National Interscholastic Cycling Association
Share the Ride
Share the Ride with the National Interscholastic Cycling Association and Impact the next 10 years of youth cycling!
Story
Help NICA Share the Ride and get #morekidsonbikes in your community!
"I wish we had this when I was a kid!" - there's a good chance if you go to a NICA event, you'll hear that sentiment from more than a few adults in the community. The National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) is changing lives through cycling with its focus on fun, inclusivity, equity, respect, and community in all of its programs and events. Everyone is welcome, everyone can participate, everyone is included. This is NICA.
NICA's story begins where mountain biking began, in the shadow of Mt. Tamalpais in Northern California, where a dedicated group of volunteers began a mountain bike race series for local high school students. The momentum and excitement spread throughout California and to neighboring states, and NICA was founded in 2009 to bring high school racing to states across the country. Growing from its racing roots, NICA takes pride in not only developing some of the nation's top mountain bikers, such as Kate Courtney, Sandy Floren and Haley Batten, but also in developing lifelong cyclists and strengthening its cycling communities across the country.
Ned Overend told Velonews (7/30/2019):
... you can see mountain biking is thriving. And it's thriving because of NICA.
Check out this recent video: High School Mountain Biking is Blowing Up, from the 2018 Wisconsin League's State Championships to see just how NICA programs are impacting communities across the country.
This year, NICA celebrates its 10-year anniversary. What began as a high school mountain biking club at Berkeley High School in Northern California has evolved into a national non-profit organization with 31 leagues (as of October 2019), 20,000 student-athletes, and over 10,000 volunteer league staff and coaches.
Fred Dreyer of Velonews writes (7/31/2019):
It's no secret why U.S. mountain bike racing is booming. The National Interscholastic Cycling Association has become the official point of entry for young people who pick up cycling. NICA's stats boggle the mind: 18,000 high-school kids, 26 state leagues, 9,000 volunteers.
NICA develops cycling programs for youth and communities across the United States. While NICA has its roots as a racing organization, it has grown to focus on youth and community development through mountain biking and offers racing and non-racing programs.
In an effort to increase female participation in the sport of mountain biking, NICA launched Girls Riding together (GRiT) in 2018. GRiT provides leagues and coaches resources to recruit and retain both female student-athletes and coaches
NICA Teen Trail Corps is designed to provide exposure and be a gateway for NICA student-athletes into the world of trail advocacy and stewardship. Earlier in 2019 NICA launched its Adventure program that will enable all youth, those who are wired for competition and those who are not, to experience together the benefits of mountain biking, camaraderie, community, and the outdoors.
To learn more about NICA and read stories from our student-athletes, coaches and community, visit our blog !
Share the Ride!
Your generous donation to NICA can directly impact and support our programs and leagues across the United States. Student-athletes, coaches, volunteers and leagues will benefit from the various services listed below:
$1,000 provides start up funds to implement a new program at the league level (GRiT, Teen Trail Corps, Adventure)
$500 provides training and licensing for a team's coaching staff for one season
$250 funds a trailside emergency kit (first aid and mechanical essentials) for a team
$100 provides race day nutrition for a team
$50 pays a race entry for a student in need
