GUIDE 2008.qxd:GUIDE 2007.qxd
3/20/08
5:36 PM
Page 55
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.”
www.skytrekadventurepark.com
www.enchantedforestbc.com
continued on page 56
Open Mid-May to Thanksgiving Phone Toll free: 1.866.944.9744
KootenayRockies.com
55
GUIDE 2008.qxd:GUIDE 2007.qxd
3/20/08
5:37 PM
Revelstoke is situated on the banks of the Columbia River. It is nestled in between the Monashee Mountains to the west and the Selkirk Mountains to the east. For more information about the Monashees, and Eagle Pass in particular, see page 54. East of Revelstoke is the Selkirk Mountains and Glacier National Park. Yes, Canada has a Glacier National Park, too – please don’t confuse this one with the one in Montana. Revelstoke has had a love affair with skiing and skijumping since 1915. Now, in the winter months, Revelstoke has world class snowmobiling, heli and cat skiing and some of the best backcountry skiing anywhere. And in the summer, adventure recreation opportunities abound with hiking, mountain biking, fishing, caving, hot springs, heli hiking, canoeing, and more. Revelstoke was founded in the 1880s when the Canadian Pacific Railway was built through the area. It was named after Lord Revelstoke, the head of a UK banking firm that saved the CPR from bankruptcy. Today, Revelstoke offers full visitor services in a charming downtown area. Quaint boutiques, casual coffee bars and restaurants are all within easy walking distance. To learn more about the city’s rich history, check out their local museum while you enjoy a self-guided tour of downtown.
Page 56
countinued from page 54
Isabel did not use chairlifts. She would declare that riding lifts was “the lazy person’s approach”, saying that the need for ski lifts and tows was largely to blame for many ski accidents. Muscles did not have the chance to condition properly when the skier rode a lift and just glided down in what she deemed ‘a monotonous cycle.’
documentation that the title was ever taken away from her. Isabel’s jump in 1922 remained the world’s record for the time being. Her last recorded jump was in 1929.
In 1938, Ms. Coursier went to Britain where she taught phys-ed for many years. During the next 25 years, she would frequently bring herself back and forth across the ocean, never seeming to make a choice between the UK and BC. She was a ski instructor in Scotland in 1952 and Isabel returned to Coursier was Canada that world champion same year to from 1922-29, teach in even throughout Nanaimo. In juggling her 1954, Isabel studies at the returned again McGill School of to Britain and P h y s i c a l studied art in Education in Glasgow, where Montreal and she lived until teaching Physical 1959. She then Education in Victoria. She did left for Canada eventually give to teach in Durrand Glacier Chalet, Selkirk Mountains up competitive Va n c o u v e r . B a ck c o u n t r y L o d g e H i k i n g ski-jumping for Two years later, Lodge based alpine hiking in the her career, still Isabel found pristine Northern Selkirk Mountains P 1389: Isabel Coursier in Revelstoke, circa 1925 of B.C. Our helicopter accessed, carrying the herself back in Credit: ecologically sensitivePhoto lodge is aRevelstoke Museum & Archives distinction of Scotland, where Swiss-style family-run mountain chaletAlthough with 1 & 2 person bedrooms, “uncontested champion”. an excerpt from she taught until her retirement in 1967. She again hot running showers and gourmet Sam Wormington’s, The Ski (using Race organic states that in 1927, moved back to Canada and settled in Parksville on meals ingredients). km ofa exclusive trails lead to girl there was some confusion80 over New Hampshire Vancouver Island. lakes, waterfalls, glaciers, mountain who claimed the recordridges held by experience Miss Coursier. as you wild flowersThe and mountain from a close American Ski Association did notgoats recognize jumps distance. Isabel Coursier died October 16, 1980 at the age of made on the Revelstoke hill during Isabel’s time as Selkirk Mountain Experience 74.There is no record of her ever marrying. world champion. However, the matter was recorded Revelstoke B.C. • (250) 837-2381 as info@selkirkexperience.com having gone into rectification, and there was no www.hikingcanada.ca
Inviting, Refreshing, Relaxing Join Us for a World Class Experience with Lodge Style Charm 75 air conditioned rooms Fine dinning room & patio lounge Exercise room, whirlpool & sauna Conference room for 150 For Reservations at Coast Hotels and Resorts
call 1-800-663-1144 East of Revelstoke’s East entrance 2100 Oak Dr, Revelstoke, BC Phone 250-837-3322 • Fax 837-3340
www.hillcresthotel.com 56
Ko o t e n ay R o ck i e s . c o m