NICA’s GRiT initiative exists to give girls and women equitable access to the transformative power of mountain biking.
The sport of mountain biking is truly impactful for all, but especially for female riders. The challenge and adventure inherent in the sport develops confidence, competence and leadership, along with a deep sense of community and belonging among girls and women who participate.
However, girls and women are dramatically underrepresented in mountain biking, in NICA and more broadly. Just 21% of NICA’s student athletes are female. One-quarter of NICA’s licensed coaches are women.
The GRiT initiative exists to bridge this gap. The short term goal of the GRiT initiative is to increase female participation to 33% by 2023. Long term, we seek equitable access for all.
As we close out 2021 and look ahead to 2022, we invite you to join these efforts next year. In order to be successful, we need to create a ripple effect of actions across the country that collectively bring more girls and women into our community. We want to empower all members of our NICA family to help create the safe spaces and opportunities necessary for women and girls to engage, build confidence, belong, and thrive as riders and humans.
We are working on new resources and tools for our coaches that will help those who want to implement GRiT at the team level. But there’s a role for all who want to help, even if you are not a coach! Reach out to your GRiT Coordinator or to the GRiT Program Manager (egreen@nationalmtb.org) if you’d like to get involved! Thank you for your support in getting #moregirlsonbikes!
