Here. I. Go.
March 16, 2012 6:20 PM   Subscribe

A fourth-grader's first ski jump (SLYT).

The 60m ski jump is at Utah Olympic Park. The little girl's name is Zia, apparently.
posted by Ritchie (61 comments total) 36 users marked this as a favorite
 
That was so incredibly adorable.
posted by voltairemodern at 6:24 PM on March 16, 2012 [6 favorites]


now get back up there and do it again
posted by philip-random at 6:26 PM on March 16, 2012 [2 favorites]


I was all, Oh God! Oh God! CHILD ABUSE! and I kept wanting the video to end with dad hugging her and saying, "That's ok. You don;t have to jump. Never let anyone make you do anything you don't want to."

Then I watched the rest and was all you rule, girl!

For the record, 41 year old male here, and my pants would have been wet and I would have never done the jump.
posted by cjorgensen at 6:26 PM on March 16, 2012 [7 favorites]


May be is the camera perspective, but that did not seem much of a jump. Still, good job kid!
posted by dov3 at 6:28 PM on March 16, 2012


that did not seem much of a jump.

When viewed at ground level? Maybe not.

From the top, though?
posted by blue t-shirt at 6:32 PM on March 16, 2012 [1 favorite]


That put a big grin on my face. Way to go kid!
posted by calamari kid at 6:39 PM on March 16, 2012 [2 favorites]


Hahaha! The cogent analysis of her hesitation at the end is so fantastic! Salud!
posted by lazaruslong at 6:40 PM on March 16, 2012 [5 favorites]


Based on the conversation with her coach before the jump, it seems like she had already practiced on 20m training jumps previously. (doesn't diminish the video at all, but also hints that it's maybe not a true "first time jumping ever," but rather her first "serious" jump.)

So glad her camera managed to catch the image of her shadow, with her arms triumphantly raised in the air. That was the best.
posted by ShutterBun at 6:42 PM on March 16, 2012


This is fabulous. You go, Zia!
posted by Joey Michaels at 6:48 PM on March 16, 2012


I am bawling - that was incredible. I hope my girl (the one hanging out on my bladder right now) is this brave! YESSSSS!!!
posted by tristeza at 6:50 PM on March 16, 2012 [3 favorites]


I also love how this kid takes the coach / dad's word as solid gold. Gawd, this is adorable.
posted by lazaruslong at 6:56 PM on March 16, 2012 [1 favorite]


... it's maybe not a true "first time jumping ever" ...

Oh, you're right. When she says "it's just a bigger 20, that's all" I only just realized she was talking about the 20m jump.
posted by Ritchie at 6:58 PM on March 16, 2012


I loved that. Not because I have ever even been on skis, but I had totally forgotten the pure joy as a child of achieving something for the first time.

Adulthood needs more of that.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:59 PM on March 16, 2012 [11 favorites]


This gives me flashbacks to the Geronimo water slide...
posted by grog at 7:03 PM on March 16, 2012


Here... I... GO!

Excellent!
posted by kamikazegopher at 7:06 PM on March 16, 2012 [1 favorite]


And I should have looked at the title... There... I... WENT!
posted by kamikazegopher at 7:07 PM on March 16, 2012


I thought that was a boy's voice, no?
posted by neuromodulator at 7:14 PM on March 16, 2012


Oh, damn, should have read the rest of the post. My bad.
posted by neuromodulator at 7:15 PM on March 16, 2012


I wish Americans could use age when trying to communicate age. (That may seems like a crappy thing to say, but the obfuscation is feeling more jarring over time instead of less.)
posted by -harlequin- at 7:25 PM on March 16, 2012 [5 favorites]


Badass. Go Zia!
posted by djrock3k at 7:26 PM on March 16, 2012


I don't think it was exactly "obfuscation," -harlequin-, which generally implies intent to hide information. But anyway, a fourth grader is typically nine or ten years old.

Also: go Zia!
posted by craichead at 7:36 PM on March 16, 2012


I think I had that exact same conversation myself when I bungee jumped. At 30. Good for that kid getting to it early!
posted by bessel functions seem unnecessarily complicated at 7:38 PM on March 16, 2012 [1 favorite]


Here... I... GO!

No no! You missed the cutest part. There is no exclamation point in "go."

She is not Banzai-ing herself into an adrenaline-fueled frenzy to overcome her fear. She is resigned to her fate, and placing herself into the hands of her trainer, her knowledge of skiing, and her maker. There's no false macho "Geronimo!" going on, just a zen-like acceptance, and a no-frills proclamation of intent. Marvelous.

