President's Note

Two Trek NICA Pathfinders Scholarship recipients receive their Trek Marlins with Indiana League Director Margaret Barawskas. Photo: Mike Almert

Dear Team NICA -

Welcome to our Fall 2021 Season! While the safety of our student-athletes and community is first and foremost in our minds, we are also excited to see more leagues return to activities and racing. Congratulations to the Kentucky, Missouri and Ohio Leagues who kicked off their inaugural seasons earlier this month. NICA is continuing to experience growth across the country as we will have over 25,000 student-athletes participating in NICA activities in 2021 thanks to over 13,000 registered coaches!

Earlier this year we partnered with Trek Bicycle to launch the Trek NICA Pathfinders Scholarship to bring greater diversity, equity, and inclusion to youth mountain biking. The scholarship provides resources and support for student-athletes of color with the goal of overcoming historical barriers to the sport, and providing more access for diverse representation in mentors and role models.

This fall, we are excited to see over 150 student-athletes participating in NICA as part of the Trek NICA Pathfinders Scholarship program, with an additional 100 new scholarships available for Spring Leagues. To find out more about the Trek NICA Pathfinders Scholarship please visit https://www.nationalmtb.org/trek-nica-pathfinders-scholarship/.

NICA’s values require that our programs are welcoming and inclusive to everyone and to this end we have named Kristine Urrutia as our Vice President of Development, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. With Kristine’s added responsibility and leadership of our DEI efforts, we will continue creating a diverse and inclusive cycling community accessible to all.

Best Regards,
Steve

What's New Across NICA

Kentucky Student-Athlete racing their inaugural race. Photo: Ann Beckett

Kentucky, Missouri and Ohio Leagues Launch Inaugural Race Seasons

Congratulations to the Kentucky, Missouri and Ohio Leagues on launching their inaugural seasons! The Kentucky League kicked off with the Twisted Oliver Time Trial on August 21st and had 95 student-athletes participate. The Missouri and Ohio Leagues launched the weekend of August 28th with Missouri’s 364 student-athletes participating in the Throwdown at Indian Camp Creek Park Time Trial to kick off their season and 176 Ohio student-athletes racing at John Bryan State Park to launch the Ohio League.

Photo: Trek Bicycle

Trek NICA Pathfinders Scholarship Applications OPEN for Spring Leagues

We have partnered with Trek on the Pathfinders Scholarship to bring greater diversity, equity and inclusion to youth mountain biking. The Trek NICA Pathfinders Scholarship provides recipients with a Trek Marlin mountain bike, helmet, shoes, accessories, and a kit. Additionally, recipients receive a stipend to cover NICA national and league membership fees and entry fees for a full season of racing. Applications are currently being accepted for teams and student-athletes who will participate in a Spring 2022 NICA League. Learn more and apply today HERE!

Photo: Adam Haynes / Idaho League

Checking Coach License Statuses of Your Team

NICA Coaches are amazing humans who volunteer hours of their time at practices and events to get #morekidsonbikes! Our volunteer coaches spend considerable time and in many cases money to gain education on NICA Coaching best practices, concussion certification courses, First Aid, CPR and other programs to ensure NICA student-athletes are instructed by top-notch coaches. Coaches are constantly working to develop and maintain their coaching skills and abilities.

As NICA Parents, if you want to connect with your student-athlete’s team and learn more about their coaches, we want to give you the opportunity to see who’s coaching your kids and their current NICA Coach Level.

And additionally - this will give you a great opportunity to better get to know your student-athletes’s coaches and THANK them for all their hard work to get #morekidsonbikes!

Step 1: Log into your PitZone Account
Step 2: Click your student-athlete’s team name
Step 3: Check out your team’s awesome roster of coaches

Emily Green

NICA Welcomes New GRiT Program Manager - Emily Green

We are excited to welcome Emily Green - NICA’s new GRiT Program Manager. Emily has a lifelong passion for cycling and outdoor adventure and loves nothing more than to help others challenge themselves and get outside on their own adventures. She has over two-decades of experience in nonprofit program development including co-founding Fit Moms for Life and cultivating 105 community groups of Moms nationwide, who supported each other in their health and fitness journeys. Emily is from Madison, Wisconsin and is a NICA Level 2 coach with the Madison West Team. She’s beyond excited to help more female student-athletes and coaches experience the transformative power of mountain biking!

NICA Welcomes BOSCH as new Sponsor

We are excited to welcome Bosch as a new sponsor this year. Bosch will be providing support for NICA Teen Trail Corps activities. Bosch has partnered with Trek, Troy Lee Designs, Burley and Bosch’s own Power Tool division to provide the Pennsylvania League and West Virginia Leagues with a custom Bosch e-powered Trek Rail, Burley Trailer and suite of power tools to support Teen Trail Corps Activities. The Trek eBikes were customized by Troy Lee Designs with the NICA Values, Teen Trail Corps and League Logos. Two additional NICA leagues will be selected this Fall to receive eBikes and the same suite of equipment from BOSCH for Teen Trail Corps activities.

Bosch, a worldwide manufacturer, distributor and marketer of eBike drive systems since 2009 is excited to be supporting NICA Teen Trail Corps Activities. Bosch eBike Systems works on the future of mobility, which is healthy, and economically and ecologically sustainable. Nowadays over 70 leading bike brands worldwide trust the components 'epowered by Bosch.'

Help NICA to earn it’s 2021 Great Nonprofits Top Rated Badge!

Do you think NICA is awesome? Well then we need your help to tell us and the world about the impact that NICA is having to get #morekidsonbikes in your family and community. To help keep NICA’s Greatnonprofits.org top-rated status and increase the visibility of our work we need you to submit your reviews and share your stories, photos and videos. It only takes a few minutes and is easy to do! Click HERE, click the orange ‘Share Your Story’ button and rate us. Your voices will also be leading the way to inspire potential volunteers and donors too!

Built for Adventure - Club Ride Apparel

On the bike, off the bike, in the field or at home - thanks Club Ride for keeping our National Program Staff looking rad for the ride and everything after. Check out Club Ride's great selection of mountain biking apparel AND get 20% off your next purchase when you use NICA20 at checkout. Promo is good for one use per person and is only applicable to full price items.

New Ride, New Rack, New Season

Velocirax is excited for the Fall 2021 Season and excited to be a proud NICA Sponsor. Love your bike and give it the ride it deserves with Velocirax! Velocirax durable steel racks can hold up to 7 bikes of all shapes and sizes on your car or in your garage! Visit https://www.velocirax.com/ to learn more!

There is Nothing Better than NEW KIT DAY!

At Borah Teamwear - they make it easy to order rad, Made-in-the USA, custom cycling apparel for your team. Their customer service is some of the best in the biz and they'll walk you through the entire ordering process; from free design to their unique fit guarantee, Borah ensures you get amazing team kits on time for your season! Borah is proud to be an official NICA Sponsor. Look Pro -- Ride Strong!

NICA exists by virtue of our generous sponsors, boosters, foundation partners and individual donors.

We are extremely grateful for your continued support of our mission to build strong minds, bodies, character and communities through cycling. Consider supporting NICA or your favorite league today and help us impact the future of cycling!