Andrew Urlaub — December 4, 2025

ANDREW URLAUB
Flying Eagles Ski Club
Eau Claire, WI

“Flipping” or “tipping in” is common slang in ski jumping for the moment a jumper loses control of a ski mid-flight and is unable to recover. Unfortunately, I am experiencing my first ever “tip-in” in the picture.

When I was 14 years old, I was competing in Westby for their annual tournament. Every year, Westby puts on a fantastic event with big crowds, bonfires, and long jumps. That day, I wanted to fly FAR on the monster hill that is Westby.

During the trial round, I came off of the take-off and felt the energy of a great jump; until I realized that my right ski was going down. In a split second, gravity was pulling me down as the ski was going negative past the point of recovery. Excitement instantly turned into panic. At that point, all I could do was let the fall happen. Fighting a fall will only make things worse (which is easier said than done as evident from the picture).

Thankfully, after hitting the icy landing hill, I was okay, and it was only a trial round. With adrenaline pumping and a deep love for the sport, I convinced myself I could fix the mistake and move past the nerves that arise after a fall like that. I went back up for the first round of competition. I was scared, but I believed I could overcome the negative thoughts.

During the first round, I let go of the bar with a timidness that was not normal, the nasty memory of the fall still in my mind. As soon as I came off of the take-off, I was in the same predicament as before; my ski was going down. Thankfully, after two “tip ins” in a row, I walked away with just a few bruises.

The mental side, however, took longer to recover. After the second fall, I was confused, embarrassed, and honestly scared of the sport. I kept thinking, How did I fall two times in a row and how am I going to overcome this problem?

Luckily, the ski jumping community is a tight knit group. Coaches, teammates, and former jumpers reached out with advice, support, and encouragement. Their belief in me helped me stay resilient. I was able to channel my frustration and confusion into excitement on figuring out what went wrong, so I could continue to fly far and chase my dreams.

One of the most beautiful things about ski jumping (besides flying through the air), is the life lessons it teaches. Almost every ski jumper experiences a “tip-in” at some point. It’s scary and it hurts, both mentally and physically. But it can also become a huge positive. Those falls taught me how important it is to bounce back from failure, and to lean on people around me during tough moments.

I have experienced many setbacks since that day in Westby, but those crashes helped shape how I approach all of my setbacks. Because of this experience, I learned how to fall forward; to rebound from failure in a way that makes me stronger.