Annie answers some questions - Part one

SR. Why did you decide to attend Mt. Mansfield Winter Academy and Stowe as opposed to some other school in some other location?

AL: The first thing that attracted me to Stowe and the Mt. Mansfield Winter Academy was the mountain. I raced every spring in the Sugar Slalom, and I had enjoyed skiing the rest of the mountain in between race runs. Compared to Killington and Okemo (some of my other choices for ski academies) the skiing at Stowe was incredible. Also, when I visited Killington Mountain School and Okemo Mountain School, it seemed as if there were a lot of kids who came from other states and lived in Vermont just for the winter. There were fewer kids at those schools who were actually from Vermont. I realized that I wanted to go to a school that had other kids like me, local Vermonters. MMWA seemed like an academically challenging option with an energetic group of kids, most of whom were from areas of Vermont near Stowe.

SR: What's your favorite thing about spending the winter in Stowe (it can be anything, from the food at the academy to powder days to whatever you wish)?

AL: It is difficult to pick a favorite thing about spending the winter in Stowe because really everything adds to the experience of spending the winter there. I love the early mornings when the snow is hard and groomed into perfect corduroy, and we can cruise down with no other people - it feels amazing. At the same time, I love the powder days when training is forgotten, and we spend the day skiing the deep stuff in the woods. Occasionally, these days are accompanied by cancellation of classes, which makes for a fun afternoon of building tunnels and playing around in the snow outside the academy. The food at school is also amazing. The chefs make a variety of fantastic meals ranging from Sue’s spinach lasagna to Pat’s tuna steaks with orange sauce. Most of all, the general atmosphere at MMWA is outstanding. There is energy and excitement about the place. The people there tend to look out for each other and respect each other, which I don’t always see at school or elsewhere in the world these days.

SR: Why do you take ski racing so seriously? You spend your winters in this special environment that enables you to race and train as much as possible... do you want to race in college and beyond?

AL: When I began ski racing, I never intended to come this far. I started as a J6 at Suicide Six, racing on the weekends, and I loved every minute of it. Every year after that there was no question whether or not I would be racing the next winter. As I moved up through the levels – J6 to J3 - the racing atmosphere became more serious. There were many more races as I got older, and the competition thinned out a bit. At the J2 level, most of the kids racing intend to continue with it, at least until the end of high school. When I was a J3 and we began to have a lot of races on the weekdays, I realized that I could no longer attend public school and race at the same time without my schoolwork suffering (I missed a lot of school in ninth grade when I was racing from home and attending my high school). I came to MMWA not necessarily because I wanted to get the best training and be the best, although those were certainly motivators, but because I loved ski racing and the whole ski racing world too much to let school attendance requirements limit my ability to be a part of it.
In my mental outlook on racing, I try not to take competition too seriously. After all, it is only a sport (although we choose it as a lifestyle), and it is not the end of the world if I am not racing as well as I would like to be (although sometimes it feels that way – I have shed some tears after bad races). At one point in my skiing a few years ago, after beating myself up race after race, I realized that I needed to just relax and enjoy skiing the way that I did when I was younger. Now, I try to work hard, focus on things that will help me improve and have fun. If I am doing these things, the good results I want will come in time. Still, before every race I have to say to myself, “This doesn’t matter. In a few years, I won’t remember each result I had; I will remember the fun I had.”
At this point I have not decided how far I will take my ski racing. I might race in college, but I don’t want ski racing to dominate my whole time in college. I do know that no matter how much more ski racing I do, I will ski for the rest of my life.

Editor's note: This Q&A style post was sent to us just before Annie left for J2 National Championships in Aspen, Colo. Check Annie's recent results to see how her races are going!