It’s all downhill from here

By Carolyn Sloan

The Spectator

NovaNewsNow.com

At the age of 12, Lequille’s Nick Harvey is the best young alpine skier in the province. Not that anybody would know it. Nick’s not the type to brag and boast about any of his accomplishments. In fact, until recently, nobody at his school even knew he skied, not to mention the 17 medals that he’s won this year alone.

“He’s very modest and he’s very shy,” says his mother Gail. “People in his school had no idea what he did. He’d come home with seven medals and no one would ever know.”

The Harveys all love to ski, but it was Nick’s grandfather who bought him his first lesson at the age of four. It was all “downhill” from there.

As the top ranked skier in Nova Scotia, he will be headed to the Whistler Cup in British Columbia this April to compete in the largest international ski race for athletes aged 11 to 14 years. There, Nick will be among over 390 of the worlds best young athletes from 21 countries.

“I’m just glad that he’s found something that he’s dedicated to,” says his father Tony. “He’s never once growled about getting up in the mornings [for practice].”

Nick trains three times a week at Martock, where he is a member of their ski race club. Part of this time is spent doing dry-land training, where he practices balance and maneuvering without snow. Every Christmas, Nick and his family go to Quebec, where he can train with other promising young skiers in the country.

“It used to be [scary to watch him],” says Gail. “Now, it just brings tears to my eyes because I’m just so proud of his accomplishments and his dedication.”

Nick is too shy to do most of the talking, but he tries to describe his passion for skiing.

“I like to go fast,” he says. “It just feels fun.”