The 1-3” of snow expected might give us the winter wonderland view we love!  But it’s not enough when our athletes are hurling themselves 60 miles per hour off an icy 200 foot tall tower.  We need to make A LOT of snow to cover our jumps and hills – more than a foot deep in some places.

Our athletes do jump in the summer and fall with running water on the jumps and hills.  We host another great ski jumping tournament in October!  In the winter our hills are installed with a complex system of steel cables and netting secured to hold the snow we make. These can’t be taken off without considerable planning.  If we could remove the cable and netting, running water on the jumps and hills at near freezing temperatures would create a very dangerous situation for our athletes.

It takes sustained temperatures of under 20 degrees in order to use our snowmaking equipment and make snow.  And we need A LOT of snow – more than a foot deep in most places.  It stayed cold enough in late December, but warmer temps and rain over the last three weeks have melted most of the snow we made.

We truly want to host our athletes and fans during our originally scheduled weekend.  The date of this event is scheduled nearly a year in advance with ski jumping competitions across the world (really!) and negotiated with other ski jumping clubs across the U.S.  February 11-12 are the only possible new dates that take into account other competitions and the weather.  If you purchased buttons but can’t make the new date, please give them to friends, family members or co-workers!

We’ve been closely watching the weather and temperatures many times a day for weeks.  (We love winter and are weather-obsessed!)  Until Monday, the Chicagoland forecast showed it would get cold enough and stay cold.  Now it appears there will not be sustained cold temperatures beginning until Saturday.  At minimum, we need four (4) consecutive days of cold temperatures to make enough snow to allow our athletes to jump.

We started making snow in late December.  Air temperatures haven’t stayed cold enough to keep all the snow we’ve made or to make more snow.  Without enough snow, the conditions aren’t safe for our athletes.

VIP ticket(s) are non-refundable however, they are transferable if you are not able to attend the event. We want to thank everyone who purchased VIP Tickets for our tournament.

Admission Buttons are non-refundable however, they are transferable if you are not able to attend the event. We want to thank everyone for purchasing buttons for our tournament.