Athletes prepare for U.S. National Ski Jumping at Norge

The Olympians were out at the Norge Ski Club in Fox River Grove Friday, preparing for this weekend's U.S. National Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Championships.

The championship takes place Saturday, while the annual Norge special jumping tournament, usually held in September, is Sunday.

The U.S. Nordic Combined team had its best season in 2010 when it earned four Olympic medals in Vancouver — the first in the specialty for the U.S., said Greg Poirier, a Nordic combined coach for Team USA.

Norge Ski Club President Scott Smith said in August he'd been campaigning to bring the national championships to Fox River Grove for the past couple years. The last time Norge hosted one was in the early 1960s, said Smith, who was a U.S. ski jumper in the 1980s, and a U.S. ski jumping coach in the 1990s.

At least 60 ski jumpers are expected to participate this weekend, including 20 to 24 who will compete in the Nordic Combined, which consists of ski jumping and a race on roller skis, Norge Ski Club board member Gene Brown said.

Among the athletes expected to participate are U.S. Olympic medalists Billy Demong and Johnny Spillane and top Canadian athletes.

Barring lightning or heavy winds, the tournament will take place rain or shine, Brown said.