Nels Nelsen

Nels Nelsen (3 June 1894 – 3 June 1943), born Nils Johan Nilsen and sometimes referred to as Nels Nelson, was a Norwegian-born Canadian ski jumper active between 1916 and 1932. Later he was ski jumping organizer. He was among the world's best ski jumpers during the 1920s, and held the world record of 73 meters from 1925 to 1930. He was born in Salangen Municipality in Troms county, Norway. He moved with his family to Revelstoke, British Columbia, in 1912. Credited with bringing the sport of ski jumping to Canada, he made his debut on the nearby Big Hill in 1915. He competed throughout Canada and the United States, and became Canadian champion five times. Despite holding the world record at the time, he was not allowed to participate in the 1928 Winter Olympics because the officials did not find it suitable for him to have to work his way to Switzerland.

Nelsen worked for the Canadian Pacific Railway, and moved to North Vancouver, British Columbia, where he raised a family. Nelsen lost his hand in a hunting accident in 1933, and was forced to retire as a ski jumper. He continued as an organizer, and was among other things president of the Western Canada Amateur Ski Association and later vice-president of the Canadian Amateur Ski Association. In 1948, after Big Hill had been expanded, it was renamed Nels Nelsen Hill. Nelsen was inscribed in the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame in 1971 and the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame in 1983.

Early and personal life He was born Nils Johan Nilsen to a Norwegian family in Seljeskogen in Salangen Municipality on 3 June 1894, as the oldest of six children. As a child, Nelsen was an active skier and ski jumper, with more than fifteen ski jumps located in the area. Nelsen married Emma Pickard, with whom he had ten children. Except for a brief period as a ski instructor, he worked as a brakeman and conductor for the Canadian Pacific Railway, whose flexibility made it easier to participate in tournaments. He moved to North Vancouver where he raised his 10 kids with his wife Emma Picard.

Athletic career

Nelsen won the home-town Winter Carnival Tournament, setting the hill record of 56 meters (183 ft) in Big Hill in the inauguration tournament in 1916. With this and subsequent better distances, he would hold the hill record in Revelstoke until 1932. In 1916, he won the Championship of Canada Ski Jumping Contest, which he would subsequently defend every year until 1920. He continued by setting the Canadian amateur record in 1920, and breaking it again in 1921 and 1923. He was among the most successful jumpers in Canada from 1916 to 1925, taking home most trophies. Among his methods to improve his jumps was placing pieces of lead at the front or back of the skies to give optimal balance. His various best jumps were Canadian records from 1916 to 1932. Although accepted as a record, it was not at the time favored in Europe to stress distance records. This was because it was regarded that simply building a larger hill would undoubtedly give a longer jump, and in part because such records did not take style into consideration.

Organizer career and legacy After arriving in Revelstoke, Nelsen was instrumental in the establishment of Revelstoke Ski Club and the Big Hill located within Mount Revelstoke National Park. In 1927, he helped establish a ski jump in Grouse Mountain in North Vancouver.

Traditionally, governing of skiing in Canada was split between the Canadian Amateur Ski Association (CASA) and the Western Canada Amateur Ski Association (WCASA). Nelsen was the latter's president, and after years of rivalry, which even reached the point where they did not recognize each other, Nelsen eventually was part of the negotiation for an amalgamation which took into consideration the needs of the western clubs.

He died of heart failure in Field on 3 June 1943—his 49th birthday. Nelsen was inscribed in the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame in 1971, Not recognized! Crash at world record distance.