Norbert Fischer
Recreation/Development | 2000
Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio
School Name: Seattle University
Norbert “Bert” Fischer was born into the chaos of 1920’s post-war Hungary. In 1930, his father gave the 4 year old a pair of skis and Bert took to them immediately. He developed into a world class skier who qualified for the 1948 Winter Olympic Games in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Bert took the opportunity competing internationally to defect from Community Hungary to Switzerland. After several years in Europe, he migrated to Cleveland, Ohio, a city with a very large Hungarian population.
Bert continued to compete in Alpine Skiing in the United States. He eventually won a skiing scholarship to Seattle University. During the Korean War, he enlisted in the Army and served as an engineer there and captained the Eighth Army ski team in Japan. He also taught skiing and survival in Colorado.
Upon returning to Ohio after the Army, Bert was reportedly the first Ohioan certified by the Professional Ski Instructors of America. He ran the Bert Fischer Ski School at Boston Mills and Brandywine. He also taught at Alpine Valley, the Cleveland Ski Club and elsewhere. Bert became what experts consider one of the U.S.’s first teachers of adaptive skiing. He worked with designers to create the Ski-EZE, a device helping people with disabilities ski in parallel. In 1980, he led the development of the Three Trackers of Ohio, volunteers teaching adaptive skiers for free. He also organized the state’s first adaptive race, drawing skiers from across the U.S. and Canada.
Fischer wrote many articles about skiing and created a “Skiing With Bert” show that aired on more than 50 NBC affiliates. He wrote the show’s theme song, “Let’s Go Skiing Along Together,” which later became a sing-a-long at the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame’s yearly ceremony. Among many honors, Bert was presented with the Golden Quill Award from the North American Ski Journalists Association. He also served as a board member of the Professional Ski Instructors Association.
