PCSS’s Toly, Demong, Roepke, and Schumann land on summer ski podiums in Colorado

(L-R) Logan Cadman and Augie Roepke with a thumbs-up walking up to their next jump in Steamboat Springs on July 4th. Photo: Carra Cadman

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo — The 20th annual Jumpin’ and Jammin’ July 4th summer ski competition was held in Colorado with athletes from USA Ski Jumping and from Nordic Combined USA competing.

Howelsen Hill, the oldest continuously operating ski facility in North America, hosts this event inviting skiers of all ages bringing clubs from all across the country, Park City Ski & Snowboard (PCSS) was among those clubs and produced the following results:

• Donovan Toly, 1st place, U14 men, HS (hill size) 45m, nordic Combined, 1k run, jump points 107.3, and run finish time 4:12
• Liam Demong, 1st place, U16, men, ski jumping, HS 75m won the ski jumping and jump distance 74.5 meters was the distance for longest jump of two/Liam Demong, 3rd place, U16, men, nordic combined, HS 75m, jump points were 1118.1, 3k rollerski, finish time of  9:44 which was .05 seconds after the winner
• Augie Roepke, listed as a U.S. Ski & Snowboard National Team Member, 3rd place, U20, men, nordic combined, HS 75m,  jump points of 57.7, 3k rollerski with a finish time of 9:08
• Stephen Schumann 2022 Nordic Combined Olympian, 3rd place, HS 75m, jump points were 89.0 is his jump points 

The video below shows the roller ski race finish.

Roller ski athletes hold their competition on the very streets of the Old Town, Historic Main Street area where hundreds of July 4th Parade-goers get to watch all the exciting live action and cheer for a sport they may not have even seen before.

PCSS athlete Seth Rothchild came in 12th place in the July 4th Elimination jump which, differently from the previous two days, was merely for fun. The Main Street visitors and most of the locals love coming and sitting on the grass at the base of the ski jumps. Sprinklers cool down kids encouraged to run through and popsicles, food trucks and a beer garden are on offer too next to the music tent. The youngest sport athletes walk around taking cash donations placed into ski boots carried through the maze of picnic blankets. The winner of the Elimination jump gets to take home the money. 

The other PCSS Elimination Jump finishers included Demong, in 6th, Logan Cadman in 16th, and Jack McFawn in 29th. Teammate Luke Miller and his mom made the drive to Steamboat Springs simply to cheer on his fellow athletes as he had previously sustained an upper body injury from a mountain biking accident and wasn’t able to compete. 

“I was thrilled with the way the camp and competitions went in Steamboat over the 4th of July Jumpin’ & Jammin’. Our athletes made big improvements on the hill over the week, and this showed with strong results in the competition,” Coach Adam Loomis told TownLift about his PCSS athletes. “Additionally, I was proud of all of our athletes qualifying for the round of 32 in the Elimination Competition, and three then making it into to the round of 16. All in all it was a highly productive week and a sign of a good season ahead.”

Not unlike the Utah Olympic Park jump hills, the Steamboat Springs hills are covered with green plastic materials which allow for summer training and competitions that simulates the winter ski jumping in which these athletes perform. 

Below is a social media post inviting all comers to an upcoming Utah event.

Many of the nationwide athletes will now remain in Steamboat Springs to attend Fly Camp for the weeks leading up to Park City’s annual Springer Tournee, a similar competition with tons of spectators, music, food trucks, beer garden, announcers, serious competition, and a fun jump round sure to educate and entertain fans. Click here to purchase tickets to the world-class Springer Tournee at the Utah Olympic Park on Saturday July 19.

These athletes from Park City often get their start in the Moose on the Loose trail running series put on by the Park City Nordic Ski Team.

The athletes from the host club took the majority of the top spots on the podiums including the Elimination Jump. Some have recently returned from a summer training camp in Switzerland, and one or two athlete from Park City, Roepke and Demong, will soon be leaving to join a national team training camp in Norway.