Chummy Broomhall

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Wendall "Chummy" Broomhall (born December 3, 1919) was an American cross country skier who competed in the 1948 and 1952 Winter Olympics. He finished 65th in the 18 km event at the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, and finished 57th in the same event at the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo.[1] He was a member of the United States Ski Team from 1947 to 1954.[2]

Broomhall was born in Mexico, Maine, and became a member of the Chisholm Ski Club in the 1930s. During World War II, he served in the 10th Mountain Division.[3][4]

Broomhall was the designer for the cross country trails for both the 1960 Winter Olympics at Squaw Valley, California and the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, New York, and also served as chief of competition both times. In 1960, Broomhall was the first to use mechanized equipment to groom the trails, a job previously performed by feet and handheld rakes. This was made necessary because of the icy conditions caused by afternoon sun melting the snow followed by cold nights.[2][5]

Broomhall has donated 300 acres (1.2 km²) of land to the Chisholm Ski Club, used to create skiing facilities in the Rumford area after returning from World War II. These efforts culminated in the formation of Black Mountain of Maine, which opened in 1962. He designed the cross-country trails there as well, now named Broomhall Stadium. The site has since hosted numerous national cross-country skiing championships, and Broomhall remains involved.[6][2][3]

Chummy Broomhall was inducted into the National Ski Hall of Fame in 1981, and was an inaugural member of the Maine Ski Hall of Fame when it was founded in 2003.[3] In 2007, Black Mountain started a new annual tournament for Maine collegiate skiers, named the Chummy Broomhall Cup in his honor.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Olympic cross country results: 1948-52. Retrieved on 2007-05-12.
  2. ^ a b c Aalberg, John (January 2, 2004). Black Mountain of Maine – Ready for the 2004 National Championship. fasterskier.com. Retrieved on 2007-05-12.
  3. ^ a b c Burke, Heather (December 23, 2003). Maine’s Ski Hall of Fame Part II. Maine Sunday Telegram. Retrieved on 2007-05-12.
  4. ^ Burke, Heather (December 16, 2001). Remembering The 10th - A Look Back At Ski Warriors. Maine Sunday Telegram. Retrieved on 2007-05-12.
  5. ^ Wolterbeek, Mike (April 21, 2000). Olympic Trails to be restored on Tahoe's West Shore. Trivune News Service. Retrieved on 2007-05-12.
  6. ^ Wendall "Chummy" Broomhall Biography (PDF). Retrieved on 2007-05-12.

[edit] External links

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