USANS Story Project 28-DEC-2015 BILL CANTLIN (for BERNIE DION)

RUNNING WITH SCISSORS- Photo and caption from the local paper, the Valley News in 1970.  After retiring from jumping, Bernie coached literally hundreds of kids from around NH and VT through the Lebanon Outing Club.  Clipping thanks to Walter Malmquist, a Dion disciple.

BILL CANTLIN
Thornton, NH
Lebanon Outing Club, Dartmouth Ski Team, US Ski Team

REMEMBERING BERNIE DION, Lebanon, NH
(if you grew up in Lebanon you are always from Lebanon)

On July 7, 2015 the jumping community lost Bernie Dion who was first a great jumper, then coach and judge, and always a supporter of everything ski jumping.

He started jumping at a very early age and was a stand out from the beginning. He was one of the best ski jumpers in the country when he won the Brattleboro Harris Hill tournament in 1959 at the age of 17. Unfortunately, the next year he broke his neck at Squaw Valley before the 1960 Olympics. Fortunately he wasn’t paralyzed.

In 1966 he was working on a “come back” at Harris Hill. During the competition he took a deep telemark, dug his knee into the landing hill, and was pitched forward.  Landing with arms extended, he broke both wrists. It was double bad luck for Bernie because he was a barber and he couldn’t work. As it turned out, it was good luck for a couple of jumpers who were going to Winter Park for the Junior Nationals later that year. Bernie picked us up every day after school for a couple of weeks and took us to the jump at Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, NH which was a great all natural jump build, almost single-handedly, by Ike Townsend. Bernie said the KUA jump was very similar to the jump in Winter Park and we found that it was. Sadly, both jumping complexes are now gone.

Bernie was far and away the best technical coach these jumpers would ever have.  He knew the nuances. He taught head position, the importance of relaxed shoulders, where to place your hands for the best points, how to drive from your toes, and how to transition from flight position to telemark. And he always wanted the jumper to learn how to land at the bottom of the hill. Those trips to KUA were very special, defined Bernie, and became the foundation of a lifelong friendship.

Bernie went on to become a coach and advocate for junior jumpers in the East. He touched, in some way, every eastern junior jumper for decades and had a positive impact on the lives of scores and scores of kids.

He distinguished himself as a FIS judge and was a judge at the 1980 Olympics at Lake Placid and he was helping rebuild the jumps and the jumping community at Gunstock when he died.

He was a living definition of a lifelong ski jumper.

Another photo from the Valley News- this one from 1971 capturing Bernie announcing at the last tournament of the year, usually held in mid-March. and affectionately called the Mud Meet which sometimes describes the hill and always describes the parking lot.  Again, thanks to Walter Malmquist for the clipping.

THE ORIGINAL RING of FIRE.  If Bernie didn’t start the Ring of Fire tradition at Lebanon Outing Club, he certainly perpetuated and perfected it.   It remains the highlight of every Mud Meet and a sure cure for jumping early.  Photo above shows Lebanon skier, Chris Baker taking the Olympic torch (which was run through Lebanon NH prior to the 2002 Salt Lake City Games) off the Lebanon K25.

FLAPPING & FLYING- Bernie headed to the bottom on Gunstock’s hill in Gilford, NH.  Thanks to Carol Anderson and Bernie Dion Jr for the photo.

RESTING BUT STILL FLYING.    Thanks to Bernie Dion Jr for the photo.