April 2025 Newsletter

Happy Spring! Thanks to everyone who made it to the club for our Annual Meeting on April 15!

Annual Meeting Recap

Our annual meeting on April 15 covered the financial highlights for the past year and recapped all our programs. We also announced the Volunteers of the Year and elected our board members.

Board President Rick Hardy thanked members for their flexibility in the face of changing snow conditions and the cooperation among members, programs, ski patrol, and snowmakers to make this a great season. Blackhawk opened on time this year, and kids were on snow on the first day of lessons. Rick recognized our snowmaking team, led by Casey Bingham, and our grooming team—the volunteers who come out every night after open skiing or team practices and spend their night grooming the trails so that we can have great conditions the next day. He also thanked Casey and Craig Kleinsteiber for keeping our equipment operational all winter.

“I received a lot of positive comments from members who skied at other resorts and said that our snow quality was better than other Midwest ski areas,” Rick said. “The primary mission of the club is to educate youth in winter sports. Our lesson programs are the strongest they have ever been. Many of our instructors and coaches in all disciplines are former students and competitors, and I think that says a lot about the culture that we have at Blackhawk.”

We all know that Blackhawk has some of the best mountain biking in Wisconsin, and Rick noted that summer mountain biking lessons went on sale last Tuesday and are almost sold out already!

“Twelve years ago, Kelley Linnan started our mountain bike lesson program one day a week with about a dozen kids,” Rick said. “We now have 250 lesson spots available, and lessons run from June to October. We also have numerous NICA teams, with over 100 kids per team, that call Blackhawk home.”

Rick concluded his message by thanking the many volunteers who keep Blackhawk running.

“Blackhawk would not exist without its volunteers,” he said. “Volunteers help to maintain our mountain biking trails, teach lessons, make snow, run our programs, and do so many other jobs. The spirit of volunteering goes beyond the boundaries of the club. At offsite races, Blackhawk is always a leader at providing volunteers to run those events. So, in closing, I would like to thank all of you for making Blackhawk the great place that it is.”

2025 Blackhawk Volunteers of the Year

BART (BH Alpine Ski Team)	Paul Sager
BNST (BH Nordic Ski Team)	Mike Engen
Biathlon	The Breiby family
Kids Mtn Bike Lessons	Gavin King
Mtn Bike Trails	Jim L'Heureux
Nordic Kids	Corrine and Zachary Henak
Outdoor Exploration	Leah and RoryKate St. Clair
Ski Patrol	Zachary Henak
Bike Patrol	Brian Utschig
Ski Jumping	Matt Bauer
Ski and Snowboard School	Jeff Iverson
Snowmaking	Steve Bagwell
Tele-Skiing	Ren Schwab

Join Ski Patrol

Interested in joining the ski patrol? Our program is open to all adult club members—no prior medical training required. We also offer a Young Adult Ski Patrol program for youth ages 15 and up. Limited spots remain for summer training—sign up now! Want to learn more? Email us at skipatrol@blackhawkskiclub.org.

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN FOR SPRING/SUMMER SKI JUMPING

Are your kids looking for something different to do this summer? Summer ski jumping is a fun way to make the sport last year round. Kids start by learning how to ski on plastic rather than snow. Before you know it our coaching staff will have them flying down the hills. Ski jumping is a great way to meet new friends and build confidence.

Spring/Summer Ski Jumping Options and Start Dates

SUMMER SKI JUMPING TEAM - Start date Tuesday May 6th through - Tuesday July 1

Ski Jumping Team meets every Tuesday and Thursday at 6:00

6:00 to 6:20 Soccer and Warm ups

6:30 on the hill and ready to jump

7:30 practice ends

INTRO TO SUMMER SKI JUMPING - Start date May 13 through - June 17

Tuesdays only

6:15 - 7:00

This class is designed to teach beginners how to ski jump on plastic.

Kids need to wear long sleeve shirts and pants, helmets, rope tow gloves and alpine equipment

Kids will start by learning how to use our summer tow rope system and learning how to ski on plastic.

Once kids are comfortable on skiing on plastic the coaches will transition them to our smallest 8 meter jump

Two ski jumpers from Blackhawk Ski Club qualified to compete in the USA Ski Jumping Junior National Championships, which were held the first weekend of March in Park City, Utah. Simon Walker (14) and Elisa Whiting (12) joined nine other ski jumpers from the Central Division, which is comprised of 12 ski jumping clubs located throughout the Midwest. In order to qualify, Simon and Elisa needed to earn a sufficient number of points at two of the three junior national qualifier competitions held in the Central Division during the winter season.

A total of 55 athletes from around the country earned the opportunity to participate in the 3-day Junior National Championships held at the Utah Olympic Park, the site of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. The experience also included a day of practice jumping as well as a day of dryland training at the US Ski and Snowboard Association's "Center of Excellence," the state-of-the-art indoor training facility used by the US National Teams. At the opening ceremonies, former Olympic gold medalist ski jumper Billy Demong welcomed the athletes and their families, calling the crowd's attention to the fact that Utah will be hosting the 2034 Winter Olympic Games. In a touching address, he told the athletes that some of them will likely represent Team USA on the Winter Olympic Team 9 years from now!