I'd like to think she had some spiritual help from the "If you believe in yourself..." kid.
posted by ShutterBun at 7:42 PM on March 16, 2012 [8 favorites]


"Here...goes....something..." heh
posted by tristeza at 7:58 PM on March 16, 2012 [4 favorites]


I'm in tears. Holy shit, I'm just bawling. Why didn't they have GoPros when I was in fourth grade?
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 7:59 PM on March 16, 2012 [1 favorite]


So inspiring! She felt the fear and did it anyway. A powerful thing that. Loved to hear her adrenalin rush and determination afterwards too.

The video is billed as "A brave 4th grader girl named Zia takes on K60 ski jump ramp for the first time at the Olympic Park in Utah" and I wanted a better perspective on the height and length of what she was accomplishing. Here it is. I have even more respect for her now.

Then curious what the world's record is for ski-jumping. Here that is. Flying basically, on skis.
posted by nickyskye at 8:04 PM on March 16, 2012 [7 favorites]


Waiting for her to go... most suspense 1:15 seconds of my life. This is the shit.
posted by OsoMeaty at 8:20 PM on March 16, 2012


Can someone explain this jump to me? It seems there's a 60m run up to a jump that's about 1 foot high. Am I seeing this correctly? Why would a ski resort build such a thing?
posted by tylerkaraszewski at 8:35 PM on March 16, 2012


Based on nickyskye's video I think this makes more sense. The goal of the jump is distance rather than height, and so you only have to be a couple feet off the ground.
posted by tylerkaraszewski at 8:38 PM on March 16, 2012


My dad once kept my brother and me out of school one day for a toboggan run at a place in Michigan. I can't remember the name right now. But I do remember thinking, "What is dad trying to do to us?" This took me right back to that moment.
posted by Infinity_8 at 8:46 PM on March 16, 2012


I didn't ski for the first time until I was 32 years old, the same year that my older daughter took her first ski lessons at the age of three.

Both my kids have since surpassed me in skiing, but for a few years and up until very recently I was right there with them as they hit every new hurdle of the sport.

Watching this video made me cry, not just because I felt like I was right there with this young woman embarking on the next step of her mastery, but because I realize that my own daughters are going out there on the slopes without me now, standing there at the top alone, where I can't be next to them, doing something that I can't do with them, having to face it.

There they go.
posted by padraigin at 8:52 PM on March 16, 2012 [12 favorites]


I wish Americans could use age when trying to communicate age.

Brits do this too. I watch a lot of BBC stuff (mostly older) and all the time they are talking "years" and "levels" and crap. Usually I get it through context. This is not an American thing.
posted by cjorgensen at 8:52 PM on March 16, 2012 [1 favorite]


"Tales of a 9 Year Old Nothing" seems too vague about the subject matter, that's why.
posted by ShutterBun at 8:55 PM on March 16, 2012 [2 favorites]


This looked fun!
posted by oceanjesse at 9:03 PM on March 16, 2012


I didn't ski for the first time until I was 32 years old, the same year that my older daughter took her first ski lessons at the age of three. Both my kids have since surpassed me in skiing, but for a few years and up until very recently I was right there with them

Know the feeling. I used to be able to totally out-wrestle my niece.
posted by PareidoliaticBoy at 9:16 PM on March 16, 2012


I wish I was that brave when I was that age. Hell, I wish I was that brave now.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 9:22 PM on March 16, 2012


She was right being anxious. This is a sport that when things go wrong, it goes really wrong. Ski jump crashes.
posted by nickyskye at 9:57 PM on March 16, 2012 [2 favorites]


That was fucking awesome. Got tears in my eyes. Right on.
posted by chococat at 10:14 PM on March 16, 2012 [1 favorite]


It went wrong last week for Nik Zoricic, the Canadian ski-cross athlete who died during a jump (ski cross combines racing and jumping).

And quite famously, Vinko Bogataj^, who became infamous through footage of his 1970 crash on the US program ABC Wide World of Sports. I think it's pretty notable how much more elbow room, so to speak, is now granted the athletes.
posted by dhartung at 10:37 PM on March 16, 2012


On the plus side, I think Vinko more or less got up, dusted himself off, and went on to complete his next jump after his crash, didn't he?
posted by ShutterBun at 10:42 PM on March 16, 2012


One of my first (of not many) FPPs was on Vinko.
posted by maxwelton at 11:04 PM on March 16, 2012


Watching a "ski jump world records, 1966-onwards" video on YouTube, I keep thinking this sport needs to be combined with one of those wingsuits like Jeb Corliss wears...
posted by mrbill at 11:33 PM on March 16, 2012 [1 favorite]


Didn't realize he had actually suffered a concussion. Thanks for the callback, maxwelton.
posted by ShutterBun at 11:38 PM on March 16, 2012


I don't understand people who aren't impressed. That's a pretty significant drop. It's also inexplicably a drop surrounded by wooden posts bristling all around.

