The Callaghan Winter Sports Club took to the skies, introducing its brand new "Flight School" program on Sunday (Jan. 30).
The program is designed as an introduction to the sport of ski jumping and it was a memorable introduction to the sport for Karson Leigh and Andrew Graham.
"It's definitely a lot harder than it looks," Graham said between jumps. "The first jump was kind of scary but you get your confidence up after the next few."
"I thought the landing would be a lot harder," Leigh said. "I'd say the hardest part was realizing you're not going to crash and kill yourself after landing."
The class, led by John Heilig, Nordic sport manager for Whistler Olympic Park, saw beginners ride down a miniature version of a ski jump located to the right of the ramps used by the world's best during the 2010 Olympics. The 25-metre hillside jump saw skiers start off by learning the form and then moving on to taking progressively bigger and bigger jumps. By the end of the two-hour session, both Graham and Leigh had made significant improvements in their ski jumping abilities.
Heilig, a member of the Canadian national Nordic combined ski team from 1982 to 1987 and a ski jumping coach from 1985 to 1995, though it was a good start for the new school.
"We would obviously like to attract a few more people but I think it was a pretty good start," he said. "We really want to get more people introduced to the sport, especially younger kids."
Skiers can use their regular ski equipment but there is also some ski jumping equipment available if students want to try it out. Ski jumping skis are significantly longer than alpine skis and the boots are usually made of a softer leather to allow for more flex.
"We like to start off by letting the students get a feeling for the form and just what it feels like to be in the in-run position," Heilig said. "From there, we move onto smaller snow bumps and then to our makeshift jump. But it really depends on the comfort level of the class."
Heilig's son Erik, an aspiring Squamish-based Nordic combined athlete, also took part in the jumping session, though he technically wasn't part of the Flight School. His previous jumping experience showed as he had some of the day's most impressive jumps.
Three more "Flight School" sessions are planned on Sunday (Feb. 6), Feb. 20 and March 6. Anyone over the age of 10 can participate in the program and it costs $25 per session.
As for Graham and Leigh, they both admitted that they are now fans of the sport and expect to come back to at least one of the future sessions.
"It's definitely something I'd like to try again," Graham said. "It's really a lot of fun."
To register for "Flight School" sessions and for additional information contact: www.callaghanwintersportsclub.com.
