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Steamboat Springs gelande jumper Pat Arnone came to a realization when talking about preparing for the North American Gelande Ski and Telemark Jumping Championships, which conclude today at the Snowbird Ski Resort in Utah.

He was careful to explain the history of his signature sport - where and how it started and where and how he got involved. He explained why it meant so much to him to win the gelande event at the Durango Mountain Resort earlier this winter, and how cool it was to fly at the "birthplace of gelande," which he did this weekend at Snowbird.

In every word was a look to the future of the sport.

He worried closing festivities at ski mountains near Snowbird would pull interest away from the jumping hill, pulling away the atmosphere and enthusiasm that all sports thrive on.

"It's Alta's closing weekend, and it's right next door," he said earlier in the week, before leaving for the competition. "A lot of our crowd is people skiing by who stop to watch. A couple years ago, there were vendors and a couple hundred people hanging out. It'd be great if we can get that excitement again."

At the same time, he spoke highly of organizers who showed enough foresight to build an amateur jump next to the professional hill.

"People who haven't done it and want to try it get a chance," he said.

The state of the sport is fine, Arnone said. The event had a long list of prominent sponsors, and $6,000 had been brought together for a prize purse. But he continually spoke as though he was worried about its future.

Arnone went on to explain the yearly process of building the hill at Snowbird, and the process of the sport's veterans skillfully refining the work of the large machinery to produce a challenging yet safe, comfortable yet professional hill.

"We can change the jump when it's too big or too close to a knoll," Arnone explained. "We cut it back - the landing at Snowbird isn't nearly as steep as it is here in Steamboat. So, we work to get it dialed in to where we can fly closer to the ground."

Regardless of Arnone's final results today, it should be the banner day for the season. In addition to Arnone, the champion at Durango, the sports world record holder and the Snowbird hill record holder will compete.

That's where the realization came in. In describing all the things he loves about gelande ski jumping, Arnone realized he is no longer one of the "young guys." Now 41, he's been jumping since he was 27.

He said he still loves the sport and now, reluctantly realizing he's one of its elders, he seems proud to protect it.

"Jumping for 14 years, I've seen it evolve. It's evolved into more of a sport with input from athletes. Our world records and hill records keep getting stretched out," he said.

But he never sounded worried.

"It's just great for amateurs to get to take a run," he said. "Jumping and flying is so addictive."