Keeler Lambertson, an 11-year-old Clifton resident, competed in the Pennsylvania finals for skiing this year. She finished in the top 20 under 12 derby last weekend. Photos Courtesy of Jacquie Lambertson
Keeler Lambertson, an 11-year-old Clifton resident, competed in the Pennsylvania Alpine Racing Association U12 (under 12) Derby from Feb. 28-March 2 at the Silver Springs Ski Resort in Pennsylvania. Keeler is part of the Liberty Mount Racing Team, located outside of Gettysburg, Pa.
Keeler and her mother, Jacquie Lambertson, share their perspectives on skiing and competitions below.
Q: How is the competition, and skiing in Pennsylvania, set up?
Jacquie: They are set up by age groups. There is an age 12 and under final, 14 and under final, 16 and under, and then age 18-21. All are tied to the U.S. Ski Association. The state championships feed into eastern cup championships. It’s fun for a kid and for parents to see a clear path. Everybody’s gone through the regular season, and based on their rankings in the regular season, they’ve been invited to compete in their states championship. From that, the top third of the kids will be invited to compete in the Eastern Championship.
Q: Is starting skiing at such a young age considered normal?
Jacquie: It is considered a young age. She started skiing when she was 18-months-old. My family is from New England, so it’s kind of a way of life where I grew up. Kids generally join a ski team at about age 7, and start competing seriously around ages 10-11. I’ve been skiing since I was 4-years-old, and I am on ski patrol now at Liberty. It’s a great way to give back to the community that has given us so much.
Q: Why did you decide to join a ski team?
Jacquie: Living down here, finding a way to keep that lifestyle going, we kind of searched around looking for a way to make that happen, and we came across Liberty Mountain, right outside of Gettysburg and only an hour and a half from Washington, D.C. It became a great place to learn to ski and be able to go up there three or four times a week. One of the main reasons for putting her on the ski team was because there weren’t really any other kids around who ski. In order to find someone who can ski who is around her age group, we thought it would be good. She could have winter friends, and Clifton friends
Q: What do you enjoy most about skiing competitions?
Jacquie: It’s really fun to make it to the next level and see the kids compete against each other, at this intense level. You can see that they are all happy about doing it and enjoying the challenge of trying to harder and more complicated things. We’ve always felt that we were weird, because everyone else in Northern Virginia is doing things like soccer, basketball, and more mid-Atlantic type of sports. Finding kids who do winter sports is kind of rare.
Keeler: I like to see my best friend. I’ve known her since I’ve been on the team. I’ve made a lot of friends on the ski team.
Q: What else do you enjoy about skiing?
Keeler: I enjoy going really fast. I’m used to it, but sometimes I get scared.
Q: Do you ever get nervous before a competition?
Keeler: Yes.
Q: Is it sometimes difficult to juggle skiing and homework?
Keeler: Sometimes, especially when my teacher gives me a lot of homework.