 Nelsen won the home @-@ town Winter Carnival Tournament , setting the hill record of 56 meters ( 183 ft ) in Big Hill in the inauguration tournament in 1916 . With this and subsequent better distances , he would hold the hill record in Revelstoke until 1932 . In 1916 , he won the Championship of Canada Ski Jumping Contest , which he would subsequently defend every year until 1920 . He continued by setting the Canadian amateur record in 1920 , and breaking it again in 1921 and 1923 . He was among the most successful jumpers in Canada from 1916 to 1925 , taking home most trophies . Among his methods to improve his jumps was placing pieces of lead at the front or back of the skies to give optimal balance . 
