NICA Awards
We are now accepting nominations for the 2024 NICA Awards!
Celebrate the amazing athletes, coaches, mentors, and volunteers in the NICA community! The annual NICA Awards awards recognize student-athletes, coaches, volunteers, and alumni across our leagues who have made outstanding contributions to the youth cycling movement. Nominations are now open to honor and celebrate the accomplishments of NICA athletes and coaches from 2024.
Nominations close at 11:59 PM Pacific on February 14th, 2025
NICA Awards are given to individuals in each of the following seven categories:
Community Impact Award
The Community Impact Award honors a student-athlete whose efforts have created positive change in their community. The recipient is an outstanding representative of NICA, dedicating exceptional time and enthusiasm to the advocacy and stewardship of youth cycling. All student-athletes from 2023 are eligible for this award.
SRAM Coach of the Year Award
The Coach of the Year Award acknowledges a coach whose qualities as a leader and motivator embody NICA’s mission to provide student athletes with the coaching and camaraderie to help them achieve both competitive and non-competitive goals. All 2023 licensed coaches are eligible for this award.
Outstanding Team Award
The Outstanding Team Award honors a NICA team that has demonstrated clear commitment to NICA’s core values through the culture they have built. This team prioritizes fun and inclusivity, welcomes and enables the participation of athletes and coaches of all backgrounds, and serves the broader community in which they ride. All 2023 NICA teams are eligible for this award.
Trek Extraordinary Character Award
The Extraordinary Character Award recognizes a student athlete who exemplifies the NICA core values through their contributions to their team and community. This individual has made a dedicated effort to pursue the best version of themself. This student-athlete serves as a role model for their peers. All student-athletes from 2023 are eligible for this award.
Distinguished Alumni Award
The Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes a former student-athlete who carries the spirit of NICA’s values beyond their high school years. This alumni is an ambassador for getting #MoreKidsOnBikes in any or all of the ways NICA celebrates mountain biking. NICA alumni from any league and any year are eligible for this award.
Lifetime Achievement Award
The Lifetime Achievement Award honors an individual for their tremendous support of NICA and/or a NICA league. The recipient has dedicated great personal time and effort to furthering NICA's mission and wholeheartedly believes in NICA's values and the transformative power of youth sports. They have gone above and beyond to serve their community over an extended period of time and have impacted the lives of countless student-athletes, coaches, and volunteers. NICA and league staff/directors, coaches, and volunteers are eligible for this award.
GRiT Inspiration Award
The GRiT Inspiration Award honors girls and women who inspire kindness, courage, and connection within the GRiT community and beyond. Established in honor of Beth Pride Blythe, a founder of NICA GRiT and the Tennessee League’s GRiT Coordinator, the award recognizes one student-athlete and one adult annually. This award celebrates individuals who have made a significant effort to make NICA and the sport of mountain biking more welcoming to and inclusive of girls and women.
