Now that Whistler’s Mercedes Nicoll has a confirmed berth in the 2010 Olympics, it’s time to celebrate. The halfpipe snowboarder said she’s been buoyed by the amazing feeling of the support from her family and friends since Canada Snowboard announced the nation’s Olympic squad on Monday (Jan. 25).

“My Facebook page is ridiculous; everyone is so excited. I feel like the whole world is going to be cheering me on,” Nicoll said in a call Tuesday morning (Jan. 26) from Calgary, where she’ll be logging some quality time on a good halfpipe and competing in two more pre-Olympic events before hitting Cypress Mountain for the Games.

Nicoll said she’s “really excited” to have confirmed her place at her second Olympics, though she already “kind of had an inkling I was going” because she stood right below teammate Sarah Conrad in the Canadian women’s halfpipe depth chart, with three quota spots up for grabs.

Still, she said, “we had contests up to the last second, so it was still stressful.”

Nicoll joins Conrad and Squamish’s Justin Lamoureux, Jeff Batchelor of Oakville, Ont., Brad Martin of Ancaster, Ont., and Palmer Taylor of Collingwood, Ont., as the halfpipe competitors on the 18-member team.

Snowboardcross star Maëlle Ricker, formerly a resident of Whistler and Squamish, will lead Dominique Maltais of Petite-Rivière St- François, Que., Squamish’s Robert Fagan, North Vancouver’s Drew Neilson, François Boivin of Jonquière, Que., and Canmore’s Mike Robertson into battle in their discipline.

Defending world champion Jasey-Jay Anderson of Mont-Tremblant, Que., leads a strong contingent of parallel giant slalom racers, accompanied by Matthew Morison of Burketon, Ont., Toronto’s Michael Lambert, Richmond’s Alexa Loo, Caroline Calvé of Montreal and Aylmer, Que., and Calgary’s Kimiko Zakreski.

The decorated group includes eight world championship medallists, 17 World Cup medallists and 10 riders with Olympic experience. Nicoll has six World Cup halfpipe medals to her credit, and she finished 27th at the 2006 Olympics.

Team officials have declared the goal for the 18 riders is to win five medals at the upcoming Olympics. Nicoll said her primary personal aim is to improve her run and land it cleanly – falling in Italy left her with a desire for redemption in 2010.

“I think I’m mostly concentrating on my run, and being happy with what I’ve put down,” she said.

In Calgary, she said, she’ll work on solidifying a few more tricks in her arsenal, and using the upcoming contests as good practice in a judged environment to “find a run that the judges like.”

“This season I feel a lot more confidence than last season,” Nicoll said, and she’s been focusing on making her runs smooth and consistent.

The team announcement followed last weekend’s World Cup events in Stoneham, Que., which marked the last chance for riders to reach the results they needed to qualify for their respective Olympic squads.

Ricker rolled to a dominant win in Thursday’s (Jan. 21) snowboardcross event, for her third victory of the season and 16th of her career, while Maltais captured a bronze medal after coming back from a crash in the final, and Neilson finished fourth on the men’s side.

Anderson captured a bronze medal in Sunday’s (Jan. 24) parallel giant slalom races, earning the 59th World Cup podium result of his career, while Lambert and Calvé finished seventh.

In Friday’s (Jan. 22) halfpipe events, Batchelor earned a silver medal to cement his spot on the Olympic team, followed by Lamoureux finishing fourth as he shook off the stress of trying to keep his results up. Chinese riders swept the women’s podium, with Conrad, Nicoll and Montreal’s Dominique Vallée claiming the next three spots.

But with only 14 competitors registered for the women’s event, instead of the minimum 25 required under the Canadian Olympic nomination procedure, that contest didn’t count toward the team qualifications, and that meant Nicoll could relax and try out a new run in the Quebec contest.

She was the top Canadian rider in the women’s halfpipe Grand Prix event at Mammoth Mountain on Jan. 7, which was the second-last qualifying event, earning her some breathing room.

“I think after the last two Grand Prix (contests) in Mammoth it kind of mellowed out,” Nicoll said, adding that she was “stress free” in Quebec and had a better mindset.

“It’s quite a roller-coaster,” Nicoll said of the complex team selection process.