No Snow
The 2009 U.S. Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Championships were held on Oct. 11, 2008 in Lake Placid, NY. These were the first U.S. Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Championships ever held off snow.
While holding these games in October and without snow may seem unorthodox, in fact, nordic athletes spend nearly their entire summer jumping on plastic ski hills and training for cross country on roller skis.
Wheelies
The U.S. Nordic Combined Championships were held using roller skis instead of snow skis. "Roller Skis" have a narrow wheel at either end of a long rod that requires the athletes who use them to skate as though they are actually on cross country skis.
For this unique event, Maplus, a leading producer of roller ski equipment, supplied 50 pairs of roller skis ensuring that all competitors were equal on the same speed 'skis.' Following their use in this Championship series, Maplus has offered to sell the roller skis onsite to clubs, coaches and athletes at a discounted price.
The Lake Placid Historic Venue
Lake Placid was the site of the third Olympic Winter Games back in 1932. All the ski competitions were nordic events since alpine skiing was not added until 1936.
The 2009 jumping competition was held at the MacKenzie-Intervale Ski Jumping Complex - built to host the 1980 Olympic Winter Games and has been holding jumping events ever since.
A New FIS Format Debut
The new nordic combined competition format launched by the International Ski Federation was tested for the first time in the United States during these national title races. It allows athletes more competition experience before the World Cup and World Championship season gets underway, not to mention providing spectators with a fresh look and a renewed excitement in the sport. This new format includes a single jump event with a 10K skiing distance.
