The women's team took the announcement especially hard. According to former captain Tina Roberts '10, the women had all developed a close relationship with Booker.
"She hadn't talked about it at all before, so it was pretty shocking," she said. "There were definitely a couple tears that were spilled from some of the teammates."
Still, captain Courtney Hammond '11 said the team has been very supportive of her decision to want to spend more time with her family.
"I've developed good relationships with [the team] I've helped them and they've helped me," Booker said.
A national search for Booker's replacement is already underway.
For Booker, retiring was one of the most difficult decisions she has had to make, she said.
"Even the Monday I announced to my coworkers [that I was leaving], I thought, Is this really what I want to do?'" she said.
Booker started at Dartmouth in the Fall of 2003 after wrapping up an impressive skiing career. The Laurentians, Quebec, native was a member of the Quebec Ski Team, where she competed nationally and internationally. At her alma mater, McGill University, Booker competed at the World University Games in Belluno, Italy, and was ranked second in her division at the collegiate level.
Booker began coaching during her time at McGill to afford being able to ski whenever she wanted. Later, when her husband's job moved their family to the Northeast, she decided to try out coaching for the women's team at Dartmouth.
"I learned to enjoy teaching and never really stopped," she said.
During her time at the College, Booker said there are a lot of moments that she will never forget, including the women's win in the NCAA championships in 2007.
"We train and I see their potential, and I see what they can do," she said. "So when they actually do it in a competition, it is really rewarding to see how happy it makes them to reach their goals."
She added that besides the trophies and material victories, she was proud of how the team has learned to work through difficult times and stayed positive. A few of the women's skiers also recalled some of their most memorable moments having Booker as their coach.
Roberts recalled a time during the team's annual summer training trip to Chile when Booker woke up early to prepare a course that was particularly difficult to traverse so that it would be ready for the team to practice on by the time it arrived.
"It's just how she was," Roberts said. "She always got things done in order for us to maximize our time."
Hammond remembered Booker's excitement when Hammond won her first collegiate race.
"I remember going up to [Booker] afterward and she was so psyched and so proud," she said. "That's always a moment I'll remember."
Although Booker will no longer be a member of the coaching staff, because she will still be living in the area, she plans on doing a lot of substitute teaching and volunteering to help out the Dartmouth team in any way that she can.
"I still want to be involved and be working, but something that doesn't require me being involved all the time," she said.
Hammond said that what she admired most about Booker was her strong leadership abilities as a female in a very male-dominated sport.
"She was very strong-willed and made her own place in the coaching world," Hammond said. "She was one of the only females in the coaching circuit, and yet that was nothing to her she loved it and she thrived in it."
Roberts said that one of Booker's greatest strengths was her ability to balance work with keeping up the team's spirits.
"There are a lot of teams out there who don't enjoy each other, but we enjoy each other," she said. "[Booker] was an integral part of that."
Booker said she hopes she can still be a resource for the team members as a mentor and a friend even after she leaves the position.
"I want to be there to support [them]," she said.
Hammond said that while she is supportive of Booker's decision, she has high expectations for the new coach.
"[Booker] has done a great job leading us, and we want somebody who's going to step up to what she's done," she said. "She's basically one of the girls, and we are going to miss having her as a part of [the team]."
