SPONSORSHIP STILL NEEDED

We have been working full-time at making this League a reality! While we have sponsors, we have only half of the needed $25K league start-up fee for NICA. While that sounds like a lot, NICA invests close to $100K in us to get us up and rolling. They provide League logo and branding, marketing, development services, legal services, branded products, manuals, banners, race productions package, financial services, etc. It's a deal! Plus, these races are incredible - snow fencing, banners, real-time timing system, pit zone, etc. Here are some pictures to give you an idea.

We had several new coaches and assistants sign up this weekend for Wasatch High, Skyline, and Olympus. With so many schools, we are anticipating 250+ kids. And the best part is that a recent survey done by NICA shows that 57% of parents started riding with their kids. This will not only be great for the kids, but help our community get out riding!

Plus, there is great marketing potential! If interested in sponsoring yourself or you have a contact with a business please contact Lori at loriharward@comcast.net or Dave at harward.david@gmail.com

NICA is Amazing!

I wanted to express my excitement about becoming affiliated with such a great program as NICA! First, check out this super cool NICA Expedition!http://www.nationalmtb.org/nica-expedition/ That's right kids can go on this 5-day biking adventure! Don't you wish they had this when you were a kid? That is in addition to their skills camps. I am also really impressed with the leadership. They really care about the kids! This is a clip from the last NICA Newsletter.
"With NICA alumni already racing at the profession level where doping may never go away completely, it may be that some our riders are already facing this dilemma. I believe I can speak on behalf of all of the NICA coaches and parents when I tell our young riders: never let the cheating of others erode your integrity – there is much more to life than winning bike races. We don't want our programs to promote the idea that any amount of winning, wealth, or celebrity could ever mean more than the simple joy of riding a bike with a clear conscious."

Grazie e ciao a tutti–
Matt Fritzinger

There really is something different at these races. Mike with Mountain Bike Action magazine is writing an article about the camaraderie he experienced at the State Championships. He said he had never experienced anything like it before, and he's been to a lot of races. It really touches you when you hear kids telling each other "way to go" while they're out on the race course to each other! Or to hear parents out on the course with a list of every athlete's names calling the on-coming riders by name and cheering for them! It's that camaraderie that I think makes NICA so fantastic and why Utah will be privileged to be a league under them. They really do care about the kids!

California High School MTB State Championships 2011 Trip

Dave Harward post on the California High School MTB State Championships 2011 Trip -- more photos and video inserts to come, I'm too tired right now.

Lori and I had a great trip this week. For those who don’t know, Lori has been working on putting together a bid for a high school mountain biking league in Utah. NICA, the National Interscholastic Cycling Association, is the governing body for high school cycling and they approve new league bids. This weekend was the California High School Mountain Biking State Championships. There are two leagues in California, so this weekend was the culmination of both league’s seasons. We decided this would be the best time to see the longest running high school leagues in action. This is likely going to be a long post and I’m sure will be well worth your time. It’s going to have pictures and video!

We met some amazing people this weekend. Between the never-resting NorCal and SoCal league staff, NICA officials, and the supportive and excited parents, Lori and I were welcomed as friends and coworkers. We really had no idea how things were going to go and if we would be able to get involved in the action or not. I figured we would be able to at least observe how they did things but didn’t know for sure.