Nick sets sights high

Three years ago, when Megan Nick was coming off the Elite Aerial Development Program in Lake Placid, N.Y, she was the newbie on the World Cup tour.

Now, the Shelburne native is getting ready for her second full-time World Cup tour, sits at 10th in the world in aerial ski team and considers herself the elder statesman of the team.

“I am the older one on the team now, which is weird to say,” Nick said in a phone interview. “I am doing higher difficulty tricks now. I am feeling healthy and excited to see how it goes.”

Nick, who picked up aerial skiing after attending a camp at Lake Placid as part of her Champlain Valley Union High School Grad Challenge, has been steadily climbing the ranks of the U.S. Ski Team in the last three years.

She completed her first full World Cup tour last year and finished with two top-10 finishes - a seventh place in an event in China and then a fifth place finish in Belarus.

“I have changed my mentality,” Nick said of her recent success. “I did start to think of my overall goals too soon and I think that’s why I struggled a bit my first two years.”

Now, Nick is getting ready to enter the World Cup circuit as a ranked skier as she kicks off the season Feb. 7 in Deer Valley, Utah, where her team trains.

“This season I am more trying not to have expectations,” Nick said. “Trying to do my best jumps and have a more consistent performance.”

Consistency is key this season for Nick, who has a further longterm goal in mind. With the Winter Olympics heading to Beijing, China, in 2022 Nick would love to earn a spot on the U.S. team.

“I mean it’s always been my No. 1 goal to make the Winter Olympics,” Nick said. “I am trying to work hard with that as my ultimate goal in the back of my mind.”

A World Cup circuit and Olympic dreams are a far cry from where Nick started in aerial skiing - as a gymnast who decided to try it for fun. The Champlain Valley Union graduate competed for the Redhawks in gymnastics and trained at the Green Mountain Training Center in Williston.

After some encouragement from a coach – and needing to try something new for her Grad Challenge – Nick headed to Lake Placid for an aerial tryout camp and was hooked. After having fun for the week, she returned to Vermont with a spot on the U.S. Development Team.

“I thought it was fun but then got a call back a week later asking if I wanted to join the development team,” Nick said. “It was such a big opportunity.”

Now, the 23 year old is excited to get the season started and start taking steps to a result that seemed like a pipe dream when she graduated from Champlain Valley in 2014.

“You can’t say you don’t like something until you’ve tried it,” Nick said. “I am so grateful for that opportunity I had.”