Dozens of students gathered at Memorial Union Thursday night to watch skiers and snowboarders carve powder at the “Rail Jam,” hosted by the Wisconsin Hoofers.
The crowd looked on as more than 30 contestants rode — as well as wiped out — on one of three rails set up on a snow-covered ramp while judges scored their jumps.
The event was 14 months in the making, according to Hoofers Ski and Snowboard President Matt Hartig. Hartig, a UW senior, said the group had looked at what ski activities they had done in the past and wanted to recreate similar events.
“We used to have a ski jump on Muir Knoll (behind College Library) … and it came all the way down onto the lake, and then we had ski ballet in the ’70s,” Hartig said. “We were like, ‘We really want to try and find a way we can bring something like that back to campus.'”
Hartig said the group settled on the idea of a rail ramp because it is contemporary and would interest a lot of students.
Over the course of planning, Hartig said the group ran into problems with the original location, which was supposed to be Bascom Hill, and also with funding. He said the problem with the Bascom Hill event arose from an unseasonably warm week in February, so they had to reschedule.
Jon Van Ryzin, a junior and member of Hoofers Ski and Snowboard, said it would have been great if they would have held the event on Bascom Hill. But for how they had it this year, Hoofers pulled it off well.
“I heard about the event in the newspaper, came down to watch,” said Alex Alt, a student watching on the sidelines. “It’s super cool. (I’ll) probably stay and watch most of it, even in the rain.”
The event obtained the necessary funding through help from Associated Students of Madison and the Wisconsin Union Directorate, Hartig said.
For safety measures, Hartig said the participants had to prove their competency as skiers and snowboarders through video and photo submissions, and three emergency medical technicians were standing by. The club also set up inflated padding for both sides of the ramp in case competitors fell off.
“We feel that we’ve done a pretty good job,” Hartig said. “We can’t promise no one will get hurt, but we feel we have taken the necessary precautions.”
He added Hoofers plans to make the event an annual affair, given the success of Thursday night.
“I was thinking about [competing] in it, but I don’t have any real skills. I ski at times,” said Brad Strock, senior and member of Hoofers Sailing team. “Otherwise, it’s awesome to just watch people ‘biff’ it.”
Prizes given to winners included hoof-shaped medals and ski and snowboarding gear. Snowboarding winners were UW students Colin Tucker, Ross Cotter-Brown and Nate Lavik. Ski winners were UW students Hans Aschim and David Walk, and Nick Nowack of Milwaukee.
“I’m happy to see so many people out here,” Hartig said. “I’ve got my fingers crossed that a few people will be out here who have never snowboarded and they will look at it and go, ‘That is so cool.'”
