DOMEN PREVC OF Slovenia won on both Feb. 6 and 7 during the 2022 FIS Continental Cup competition at Pine Mountain in Iron Mountain. (Dave Kallmann photo)

IRON MOUNTAIN — The Kiwanis Ski Club will again host a Continental Cup ski jumping competition at Pine Mountain in 2023, after the club’s withdrawal from a World Cup calendar set earlier this year by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, or FIS.

The FIS announced the change Thursday on its website.

Susie Fox, Kiwanis Ski Club corresponding secretary, said the club hopes to get a Continental Cup date very soon.

“The Kiwanis Ski Club has received and will continue to receive tremendous support from FIS and Race Director Sandro Pertile, leadership at USA Nordic and Central Division Ski Jumping,” Fox told The Daily News. “It is a goal of FIS to bring World Cup ski jumping back to North America and they want to do it in Iron Mountain because of the great crowds we get, the facility and the local organizing committee.”

The FIS in June set a Feb. 10-12 date for the World Cup at Pine Mountain, though the Kiwanis did not promote it, cautioning many things needed to fall into place. The non-profit

ski club has hosted world-class ski jumping tournaments at Pine Mountain since 1939 and last hosted a World Cup in 2000.

“I was on site in Iron Mountain myself and I’m in constant contact with the organizers,” Pertile said. “I know how hard they have been working and I know how disappointed the organizing committee is now — of course we regret the decision.”

The ski club said it was “a very ambitious goal” to host a World Cup event next year, adding, “This is disappointing for all of us, but we have to be realistic.” The club cited difficulties in meeting FIS infrastructure requirements for a World Cup, including raising enough money to make more improvements.

On its Facebook page, the club gave assurances a Continental Cup event would be held on a weekend to be determined. That event “we can carry out with the infrastructure we have,” the club said.

Of the infrastructure requirements needed to host World Cup, many are required to continue to host Continental Cup, Fox said.

“The club will continue to do fundraising, seek grants and pursue Capital Campaign donations,” she said. “The Kiwanis Ski Club is determined to see this through and bring the prestigious World Cup back to Iron Mountain.”

Despite some team cancelations brought on by COVID-19, the 2022 Marshfield Clinic-Dickinson Continental Cup tournament drew 36 jumpers from seven nations, marking the debut of a $3 million renovation at Pine Mountain. The 2021 tournament was canceled due to pandemic restrictions. Crowds at last year’s three-day event were estimated at 10,000 or more at their peak.

A loan for the Pine Mountain renovation was provided with assistance from the Great Lakes Sports Commission, established in 2018 by an appropriation from the Michigan Legislature. The improvements included a new slide and track, lighting and warming hut.

With more additions needed, including an elevator, local officials have lobbied to have the loan balance forgiven. While no progress has been reported on that front, Senate Bill 565 approved by the Legislature and signed this spring by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer included $20 million for the restoration and development of the Copper Peak ski jump facility in Gogebic County, which was last used in 1994.

The Pine Mountain jump is on property owned by Dickinson County and is leased to Kiwanis Ski Club for a nominal fee. More information about the club’s Capital Campaign can be found at https://www.soaringintothefuture.org/.