Jindabyne’s Snowy Mountains Grammar School student, Lilly Brauer, competes at a high level of both alpine ski racing and downhill mountain biking and currently holds the title of under 14 national champion in alpine skiing.

Brauer,14, is also the under 15 national champion in downhill mountain biking and was named the Queen of Cannonball at Thredbo’s Cannonball event back in February after winning all five events.

For the upcoming snow season, Lilly said she plans to continue training at Thredbo ski racing club (TSRC) and will be competing in all the events she can, including TSRC cup, Snow Australia children’s championship, inter-schools, Redlands cup and Blue Cow cup.

"For mountain biking, I will compete in all events during the mountain biking race season and after travel internationally to the northern hemisphere for ski training and racing," Lilly said.

Lilly said her motivation comes from a deep-rooted enjoyment of the sports.

“I enjoy setting goals and working hard to achieve them,” Lilly said.

“I love bringing all the hard work together when competing and seeing it pay off.

“Another thing that keeps me motivated is the high level of girls I’m competing against beside me which pushes me to reach my potential.

“Most of all my motivation comes from my friends through these sports which makes it all 10 times more enjoyable and keeps me going.”

Her passion for sport runs deep, she’s been on two wheels since she can remember and started skiing at age two, entering competitions by age six.

When she’s not training or racing, she loves being outdoors and playing a mix of sports with friends and family, from touch football and netball to wakeboarding and trail riding.

Born in Cooma and living in Jindabyne, Lilly said growing up in the Snowy Mountains has surrounded her with the opportunity to compete at a professional level in both aspects of winter and summer sports with lots of offerings in her own backyard.

“I love doing all these different things with my friends who I have met through these sports and also with my family who go above and beyond for me,” Lilly said.

“I recently competed in my first international races meaning some of the highest-level skiers in the world were competing and I placed 4th in the Giant Slalom, where unfortunately I crashed.

“This was definitely an eye opening experience and I can’t wait to continue training and only getting better with each competition I compete in.”

Lilly captured the U14 national alpine skiing title at the Snow Australia Children’s Championships in Mt Hotham last year, a triumph she calls “amazing” after years of hard work and intense competition against highly capable rivals.

She looks forward to getting back to training on snow and can't wait to see what this years competitions have in store for her and hopes that others looking to get into competitive sports take the chance and give it a go.

"To anyone wanting to compete in either mountain biking or skiing, I’d say that the main thing is to have fun, keep your motivation high and just enjoy the ride," she said.