Jackson's Ski Training Fund

Hello my name is Jackson Hipple and I am an up-and-coming freestyle skier. Please watch my video above to hear my story and help me achieve my goal of going to the Winter X Games and the  Olympics.  



I've been skiing since I was 2 years old, and now at 15 years old my dream is to keep going until I get to the X Games and the Olympics. Freestyle skiers have always been my heros and role models because they push the limits of what humans can do. I have the same drive to do what they did and more.

I know it’s crazy that we’re asking for $20,000. But it’s not just for my next training trip. It’s for my entire journey until my sponsors and contest earnings can pay for my career. I want to go big, so we are asking big. My family and I are still going to be spending every spare cent on this dream, but we can’t do it alone.

I first started doing freestyle when I was about eight years old riding the rope tow at Abenaki Ski Area in Wolfeboro, NH, and ever since then it has been my passion and my goal to become a professional. In the past I have won national competitions in multiple events in my age group, and recently I’ve placed in the top 10 in open events with skiers up to 20 years old.

Two summers ago I got an amazing opportunity to go ski in Oregon with a group of elite skiers from around the country. I went out for a week and absolutely loved it. I learned so much and decided that I wanted to ski with them all the time. Last summer I went out to Oregon with them again and the rest of the group was going to continue on and travel to New Zealand for more summer training and competing. My family could not afford it so I got on a plane and headed home.

About a week after I got home from Oregon we got a call from the guy that organizes the whole group. He said that one of the kids had gotten injured and the kid’s family wanted me to come out and take his place. We scrounged money together from friends and family to get a ticket, and I flew out about 3 days later. I got to compete in some of the biggest events that I have ever competed in. I did my first double cork and learned many other tricks as well.

Last winter I skied and lived with the same group in Colorado. I got lots of outside financial help to be there because the coaching and living expenses are way beyond what my family can afford. Training and competing at this level in my sport is extremely expensive and my family and I do everything we can do to pay for it. My dad got a new job here in Portland, Maine, my mom works hard as a personal chef, and I have been contributing since I was a kid by selling chocolate chip cookies at the end of the driveway. Now I have a lawn mowing business in Portland and am running around town mowing lawns and doing odd jobs to save up money. I have reached out and gotten a lot of scholarships and gear sponsors. My little sister Tasha has even dipped into her babysitting account to help me keep progressing. Thanks, Tasha!

Unfortunately we still need help constantly. The funding that helped cover the costs that my family couldn’t afford, has dried up. I am planning to go to New Zealand with the group in about one month. I am trying to raise money fast so I am able to go out to New Zealand and compete and chase my dreams.

I know you may be asking yourself why it is so important to travel to New Zealand and Colorado instead of just training here in New England. Going to New Zealand is crucial because there are multiple elite events that will help me out a lot this upcoming season. I will get lots of points because I will be competing with high level skiers. Colorado and New Zealand are the meccas for freestyle skiing and where most of the professional skiers train and compete. It’s a good chance to meet sponsors and try to make it all happen.

I would greatly appreciate it if you could donate to my skiing career and help me achieve my goals. It would mean the world to me and it would mean that I would be able to keep training this summer. My parents have made me think long and hard about whether I want to do this just as a hobby, or to make this my life. I promise that this is my dream and I work as hard as I can until I achieve it.

Thanks!
Jackson Hipple, age 15

Thanks to my current sponsors: 
Fischer Skis, Monster Army, Char Poles, Rockwell, Marker Goggles and Level Field Fund.  

And have fun watching some of my videos from through the years below. 

This is my most current edit from the 2015-2016 season. 

This is the mountain I learned to ski at: Abenaki Ski Area in Wolfeboro, NH.

Here's a story that POWDER Magazine did on Abenaki Ski Area. 

This is my 2013-2014 edit. 

This is one that my sister Tasha filmed. Watch if you like Bob Marley. 
Here's a tramp and ski edit I made when I was 12. I used it as tryout video to get into the Lake Placid Aerial Development Camp. It worked.

Here's one from when I was 11. 

This one's a classic from when I was 10.