Watauga resident

makes mark in

Special Olympics
By Tiffany Allison
Special to the Democrat

With nearly 3,000 participants from over 85 countries in the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games, Catlin Bray, 23, of Watauga County brought third- and fourth-place medals back from Boise, Idaho.

Bray has participated in Special Olympics North Carolina for the past 13 years. Even before her journey to Boone, she participated in Special Olympics Florida.

“I’ve done 10 different sports in 14 years,” Bray said. “Out of all of them, skiing is my favorite.”

And she has the medals to prove it. Bray won third place in the 2009 SOWWG in the intermediate Super G and fourth place in the intermediate Giant Slalom. In previous years, Bray won first place in the 2008 SONC’s alpine skiing competition, and during this year’s SOC took third place in the alpine-slalom competition guaranteeing her a spot in the 2009 SOWWG. Her achievements in skiing are astounding considering her fear of heights.

“I just think to myself, ‘Let’s hurry and get down this mountain please,’” she said. “I’m really terrified of heights.”

Bray said her immediate thought during the Giant Slalom competition was that she hoped she’d make it down alive. And she did in 146 minutes and 33 seconds winning her fourth place, turning her look of fear into a victory smile.

“I loved it,” she said. “It was unbelievable.”

Before the band of Olympians traveled to Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area in Boise, they trained in Colorado at Copper Mountain Ski Resort. Bray noticed a tremendous difference between slopes in the Rocky Mountains and slopes in the Appalachians.

“I thought, ‘I hope I can do this without getting myself killed,’” she said. “The slopes in Colorado are huge compared to Boone.”

Despite her fear of heights, Bray was able to conquer the steep-hilled training and advanced to Idaho. Her anticipation grew as the caravan of 19 buses inched closer to their destination. The only draw back was riding in a bus.

“I never want to ride in a bus that long again,” she said. “Taking a six hour bus ride was not pleasant.”

But once she made it out and onto the slopes, Bray said she was satisfied. Her favorite part about skiing is the friendships made on the slopes.

“I can ski with all my friends that I met through Special Olympics,” she said.

Before the season began, Bray sought coaching from Maria Weaver and Stacey Critcher who helped her conquer her fears and peruse her dreams.

“They help me out when I need some advice,” she said. “They always told me to do my best and don’t worry.”

And when Bray is not skiing on Appalachian’s slopes, she chooses from her 10 other sports including basketball, volleyball, swimming, cheerleading, soccer, track and field and cycling.

“I stay busy all year,” she said. “That way I don’t have to worry about being bored.”

Appalachian Ski Mountain is Bray’s favorite place to ski in North Carolina.

“That’s about the only place I’ll ski,” she said.

Bray advised future skiers who are beginners to remember, “If you fall down it’s hard to get back up, but if you don’t have polls your really out of luck.”