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Isabel Coursier – Ski-jumping Pioneer by Heather Lea During the 1920’s, it wasn’t especially normal for a female to imagine competing in sports— particularly if that sport was male dominated—but for Isabel Patricia Coursier, born March 21,1906, skijumping was as natural as playing in the snow. Isabel was 16 years old when she broke a world record, jumping 84 feet in her hometown of Revelstoke, BC at what is now referred to as the Nelsen Historic Ski Jump. From that day forward, Isabel was celebrated as being the first female world champion skijumper. In a ski tournament held in Washington on the 4th of July, 1923, Isabel marveled her audience once again, jumping on the icy slopes of Mount Rainier. For this exhibition, she received a special medal and an ovation from the distinguished audience, which included then-president Warren Harding.
world.” The Revelstoke Ski Club was also famed to have produced some of the finest skiers in the world.
During this era, Revelstoke was well-known in ski circles for having one of the best ski hills in the world. An excerpt from the Revelstoke Review in 1927 quoted a reporter from the Calgary Herald who claimed, “Revelstoke…boasts the greatest ski hill in the
A member of the Ski Club, Isabel confidently jumped alongside her male contemporaries, such as Nels Nelsen, an immigrant from Norway to Revelstoke, who also held a world record for his jump of 240ft.
P 822: Isabel Coursier jumping at Montreal, February 20, 1926, age 19. Jump of 103 feet Photo Credit: Revelstoke Museum & Archives
On the Trans-Canada Highway between Sicamous & Revelstoke
Fun & Adventure in the Forest
In practice jumps, Isabel exceeded 100ft and was the first female to jump unsupported by a male. The few women who did venture into ski-jumping contests came down the jump holding the hand of a male jumper. A trapper named Bob Blackmore made Isabel a pair of skis when she was eight years old, which was all she needed to get on her way. In an interview circa 1968, Ms. Coursier stated, “I am appalled at the commercialism youngsters are exposed to these days and very sorry for parents who are trying to keep up with (kids) who want to take part in winter sports.” (Imagine what she would think of the industry today.) “We did not go in for expensive equipment; parents simply could not afford all the fancy gear that seems to be standard today.” And there was no such thing as special sport clothing, either. Athletes used improvised methods and whatever worked at the time. Isabel would often be seen jumping in army riding britches, men’s pants, and even her bloomers. As an athletic star, Isabel was noticed for her true character. The media portrayed her fresh youth and modesty as attractive; her seriousness was endearing. Her success didn’t have anything to do with expensive coaching or top-of-the-line sporting equipment, a sort of forced glamour that seems to befall today’s athletes. She had no formal coaching. “None of us ever did, to my knowledge. I never saw anybody coaching anyone,” Ms. Coursier remarked in a 1977 interview. “That’s why (we all) had the different styles.”
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