ISHPEMING, Mich. (WZMQ) – The 137th annual Ishpeming Ski Club Tournament kicked off tonight.
Frigid temperatures and heavy snowfall was the main story from the Nordic Ski Complex. But thanks to the hard work of a 50 person volunteer team, the 137th year of high flying winter sports went off without a hitch.
“It’s so great seeing everybody outside, the community together, and normal,” remarked Paul Copenhaver.
14 jumpers coming from all around the country competed in tonight’s event. But it wasn’t just the athletes who traveled far to be there, Jennifer Parma came all the way from Texas to see the tournament.
“I’m so excited to be here,” said Parma.
The 90 meter hill seems like something that only could be attempted after years and years of training, but if you take a close look at some of the jumpers, you can see they aren’t even old enough to have years of training.
“I was talking to one of the parents and he said his daughter is only 14 and jumping, I can’t imagine watching my daughter do this,” added Parma.
Organizers refer to ski jumping as the original extreme winter sport. Peter Copenhaver,one of the tournament directors, says that if you have never seen ski jumping in person, you don’t wanna miss the opportunity tomorrow night.
“You gotta come out here it’s just a great time, there’s huge bonfires, the biggest one you have ever seen, beer tents, tailgating, fireworks, and ski jumping,” said Copenhaver.
Tomorrow night’s jumping will start at 7pm and run until around 9:30. Tickets can be purchased online here for $15 or for $20 at the gate. New this year is a free shuttle, you can park at the Ishpeming Armory, the Great Lakes Recovery Center, and the North Iron Church. The shuttle will run continuously throughout the night. Limited Parking is also available at the Nordic Ski Complex for $10.
