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I NEED ONE MORE STORY! West? Central? We’ve had alot of stories from the East. Let’s hear from others. Take some time and share a memory. You’ll be glad you did! And so will the rest of us. Email it with a photograph to jhastings@procutusa.com.
Ed Tourville passing the torch to his boys, Matthew and Timmy. In the process, with wife Cheryl, they are all helping to fire up the Lebanon Outing Club, as well.
CHERYL TOURVILLE
Lebanon Outing Club
etourville@enfield.nh.us
How Two Young Ski Jumpers Are Following in Their Father’s Footsteps
In 1979 Edmund (Ed) Tourville was born in Lebanon, New Hampshire while the roads for the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics were being built. That small child’s father worked for Pike Industries, and Edmund spent his first few weeks of life staying in a camper in Lake Placid while his father helped build the roads along with other Pike Industries employees from all over New England.
It’s now 1988: “What’s that?” Edmund, the 9-year-old little boy asked his father, as he pointed to the Storrs Hill 25-meter ski jump in Lebanon, NH. From the moment he laid eyes on that jump, Edmund had caught the ski jumping bug. He began jumping that night for the Lebanon Outing Club at Storrs Hill Ski Area and continued jumping all the way through high school, graduating in 1998. He participated in the high school meets, representing Mascoma Valley Regional High School team as the “lone jumper” and competed at the Junior Olympics, Empire State Games and other meets as well. Edmund loved flying and pushing himself to fly further. A lot of great memories were made, and ski jumping was how his self-confidence was built.
Fast forward now to January of 2016. Eighteen years after graduating from high school, life had happened– work, marriage and fatherhood. Edmund’s youngest son Timmy, a shy 5 year old, was having social anxiety with crowds. I told Ed that we should find a sport or activity to help Timmy build his self-confidence. “It should be skiing and jumping,” Edmund replied enthusiastically. I was a bit reluctant, as I did not ski myself; however, I remembered the energy and excitement of watching Edmund jump thru middle and high school. After Timmy’s first skiing lesson at Storrs Hill, he already had greater ambitions — he was pointing to the 25 and 50-meter jumps and asking if he could have a try. As a father, Edmund was simply thrilled to see Timmy’s excitement for the sport and encouraged him to ski over the 10-meter and go down the landing. That morning, Timmy took several trips down the jump and history began to repeat itself. Like father like son.
Now 20 years later, Timmy and his older brother, Matthew, have both taken to ski jumping and Edmund has rekindled his love for the sport, returning to jumping, as well as becoming a certified USSA and USA Nordic jumping coach for the Lebanon Outing Club at Storrs Hill. I have joined the Lebanon Outing Club’s Board of Directors, and work hard to find funding to support LOC, which is a nonprofit organization that provides skiing, racing and jumping opportunities to the community.
Edmund’s vision is to see that all children have the same opportunities as he did with his jumping path. Edmund and I both believe that all children should have an opportunity to jump, as well as compete— echoing the vision of Erling Heistad, who founded Lebanon Outing Club in 1923. Both Edmund and I have made it a priority to ensure all LOC members have the opportunity to attend jumping camps and meets. Last season at meets, Edmund became known as “the ski doctor” to some of the younger children. He had a backpack full of tools and was prepared to repair skis on the spot. Watching children build their self-confidence has been a key factor and together we have seen children “come out of their shells” thru jumping. To see their smiles and enthusiasm is of great reward. Jumping, it’s become a family tradition with the Tourville family.
The first generation: Ed Tourville in the 90’s.
