Montrose's Reed retires from U.S. Ski Team 

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

The Daily Sentinel

By ALLEN GEMAEHLICH

Kate Reed has long dreamed of representing her country in the Olympics.

However, the Montrose 23-year-old is setting aside those dreams to focus on a new chapter in her life.

Reed took off last winter to attend classes at Westminster College in Salt Lake City. She will continue attending the school and plans to major in communications.

“This worked out perfectly for me,” said Reed in a press release issued by the U.S. Ski Team. “My teammates and all my coaches, and the ski team are like my second family ... and they were all so supportive of what I was doing. It’s awesome, something I couldn’t pass up ... and now I’m halfway through my sophomore year.”

She took online courses at Mesa State College before entering Westminster full time.

“Kate’s a huge asset to our team,” said U.S. Ski Team Program Director Polly-Jo Clark in a press release. “I say is a huge asset because I still consider her part of our USSA team and family of alumni. Kate’s a huge competitor, who was always harder on herself than anyone else could be. She always expected more from herself. I’ll miss her every day, but I’m excited for her future and her new role with the alumni.

“She has a great perspective and I hope she can mentor athletes coming up through the pipeline.”

Reed started skiing at the age of 4 and showed promise as a freestyle aerial skier.

At the age of 14 in 1999, she was the youngest skier to make any U.S. Ski Team and competed on the aerial team for nine years. She won two World Cup Championship events, was the 2006 U.S. aerials champion and had 20 top-10 finishes in her career.

Reed was the 2002 NorAm aerials champion and was eighth in aerials in the 2003 FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships at Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah.

“The ski team has given me opportunities I never could have had; the World Cup, World Championships, and my teammates aren’t just my teammates. They’re my friends and we’ve developed strong bonds that are going to continue,” she said.

She was an alternate on the U.S. Women’s Olympic freestyle team in 2002 in Salt Lake City and narrowly missed the 2006 Olympic team.

After starting her college education, Reed decided it was time to become a full-time student.

“I was ready for it and it worked out so well,” Reed said.

“Studying was a different kind of stress because I hadn’t been a full-time student for a few years.

“Now that I’ve stepped away, my goals have changed and I was ready for things to be different. I have a different perspective and jumping isn’t what I wanted any more.”