off the bar and into an in-run position. This is a low-aerodynamic tuck position that athletes use to gather speed and prepare for takeoff.

USA Ski Jumping National Team and NYSEF Alum Tate Frantz is in an in-run position while warming up. Photo provided.

The second phase, the takeoff, is the most critical. Jumpers need to push straight down through the ball of their foot. If a jumper rolls off their toes, the ski tips go down. Jumping skis are designed to catch a lot of air, and when that air is caught on the top of the skis, the skis fall away, and the jumper flips over and crashes. If a jumper jumps off their heels, the skis pop up, and they catch a lot of air. This acts like a brake, reducing all the jumpers’ speed, so they travel less far. Ski jumpers are trying to find a balance between generating lift (positive ski angle) and maintaining speed without lift (flat ski angle). Notice the shin angle in the image of the inrun. This is extremely important as it allows jumpers to jump not just up but also out, maintaining their speed. The takeoff also has a timing component. Ski jumpers are moving 55+ MPH on the Olympic-sized hills in Lake Placid. This makes perfectly timing a jump very difficult. Many people think there is a lip or jump at takeoff, but it is at a negative angle, which is why timing is essential, since all of a jumper’s power and trajectory are self-created.

The third phase is the flight, which continues the takeoff. Jumpers try to be aggressive and out over their skis. The goal is to be nearly parallel to the ground. The skis are in a V position, increasing effective length by up to 30% compared to traditional parallel skis.

Henry Loher ’26 in flight at the 2024 US Nationals. Photo by Nancie Battaglia.

The fourth and final phase is the landing. Landings are scored by judges on the side of the hill. For more on style points and judges, click here. The ideal landing is the telemark landing, with one foot in front of the other and hands out to the sides. Then, athletes slow down as they go up the counter slope and are ready to go back up and jump again.

Before spring break, Northwood cross country skier Max Fey ’28 and ski jumper Islay Shiel ’28 wrapped up their seasons competing in their respective Junior National Championships.

Max traveled to Cable, Wisconsin, for the 2026 Nordic Junior National Championships. He made the team after showing strong results at the qualifiers throughout the season.

In Nordic, athletes compete in multiple races divided by both distance and technique.

Max started the week with 4th place in the U16 5km freestyle race. Then he had the sprints, which, unlike most Nordic races, had multiple heats and rounds leading up to the final. You must place on top of your heat or have a fast time to move on.

Max Fey ’28 is on the top 10 podium at Junior Nationals. Photo provided.

“In the sprints, I got seventh place, but it was my greatest top ten yet. I made heats and had no trouble in quarterfinals, but when semis rolled around, I got tangled up with a couple of the other racers and fell far behind. I tried to regain contact, but I had no kick, and at that point, the race was over. I got fifth in my heat, bumping me out of final contention. I made B finals, and instead of being all bummed about not making A finals, I raced it as hard as humanly possible and won by quite a large margin. Although it was not the result I was looking for, it was my proudest race at JNs,” Max said.

These two results landed Max All-American honors in both races.

At the same time, Islay Sheil ’28 was across the country in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, for Ski Jumping Junior Nationals. She flew there straight from Norway, where she was competing in the Junior World Championships.

Islay finished 2nd in the U20 girls’ class at Junior Nationals, which is “my best national finish yet. It was also a super fun trip and competition,” said Islay.

Islay Sheil ’28 is flying at Junior Nationals. Photo by Gary Christie.