This year was Elisa's first opportunity to compete at Junior Nationals, which is open to athletes from ages 12-15. It was Simon’s second time competing at Junior Nationals, having also competed at the 2024 Competition in Anchorage, Alaska. Both Elisa and Simon put in solid jumps during Thursday's individual competition. On Friday, athletes were assigned to teams with other athletes from the Central Division. Elisa and her teammate, Kaija Copenhaver (from the Ishpeming Ski Club), earned a spot on the podium with a second place finish in the U16 Female team competition. The Junior Nationals Competition wrapped up on Saturday with a "knockout" competition (similar to the March Madness college basketball bracket). Elisa and Simon both won their first two matches and advanced to the "Sweet Sixteen" before being knocked out. Both athletes had a fantastic week of competition and team-bonding with other jumpers from around the country.

In May, Elisa and Simon will join more than a dozen other members of the Blackhawk Ski Jumping Team as they hit the slopes for Spring jumping practices. Interested in trying Ski Jumping? Check out the Blackhawk Ski Jumping Team page for more information and opportunities to join the team!

Simon Walker (14) and Elisa Whiting (12) competed at the 2025 USA Ski Jumping Junior National Championships in Park City, Utah.

Elisa Whiting (2nd from left) and teammate Kaija Copenhaver earned a second place finish and a spot on the podium in the U16 female team competition.

Mountain Biking

Mountain bike season is here! Keep an eye on trail conditions to make sure trails are rideable.

Spring Trail Workday, Saturday Apr 26, from 9 AM - 1 PM, East Chalet

Join us for the annual spring mountain bike trail workday this Saturday to get the trails ready for riding! Meet at the East Chalet at 9am. Bring gloves, good shoes, and a garden rake or shovel (if you have them). All ages are welcome! There will be a raffle at 12 noon this Saturday, and anyone who comes out to help get our trails ready for summer riding gets a free entry. Email bike@blackhawkskiclub.org if you have any items to donate to the raffle or with questions about the work day.

Prizes include:

A $250 gift certificate to “Send It” o See: https://www.sendit.com/. Good for a tailgate pad or hydration pack

Two $100 gift certificates to Wisconsin Canoe Company o See: https://thebestcanoecompanyever.com/

Two $50 gift certificates from Wheel and Sprocket o See: https://www.wheelandsprocket.com/

A one-hour personal training session by Kierstin Kloekner

A complimentary cookout at Blackhawk for a family or group of friends

$25 gift certificate to Food Fight

Free ½ day bike rental at New Moon in Hayward, WI

Bike jerseys, t-shirts, caps, water bottles

Volunteer as a Youth Mountain Bike Instructor

Do you enjoy being outside and working with kids? Looking for an opportunity to volunteer? We are looking for youth mountain bike instructors to help teach lessons throughout the week. Previous instruction experience is not required; training is included. Email kelley.linnan@blackhawkskiclub.org for details. Instructor training is May 29th at 5:30pm at the East Chalet. We will go over plans for the season, what to expect as an instructor, and go over any questions you may have.

Ninja Mountain Bike Camps

Blackhawk is pleased to announce that Ninja Mountain Bike camps are returning to the club for two sessions this summer: May 31-June 1 and August 9-10. Ninja offers multiple options for various skill levels, and also offers a women's specific program. Blackhawk members are eligible for a 50% discount using discount code Blackhawk50 during checkout. See their website for program descriptions and to sign up: https://ridelikeaninja.com/wisconsin/

2024 Mountain Bike Trail Improvements

We had an incredible year in 2024 First, the beautiful new Terrace area came to life thanks to the generous donation from Dirk Racine, facilitated by his wife, Sue Racine, and their friend and long-time Blackhawk member, Jay Gunderson. Huge thanks as well to Mike Dobrient, Pat Remington, Jeff Hoerning, Casey Bingham, and many other members whose time and energy helped turn this vision into reality.

On the trails, we saw some great improvements. Jeremy Witek’s company enhanced the Pines Jump Line on the east side, as well as the gully trails—Don’t Worry and Be Happy. We also redesigned the summer downhill trail—Ziggy Down which is now known as Dropper Down.

A crew rebuilt the flyover bridge on Be Happy, which also serves as the underpass for the Don’t Worry uphill—more on that in a moment. And last fall, our friends at Trek donated their time to create a new optional wood feature along the Be Happy downhill. We’re grateful for their craftsmanship and support.

Please put pet waste in the dumpster!

Please dispose of dog waste in the dumpster in the west chalet parking lot! Thank you!

Upcoming Events

For upcoming events and additional details, keep an eye on our club calendar.