NICA Leagues
7th grader Broden Ala has always loved mountain biking. He waited years to be old enough to participate in NICA events, training hard in preparation for his moment to line up in the start chute. All that practice paid off: last year, during his first season, he crossed the finish line as the Arizona state champion.
Eight NICA teams dot the region. An unprecedented four have accessible, well-maintained, on-campus trails. Two of these are public high schools without tuition dollars to support the infrastructure necessary for building mountain bike trails. So how did Charlottesville become the gold standard for school-based trail systems?
When GRiT (Girls Riding Together) was launched in 2018, its purpose was to invite more girls and women to the cycling community. Five years later, over 8,000 female student-athletes and coaches are riding dirt with NICA teams, reflecting a 4% increase in the percentage of female riders across the organization. The heroes responsible for leading this growth are the league GRiT Coordinators. These women organize league-level GRiT programming, while also training and empowering team-level GRiT coaches to recruit more girls and women to their teams. Last year, GRiT Coordinators collectively hosted over 110 events to get more girls involved in cycling!
Continuing to race bikes is something many NICA athletes choose to pursue after their years on their local team. Some enjoy local events, and some want to take cycling to the next level, and pursue a professional career in sport. That’s how Carter Anderson found himself grinding through miles of gorgeous gravel roads in his first professional race alongside his idols at the Lifetime Unbound 2023.
June is a great time to get out for a ride! With the weather warming and summer vacations being booked to mountain bike hotspots, NICA families have lots to look forward to.It’s also time for graduation. Teams across the country are celebrating their beloved senior riders. Whether moving on to a collegiate team, signing up to coach, or just commuting around town, NICA’s newest alumni are entering the next stage of their lives with their bikes and their communities by their side.
Nikki Peterson, Nevada North League Director, co-led a GRiT Ride with NorCal Coaches and NICA Alum Kate Courtney. It was a day dedicated to inspiring girls, making connections, and just having fun! Check out her story below.
With May bringing a focus on mental health awareness, we want to feature one of our coaches who recognizes and teaches the interdependence of physical and mental health. This coach’s message of “shred for your head” is a powerful one that emphasizes the importance of mental health in the context of sports and physical activity. By promoting balance in training, the coach is setting student-athletes up for success, both on and off the bike.
Through their efforts, Deanna and her husband have not only saved a struggling business but have also brought people together around a shared interest, creating a sense of belonging and support within their local community. This serves as a testament to the power of community-building and the impact that NICA has in bringing people together.
NICA coaches are trained to emphasize values like teamwork, sportsmanship, and mutual respect, and to create an environment where athletes feel supported and encouraged to take risks and push themselves to achieve their goals. This includes recognizing and celebrating the achievements of all athletes, regardless of their level of ability or performance, and encouraging athletes to support each other through both successes and setbacks.
March is Women’s History Month, a collection of days where we honor the trailblazing women who came before us. It has been a historic decade for American women in cycling, and the NICA community has rallied around the mantra: More Girls on Bikes!