MEG LARSON
Norge Ski Club, IL
meg.larson23946@gmail.com
For almost twenty years, ski jumping wasn’t just a sport in our family—it was another family member. It shaped our weekends, our friendships, our calendars, and eventually the identities of both our kids. Even now, after the daily chaos of training and travel has ended, the ski jumping community remains woven into our lives. What a ride it has been.
It’s wild to think how something so life-defining could begin so simply. One Saturday night we came home to a babysitter casually mentioning, “I told Casey and Cara I’m jumping at Norge tomorrow. They should come watch.”
“Watch,” as it turns out, was never going to be part of the plan. Casey announced he wanted to try it—because really, what else do you do in a Chicago winter? And so he tried. And he loved it. A few years later, Cara followed—and she loved it too.
That was the moment we stepped into the community.
At first, it was the kids who were hooked, but it didn’t take long before we were fully absorbed too. We became part of the Norge family, spending every winter weekend in some snowy corner of the Midwest, wondering how our lives had taken this turn. In those early years, hotel pools were more important than competition results, and the kids cared more about who was in the room next door than who was on the podium.
As their competitive spirit grew, we started traveling to summer camps and competitions across the country with more Central Division families. Our community grew, too!
Guy coached at Norge, sat on the Board of Directors, and supported the junior programs, while I wrangled volunteers to help with tournaments—and we learned quickly that an army of parents makes miracles happen. Together we survived it all: the laughter, the nerves, the victories, the heartbreaking tough days, the miles across the Midwest, then across the country, and eventually across the world.
We held our breath watching the kids on the bar at the top of the hills.
We picked kids up off the snow.
We celebrated their breakthroughs.
We wiped tears—sometimes theirs, sometimes ours.
But the part we’re most grateful for has nothing to do with medals or results. Ski jumping shaped our children in ways that go far beyond sport. This community taught them resilience, humility, courage, and character. Their closest friends are from this world. Their worldview was built on plane rides, shared rooms, long drives, small victories, and disappointments. They learned how to get up—literally and figuratively. They learned how to belong.
And along the way, we gained something too. We met people who became family. We built friendships that will last the rest of our lives.
We feel incredibly fortunate to have lived and breathed this sport for so long. And now, for the first time in decades, we get to watch competitions with a new kind of calm—cheering on the National Team as spectators and cheering on the next generation of junior athletes.
We hope the next generation gets to feel the same magic and community we did.
Thank you for the memories, the people, the lessons, and one really, really good time.
You can also Venmo this year! To donate, find us at @usaskijumping
Or send a check to:
USA Ski Jumping
PO Box 982331
Park City, UT 84098
