Industry Pioneer and Reliable Racing Supply Founder Tom Jacobs Elected to National Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame

Ishpeming, Michigan The U.S. National Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame announces its Class of 2007. The inductees represent a very diverse group of snow sport pioneers, athletes and developers, including Reliable Racing Supply founder Tom Jacobs. “Tommy” Jacobs competed in cross-country and Nordic combined at the Oslo Olympic Games in 1952 and went on to a successful career as coach for Colorado University’s ski team. He served as the Executive Director of the National Ski Association, today the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, in 1956-1957. After moving back to the East in the 60’s, Jacobs and his wife started Reliable Racing Supply thus founding the first mail order ski race equipment distributor of its kind. The company became an international supplier of cutting-edge race products that raised the level of the racing environment for thousands of competitive skiers and organizations. Tom is universally known as a ski industry pioneer and visionary. Through his company, he presented many “firsts” to the industry, including: The development of an articulating slalom pole that was the first to be used in World Cup racing in 1980 (Break-A-Way slalom poles); the first nordic ski boot & binding system with a heel locator (branded as Sixtens); the first
to the market of an insulated alpine boot cover (called Panaja boot muffs); the first in the USA to manufacture and sell nordic roller skis (called Road Ski); and the first to offer automatic timing systems to the resort industry for recreational racing. Reliable Racing was also a major force in
the popularization of ski and snowboard helmets to the general wintersports public during the 1990’s, through the distribution of Swedish-made Jofa helmets. Helmets today are a major product category in the industry, with over 50 brands represented in the USA.