Ski Jumping Championships Postponed Due To Weather
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Norge Ski Club in Fox River Grove has been forced by warm weather and rain to postpone this weekend's Ski Jumping Championships.
They have never postponed or cancelled a tournament in their 112-year history. However, Publicity Chairman Charlie Sedivec said the weather conditions make it almost impossible for the event to go on.
"We felt we were letting ourselves down a little, but everything added up and it just didn't make sense to try and hold a tournament," Sedivec said. "Half the snow is gone. We've snowed the hills three times now, and there's more rain in the forecast for the weekend -- there's just no way to safely hold a competition."
Sedivec added that it was a tough and emotional decision to postpone the event. As recent as last Friday, they posted on their Facebook page saying: "The Norgi Ski Club would like all to know that no matter what the weather has in store for us on Saturday and Sunday, January 21 and 22, the tournament will go on as scheduled." That following Tuesday morning brought a new post, which announced that the event had been rescheduled.
While this is a first for the ski club, they are no strangers to weather-related challenges.
"We've gone through some rough times," Sedivec said. "We've brought in artificial snow off of the ice on the river, we've had it shipped down by train up in Northern Wisconsin, we've even scraped the ice off the Polar Dome Ice Rink that used to be in Carpentersville."
The competition will now take place during the weekend of Feb. 11 and 12, where 5-8,000 spectators are expected to be in attendance.
"Come rain or shine, we're gonna figure out some way of running a tournament on February 11 and 12," Sedivec said.
