ANDOVER, N.H. (AP) – After winning the New Hampshire high school ski jumping championships last week, the Hopkinton High School jumpers could call themselves national champions as well.

That’s because New Hampshire is the only state that sanctions high school ski jumping.

Coaches say competition has dwindled over the years. The NCAA dropped ski jumping as a sanctioned sport in the 1980s, not long after ABC television started running footage of a violent crash as part of its “Agony of Defeat” highlight on Wide World of Sports.

“After that happened, insurance rates quadrupled and the sport I think got a bad rap,” said Plymouth coach Norm LeBlanc, who’s in his 37th season of coaching. “In reality, when these kids are landing, they’re following the contour of the hill and essentially have no serious injuries.”

Fifty-seven jumpers from 10 schools competed Friday at Proctor Academy, home to one of a half-dozen maintained ski jumps across the state. Hanover came in second, followed by Plymouth, Kennett and Lebanon.

Dartmouth College’s legendary ski jump, which served as a training ground for Olympic hopefuls, shut down in the 1990s.

Today, high school teams train at another site in Hanover, as well as sites in Lebanon, Newport, Plymouth, Conway.

“It’s battling to stay alive. High school jumping introduces a lot of kids to the sport, but they don’t hear about it beforehand,” said Hopkinton coach Greg Peterson. “Once they get involved, they all said, ‘I wish I’d started earlier.”‘

Elite jumpers gain speeds of 50 mph through the air before attempting a soft landing. Distance and style points count toward the final score.

“During the winter, this is really all I think about,” said Livingston Miller of Hopkinton, who finished 15th. “It’s just so much fun. All I can think about is being in the air and flying down the hill.”