National Snowboarder Comes Home to NJ to Surf

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THERE’S NO TAKING the Jersey Shore out of Meghan Tierney. Even though the expert snowboarder moved from her Rumson home as a fifth grader to live in Vermont, she plans to return to Monmouth Beach and Deal this summer to surf. The United States Snowboard Cross Development team member utilizes surfing as a form of cross training to sharpen her skills for her sport.
“Surfing is another board sport,” said Tierney, 18. “It works the muscles in my legs. It helps me with my balance and keeps me active other than just hitting the gym. It’s fun.”
With snowboarding excellence as her passport, Tierney has competed in Switzerland, Spain, Italy, New Zealand and of course the United States. A member of the team for a second straight season, Tierney hopes her career takes her to Chile and Australia later this year. She will spend this summer sharpening her skills in Park City, Colorado, where her team is based.
“It feels real great to be a part of the team,” she said.
The team consists of five members, three men and two women. It was chosen through a series of tryouts and competitions. It plans to be plenty busy during the coming months.
“We will work with trainers, nutritionists and physical therapists,” said Tierney, now living in Edwards, Colorado, where the elevation is 8,100 feet.
“There are good coaches out there. We will work on our strength and cardiovascular conditioning. I want to become stronger and more fit for the sport for next season.”
Tierney took up snowboarding four years ago. “My whole family was snowboarding,” she said. “My dad, Chris Sr., took us to Vermont on weekends. I began skiing. I was the last family member to switch to the sport. I loved it so much more than skiing so I stuck with it.”
Tierney enjoyed a productive 2014 season. She was fourth at the Junior World Championships last year. And she won the NorAm overall title and the Hole Shot overall championship.
“I like the adrenaline rush I get from snowboarding,” she said. “I enjoy the sport’s competitive aspect. I just like racing and the fact anything can happen in it. It’s not a judged event so you decide who wins.”
Tierney, a 5-foot-6, 120-pounder, has set high goals in the sport.
“I would like to go as far as I can go,” she said. “I am hoping for the Olympics and the X Games. I want to get to as many Olympics as I can get to. The next Olympics is in 2018 in South Korea and I am gearing to make that team.”
Tierney also competes on the International Training Center team based in Ski Cooper, Colorado. In a short time, she has established herself as one of the sport’s elite performers.
“Sometimes,” she said, “I don’t even realize it, but it’s really cool. I would say I am not really afraid of most things. The sport is dangerous. There are a lot of big jumps that can be scary, but I tend to not think about them.
“A lot of my coaches say I don’t have too much fear. Of course, I have fear, but I don’t really have a lot of it.”
Tierney, who is finishing her senior year of high school by taking online classes, hopes to attend Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah and continue working with the Wilhelmina modeling agency, located in Denver.
 
By Chris Christopher
Photo COURTESY ADAM JOHNSTON PHOTOGRAPH