USASJ Story Project- Nov 1 T BENZIE/HOMOLA

Welcome to the USA SJ Story Project- at least a story a day from November 1 to December 31, 2012.
We have many great tales lined up in the queue but we STILL WANT YOURS! Email me @ jhastings@procutusa.com.

We're kicking it off with two stories-

No. 1
TONY BENZIE
Age 42
Iron Mt, MI
Kiwanis Ski Club

I once scraped the storage wax off my skies in the parking lot at Copper Peak for the first ride in 10 months after breaking my arm.


Tony Benzie- rock star

No. 2
JEFF HOMOLA
Age 55
Incline Village, NV
Norge Ski Club, Fox River Grove, IL

I remember being at Westby in the late 80's for their 90 meter tournament. Jimmy Holland had been skiing at the top of his game and decided to drop down to the lowest start on a training jump. I was standing near the knoll as he hit the takeoff. About 40 meters into his flight I heard him say "utt oh" and he backed off to try and make his flight shorter. I can't imagine where he would have gone if he didn't back out, because he took it to the pit with the longest jump of the day!



Jeff Homola, (no. 77) with other masters in 2002

Getting ready to launch

SKI JUMPERS are a rare breed who share a strong history and passion but rarely get the chance to gather and rekindle that history and passion.

SKI JUMPING in the USA is a small sport that relies heavily on its community. 

 We need to build that community.  We need to create a circle and bring every current and former ski jumper back to a home base.

 The USA SKI JUMPING STORY PROJECT looks to capture a bit of the passion that rests in each of us and use it to bring us all together.  Specifically- we want every ski jumper or fan in the US to share a short ski jumping story with us (one paragraph-max).  These stories will be posted on this blog and also delivered by email. 

 The EDITORIAL GOAL- 61 stories delivered to your in-box and posted to this blog, one per day, between November 1^st and Dec 31.  It is our hope that these stories will in turn foster support for the cause and help us meet a FINANCIAL GOAL- to raise more than $10,000 from more than 500 members of our community.  To share you story, email jhastings@procutusa.com.  To share your generosity for the cause, go to http://www.active.com/donate/USASJFUNDRAISE.