Only those bindings are suitable for jumping by means of which the heel end of the ski can easily be drawn up close to the foot when that is held clear of the ground.
To carry a stick while jumping is useless, and, except for an expert on an easy jump, is exceedingly dangerous.
How to Jump.—Stand far enough up the track to get up a moderate speed, and not less than 15 yards from the edge of the platform. By no means risk running off the platform so slowly that your skis simply tip over the edge and bury their points in the snow.
Clean your skis and start off in any way you like. If the start is on the side of the hill, and not on a level place, the jumper often thrusts his sticks into the snow on each side of the track, and stands a little above them, facing straight downhill, holding himself back by resting his weight on them. He can then, by merely letting go the sticks, start quite steadily without altering the position of his skis.
Run in normal position until about 15 yards before the edge of the platform; then bring the feet level, and crouch down until you reach the position of [Plate LII.]
Take care that the knees as well as the feet are pressed tightly together, that the weight is well forward, and that the hands hang as low as possible, i.e. with the finger-tips level with the ankles. Unless you pay particular attention to this last point, and try to get as low as you possibly can, it is probable that your position, while feeling to yourself a decided crouch, will only appear to a spectator as a rather half-hearted stoop at the knees and hips.
When this low crouch has become mechanical, you had better hold your arms backwards in a horizontal position, but to touch your ankles first is the best way of making sure that your position is correct.
I believe that Norwegian authorities are not agreed as to whether the feet should be held level or in the normal position at this stage. Huitfeldt, for instance, whom I have already quoted, says that the Telemarkings, who invented jumping, always jump with the feet in the normal position. However this may be, most good jumpers take the level position, and you can safely do the same, but be sure, as you bring the feet level, that they do not get apart.
The “Sats.”—Take the above crouching position soon enough to be running steadily in it with every detail correct by the time you reach the platform, for before you reach the edge of this you must have your whole attention free to be concentrated on the actual take off, or, as the Norwegians call it, the “Sats.”