Downhill skier’s career heads uphill

Lawrence Woodmere Academy graduate Brittany Loweree (Class of 2008) decided to take a hiatus from her studies at Northeastern University this school year to accomplish a goal she’s had since she was 10-years-old; to make the U. S. Ski Team.

“This year I took the whole year off to make a push for skiing and it ended up being the right decision,” Loweree said. “It feels great to have accomplished the goal I worked for my whole career.”

Just three weeks ago in Steamboat Springs, Colo., Loweree tried out and made the C team on the U.S. ski team. The squad is divided into A, B and C teams and C level is the spot you earn when you first make the team and you’re given the opportunity to work your way up.

When asked what it felt like that her daughter to have made the team, Loweree’s mother, Vicki, said she could cry when talking about it. “It’s the result of so many years of persistence and hard work,” Vicki said. “It’s just amazing and I’m so happy her day has finally come.”

Loweree, a Point Lookout native, began skiing as soon as she could walk at her family’s second home in Stratton, Vt. During her junior and sophomore years in high school Loweree attended a ski academy at Stratton where she worked with a tutor, who communicated with her teachers at Lawrence Woodmere Academy.

“They were very supportive in letting me take the winter off to go to Vermont,” Loweree said about LWA. “For me it was a really important time to be able to be on the snow and work towards making the U.S. team, even if it was however many years down the road.”

Vicki said LWA was extremely supportive throughout her daughter’s skiing career. “They’re able to really support scholarly athletes at the school,” Vicki said. “LWA is a school where children can really pursue different kinds of passions one might not be able to do at a public school.”

Mary Anne Amato, the Advancement and Communications director at LWA, said she is very thrilled for Loweree and her family during this exciting time. “It’s not everyday that someone becomes one of only eight women U.S. Ski Team members,” Amato said.

Six years ago, when Loweree injured her back skiing and had to take a season off, the many physical therapy sessions she endured led her to want to go to school to become a physical therapist. “I decided I wanted to go to school and help athletes recover from their injuries,” she said.

Now in Steamboat Springs, Loweree trains for a few hours everyday on the slopes or in the gym. Rob Day, Loweree’s coach of two years, said he’s known her for a long time and watched her grow up as a skier.

“She’s been a phenomenal person to coach,” Day said about Loweree. “She listens to every word of what you tell her to do.”

For now, Loweree will spend a majority of her time training in Colorado in hopes of working her way up and earning more starts in bigger competitions.

“As a parent, we all want our children to succeed, no matter what they do,” Vicki said. “So as a parent it’s a wonderful thing to se her reach this goal.”

Loweree credits her success to the support of her family and friends. “My parents and friends have supported me throughout the whole things and through all these years,” she said. “I couldn’t do it without them.”