Park City Ski and Snowboard Ski Mountaineering Director Adam Loomis said the organization sends a team to the championship every year. This year, 10 veterans, world-class athletes and some new members were named to the team.
Four Park City High School students were named to the team, including Seth Rothchild. It’s the third time he will compete for the ski jumping team. He started ski jumping at eight years old as part of the Get Out and Play after-school program, a 2002 Olympics legacy program.
“Immediately after the first jump off the 10-meter, I went up to my mom, and I was like, ‘You better sign me up for the team. This is my thing now,’” Rothschild said.
Competitors will jump off a 60-meter hill and Rothschild said they can travel 35 to 70 meters. Five judges determine each jumper’s score.
“They're looking to deduct points from a from a top score of 20. They can, they can deduct you for any number of things, for an uneven flight, for movement in the air, for your hands flapping, for your skis being unstable,” Rothchild said.
Loomis said the opening ceremony is Tuesday, Feb. 25, and training runs will take place the following day. Competitions kick off Thursday, Feb. 27, with individual ski jumping and individual Nordic combined.
Loomis said the Nordic combined starts with jumping in the morning and then moves to the cross country portion.
“The short of it is, the better you jump, the better your starting position is,” he said. “If you don't jump as far, you got to make up some time on the course, and then whoever crossed the line first wins.”
Team events are Friday and an elimination jump event will be held Saturday. Loomis said scores are adjusted based on how jumpers performed earlier in the week to even out the playing field.
“Then it's head to head, bracket-style, super exciting,” he said. “It continues to cut down to the final round that could have the athlete that's jumping 70 meters against the athlete that's going 35 meters.”
The competitions are open to the public with free parking and admission.
Find the full schedule here.
