AUBURN – To many young teenagers, winter sports aren’t all that appealing.

The weather is cold and wet. Practices are tough. It can be difficult to find the time to fit in another activity between school and home.

But Thursday, as Olympian Julie Parisien regaled an Auburn Middle School audience with stories of her life as a downhill skier, a few hundred Auburn teens were ready to give winter sports a try.

“A lot of kids know about it but they don’t want to do it,” said 13-year-old Sam Armstrong, a middle school eighth-grader and an avid skier. “I think it’s going to get a lot more kids motivated and going out to try new stuff.”

Parisien is the spokeswoman for WinterKids, a Portland-based nonprofit that is working to increase children’s physical activity in winter.

She spent more than an hour talking to nearly 300 seventh- and eighth-graders at the school.

She wowed the teenagers with stories of her life as a young champion skier, including the time she knocked out seven teeth and broke her wrist days before she was supposed to ski in the Olympics.

She showed off red, white and blue Olympic jackets and talked about the long practice sessions it took to get them.

Parisien, an Auburn Middle School alumna, skied for school teams and got her start by racing her brothers and sister downhill. She told the students they could be champions, too.

“It was dedication and hard work that got me to that level,” she said. “I was a kid from Auburn, Maine, and it’s something any kid from Auburn, Maine, can do.”

The audience often erupted into cheers and excited chatter about skiing and snowboarding.

Parisien, who lives in the Caribbean with her husband and two young sons, said she was happy to talk with kids at her alma mater. She wanted to show them that winter sports could be rewarding and fun, and that they could rise to the top of their game with hard work and perseverance.

“I feel a strong sense of obligation to give back to the community,” said Parisien, who speaks to a few Maine schools every winter. “I just had an experience and I like to show they could have a similar experience.”

Mobbed by a small group of students, Parisien posed for photos and signed autographs after her talk. She encouraged the teens to take advantage of WinterKids, which offers free skiing, snowboarding and ice skating to Maine fifth-, sixth- and seventh-graders, along with discounts for parents and siblings.

For some of the students, Parisien’s talk was good motivation.

Said 14-year-old Shea Flynn: “It helped all the kids know the stuff she’s doing and how fun it can be skiing.”

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