Dear NICA Family,

Wow, so much as happened across our NICA community in the last month! I am excited to share all that has been achieved.

First, as many of you know I announced my decision to step down as NICA President earlier this year. I am happy to announce that Steve Matous has been selected as the new NICA President. Steve brings a wealth of nonprofit management experience, including serving as Executive Director at Outward Bound USA for 5 years. As NICA’s outgoing President, I am thrilled to have Steve step into my role. His experience will serve our community well and I am confident in his abilities to continue NICA’s growth and excellence in youth development. For further detail please see press release HERE. Join me, my colleagues and the NICA Board of Directors in welcoming Steve to the NICA community!

Last month we highlighted our fantastic female student-athletes, coaches and board members, as well as our Girls Riding Together (GRiT) program, and now I am thrilled to let everyone know that we have achieved a new milestone increasing our female ridership nationwide to 20.2%! Let’s keep up the awesome work to encourage #moregirlsonbikes across all our leagues!

Most recently I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to have attended several events where our student-athletes and coaches are being recognized for their outstanding achievements Coach Whitney Pogue from the Utah League and Coach Larry Alonso from the Georgia League were recognized by Positive Coaching Alliance for their excellence in coaching and Coach David Azzolin and the SoCal League’s Beaumont High School Mountain Bike team were recognized at the California Trails and Greenways Conference for their outstanding trail advocacy and stewardship efforts.

It goes without saying that it has been an honor and a privilege to serve as the President of NICA. As reflected in this month's newsletter, the student-athletes, coaches and volunteers of the NICA continue to work towards the betterment of their communities. I look forward to my new capacity as an Advisory Board member, but moreover, I look forward to seeing how you all continue to build strong minds, bodies, character, and communities through cycling. Thank you all for letting me be a part of the best ride ever!

With Gratitude,
Austin

NICA Coaches Awarded Positive Coach Alliance Double-Goal Coach Awards

Congratulations to Whitney Pogue from the Utah League's Corner Canyon High School and Larry Alonso from the Georgia League's Gilmer Cartecay Youth Mountain Bike Team on their recognition by Positive Coaching Alliance as National Double-Goal Coach Award Winners! The Double-Goal Coach Award is given out annually to 50 coaches across the country who are exemplary at not only inspiring their student-athletes to achieve athletic results, but also to pursue important life lessons through sports. The award winners are selected for their excellence in developing "Better Athletes, Better People." Learn more about this honor HERE.

Trek - NICA Service Course

Want to tune up your bike maintenance skills this summer? Trek's Certified School of Service is again offering its Certified Assembly Technician course just for NICA student-athletes and coaches. This year, in addition to 2 Level 1 Courses, Trek will also be offering a Women's Level 1 Course and a Level 2 course for NICA student-athletes.

Curious about a course? Check out the links below for details on dates, schedule, costs and registration information!
Level 1 Courses
* NICA Level 1 Co-Ed, June 10-12
* NICA Level 1 Women, July 8-10
* NICA Level 1 Co-Ed, July 15-17

Level 2 Course
* NICA Level 2 Co-Ed, June 24-28

Please Note: Level 1 Courses are 3-days and cost $550, Level 2 Courses are 5-days and cost $1100.