Vermont ski jump finds it’s a small world after all

ski jumping — Blaz Pavlic, 18, of Slovenia, leaps to victory Sunday at Brattleboro’s Harris Hill. Photo by Dana Sprague

[B]RATTLEBORO — The three Eastern European ski jumpers noted that Melania Trump is a fellow native of the region.

“The first lady,” 18-year-old Zan Stupar said, “is from Slovenia.”

But the trio weren’t as eager to talk about her husband.

“Some of his ideas are …” 21-year-old Zak Silih said before pausing, either out of diplomacy or a lack of words to describe U.S. President Donald Trump.

Besides, competing over the weekend at the state’s only Olympic-size ski jump, the athletes were thinking more about Vermont.

Harris Hill — Blaz Pavlic holds the trophy. Photo by Dana Sprague

“Most Slovenians who watched the election would vote for Bernie Sanders,” 18-year-old Blaz Pavlic concluded of the U.S. senator who, aided by social media, has fans half a world away.

And so it went as more than two dozen competitors from eight states and Europe came together Saturday and Sunday to mark the 95th year of Brattleboro’s Harris Hill ski jump.

The annual tournament aimed to celebrate the venue’s history, which dates back to when the late Fred Harris — a young contemporary of the Wright brothers, pioneers of flight — founded his namesake hill in 1922.

But thoughts of the past often gave way to talk of the present.

Local singer Samirah Evans, taking the microphone to lead Saturday’s national anthem, dedicated her performance to the millions who participated in last month’s worldwide series of women’s marches.

“To those who persist,” Evans said, “to fight for the rights of all people and to defend our Constitution.”

The athletes, for their part, expressed appreciation for the warm welcome extended by a town of 12,000 that, even though the event takes place just one weekend a year, emblazons images of ski jumpers on everything from its welcome signs to municipal pay-as-you-throw trash bags.

“I love the spirit and the crowd,” said Mathias Eder, 18, of Austria.

Teammate Josef Dirnbauer, basking in sunny weather, sang the praises of Sanders, too.

“I followed the election a little bit,” the fellow 18-year-old said. “He was quite good.”

Three other Vermonters received applause for representing the state in the competition: 27-year-old Marlboro College student Chris Lamb, 24-year-old classmate and Brattleboro native Spencer Knickerbocker and 15-year-old Thetford Academy student Aiden Cudhea.

Knickerbocker, who spent the past week preparing his hometown hill before competing on it, understands why his fellow athletes — especially those from Europe — marvel at how such a small town can draw such a big turnout.

“This is the size of crowd they get for World Cup,” Knickerbocker said. “The amount of effort that goes into one weekend here must surprise them.”

Lamb, who set the hill’s distance record of 102 meters in 2010, fell Saturday but picked himself up Sunday to land two solid jumps in the Fred Harris Memorial Tournament.

Pavlic, however, broke that record Sunday, jumping 104 meters to win the weekend competition.

“Sorry, dude,” the Slovenian told Lamb afterward.

“I’m glad that you got it,” the local athlete replied.

“In the air, I thought, ‘I can’t land this,’” Pavlic said.

“But you did,” Lamb said.

And the crowd went wild, clapping and cheering and, in a ski jumping tradition, clanging cowbells.

“The headwind helped me,” Pavlic said of his historic leap. “It lifted me up, and then I just said, ‘Go for it.’”