You won’t find bumpjumping at the Winter Olympics, but every February people gather at the Winter Sports Park in Petoskey to compete in a unique hometown tradition.
The exact origins of bumpjumping are unknown. In fact, people can’t even agree on a common spelling between bump jumper, bumpjumper or bump-jumper. But, the niche sport has been part of the winter season fun in Petoskey dating back decades. In fact, Petoskey hosted the first ever national bumpjumping competition during the 1957 Winter Carnival.
Petoskey resident Paul DeWitt said he has been bumpjumping “pretty much my whole life.”
His family lived near the Winter Sports Park and would often come to the park to play.
“I think it’s a lot of fun because it all has to do with who all comes out here,” DeWitt said. “It’s fun to do it, but when you come out here and you see the different people, and they come out as families, too.”
Bumpjumping does seem to run in the family, passed down from generation to generation. For example, during the annual bumpjumping contest on Saturday, Feb. 14, three generations of the Muller family took home awards across multiple age divisions.
“The one thing I’ve always enjoyed about them is the multi-generational engagement of the sport. You can see the little guys all trying just as hard as the olders,” DeWitt said. “It’s competitive but it’s not. It’s more to come out here and have fun versus ‘I’m going to beat you.’ And you never know what kind of contraption is going to show up.”
A bumpjumper is typically made from a seat of some kind attached to a single runner. One rider sits on the device. To achieve maximum speed, they’ll often raise their legs straight and lean back as far as they can.
Even though Saturday morning saw foggy conditions and warming temperatures, it did not seem to affect speed. The fastest racers were achieving times of 12.50 seconds and above on the downhill course.
“It’s fast. Even though the temperatures are kind of wonky, the base is crisp,” DeWitt said. “I actually took mine out last night in the driveway just to see, and it took off like a shot.”
Organized as part of the Winter Wonderland Weekend festivities, a small crowd of onlookers gathered at the base of the hill to cheer on the racers.
“I think it’s just the community spirit, the people that enjoy it,” DeWitt said. “There’s always a special breed that likes wacky things, and this is truly an Up North wacky thing.”
— Contact Jillian Fellows at jfellows@petoskeynews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: ‘Truly an Up North wacky thing’: Bumpjumping tradition continues in Petoskey
Reporting by Jillian Fellows, The Petoskey News-Review / The Petoskey News-Review
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