Her little whimpering noises were freaking me out, though. I was getting massive anxiety from listening to it, not from what she was doing but from those distressed noises.
posted by winna at 11:42 PM on March 16, 2012 [1 favorite]


The best Herzog movie on the subject of ski-flying (not as cute, but more ruminations on mortality).
posted by benzenedream at 12:00 AM on March 17, 2012 [2 favorites]


I want the courage of a fourth grader. Loved this.
posted by Isadorady at 12:16 AM on March 17, 2012


Can someone explain this jump to me? It seems there's a 60m run up to a jump that's about 1 foot high.

Based on the camera angles in this video, I think maybe the sport should be renamed to "Ski Dropping" -- check out the vertical drop from the launch point to the landing zone. Watch that and you should get a sense of the distances (vertical and horizontal) traveled in ski jumping.
posted by Ranucci at 12:23 AM on March 17, 2012 [2 favorites]


The essence of adventure sports. I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna ... oh, that wasn't so bad... YEAH!!!
posted by Manjusri at 1:11 AM on March 17, 2012 [1 favorite]


Good for her! I recognize that little-kid whimper she does; it breaks my heart each time. But for her to step and do it anyway... just... wow.

Now go do more brave things, Zia.
posted by grubi at 2:09 AM on March 17, 2012


I love her remarkably adult articulation, both in the "here goes... something" and the "it's the suspense at the beginning" analysis. Combined with the total triumph of the hands in the air.

Thanks for posting this.
posted by bardophile at 3:32 AM on March 17, 2012 [1 favorite]


I loved that. Not because I have ever even been on skis, but I had totally forgotten the pure joy as a child of achieving something for the first time.

Adulthood needs more of that.


Childhood needs more of that too. I lament that my gym teachers did such a poor job of teaching us how to try hard things. Seems like they did it right here: the kid wasn't being pushed off the hill, and probably knew that she could give up if she wanted, but was instead trained, coached and encouraged to *want* to overcome her fear. Bravo!
posted by gjc at 5:35 AM on March 17, 2012 [1 favorite]


Sadly, this would be the exact transcript of my inner dialogue when I'm gearing up for a date, a trip to the dentist, or buying a car. If only they made GoPro cameras with telepathic microphones.
posted by sonascope at 6:29 AM on March 17, 2012 [3 favorites]


Wow.
posted by humanfont at 6:29 AM on March 17, 2012


Letting go of the plane was like that, only louder :-)
posted by flabdablet at 8:10 AM on March 17, 2012


Reminds me of my son's first day skiing (and mine). He was probably a fifth grader at the time By the end of the day the group instructor had not been able to inspire or coax him onto the lift. After some talking-yes he really really wants to do this-no he doesn't want to just go get some nice warm cocoa-I offered to go with him. Because by then I had done it twice already, so I was really super qualified to help.

Finally, the bottom line for him was this: "No matter what happens, I'm not gonna die, right?"
"No honey, I promise, you're not gonna die."
"OK, then. I'm not gonna die. Lets go."

The birth of a skier.
posted by SLC Mom at 9:44 AM on March 17, 2012


A [British] friend of mine was telling me how, in the early 80s, he was going out with a Finnish girl. And he found himself in Rovaniemi visiting her and her family. He was 17, and quite gung ho, so the family bet him that he couldn't go down the ski jump that the town had, right at the top of quite a large hill. I should add at this point that he grew up in Africa and hadn't done a lot of skiing. They just told him to lean forward a lot and he'd be fine.

But he did it, and managed to land on his feet. Just. He then skidded along rather unceremoniously on his arse.

He was quite surprised then, a few years later, to find himself watching the Winter Olynpics in Calgary on tv and discovering that his jump that day was longer than Eddie the Eagle managed in those games.
posted by MuffinMan at 10:14 AM on March 17, 2012


That kinda shit is so awesome.
posted by ph00dz at 1:49 PM on March 17, 2012


I wish Americans could use age when trying to communicate age.

I don't understand what this means. Help?
posted by yoga at 2:08 PM on March 17, 2012


Don't say she's a 4th grader, say she's nine, or eight, or ten ...
How old's an American 4th grader?
posted by philip-random at 2:34 PM on March 17, 2012


How old's an American 4th grader?

Students are usually 9 or 10 years old, depending on their birthday.
posted by nickyskye at 3:31 PM on March 17, 2012


Gawd, I teared up at her teeny tiny "bye" at 1:09. Lovely lovely lovely.
posted by thinkpiece at 5:16 AM on March 18, 2012


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