Belmont High School Ski Team Celebrates 30th Year
By Greg Levinsky, Belmont Voice correspondent
Joining a high school sports team is usually as simple as signing up, but what happens when the program doesn’t exist?
One of Julianne Gauron’s most “formative” moments growing up came at the genesis of the Belmont High School ski team, which this year celebrates its 30th anniversary. Gauron, a BHS Class of 1999 graduate, vividly remembers speaking before — and effectively persuading — town officials to earmark funding for the team.
“We were building it,” Gauron said. “It wasn’t like you just showed up and the adults ran it. We were very deeply active, which was amazing.”
Three decades later, the team’s structure remains intact, and the next season begins soon. The Friends of Belmont Ski Team hosts the annual ski sale, on Saturday, Nov. 15, from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Chenery Upper Elementary School cafeteria. It is the team’s largest fundraiser, and money raised is used to support team costs like team-branded gear and nourishment at races.
On event day, skiers can drop off gently used equipment for consignment between 8 and 10 a.m., and are encouraged to return at 3 p.m. to see if their gear sells. The Belmont High School ski team is coed and competes in the Mass Bay West Ski League Alpha Division and races Tuesdays at Nashoba Valley in Westford. The team practices on Wednesday and Thursday evenings on the same course.
“It’s going to be a great place to buy cheap equipment,” said Lucas Durand-Reville, a senior on the ski team. “If there’s old ski stuff taking up space in your attic, come and give it to us, and we’ll give you some of the proceeds if it sells.”
Belmont ski teams included 37 athletes across varsity and junior varsity last year. Expansion is possible if another bus becomes available. The program makes some cuts each year. The Belmont program is not a ski club, but rather a competitive racing team.
Durand-Reville, who also golfs, started skiing with his family at their New Hampshire ski home at age five. In his freshman year at Belmont, John Regan, then a senior, encouraged him to join the ski team program after the two met as golf team members.
“We’re a community as a team,” Durand-Reville said. “We’re just very integrated and treat each other as one whole team. We practice together and take the same buses. Everyone knows each other on both sides.”
Gauron first hit the slopes at age two. It was a club sport her freshman year, founded by Abby Neely and Brian Deese (who went on to serve in the Biden administration). Sophomore year, Gauron was part of the group that appeared before the town.
After competing for Belmont, she skied at Bowdoin College. Now a full-time freelance documentary, fine arts, and commercial photographer living in Arlington who takes assignments around the world, Gauron got a “really solid base” from her Belmont upbringing.
“You’re pushing yourself in a different way,” Gauron said. “It’s less about gender politics and more about performance.”
While many of her college teammates flocked to campus from prestigious ski academies, Gauron took pride in her public program roots. She also remains friends with her co-captains, Christina (Brosio) Lauzon and Peter Brauer, and attended their weddings. She is also the godmother of Lauzon’s daughter, Isabella.
Lessons learned from skiing reach far beyond the sport itself.
“I hope that students get the same sort of things that I got out of sports, which, skiing in particular, you’re facing a lot of your fears,” Gauron said. “You’re learning to lean on your peers and really support, trust and guide each other, which I think is a life skill.”
