Missoula, MT- High School and Middle School mountain bike racing is launching this Fall! The Montana Interscholastic Cycling League (MICL) is now an official National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) Project League. MICL has completed the required trainings and benchmarks to move forward with its inaugural high school and middle school race season. This August, young adults in grades 6 to 12 from across Montana will join 26 other states throughout the country with NICA leagues, providing a quality youth development program in the form of team-based mountain biking for student-athletes.
Currently, the Montana league is gearing up for its first Leaders’ Summit in Missoula, at the University of Montana, which will be held April 27-28. This is a full weekend of training for coaches and volunteers. MICL recognizes the importance of training coaches and volunteers to ensure quality leadership throughout the program and youth safety. The inaugural Leaders’ Summit will be led by NICA National staff for the benefit of the 70 participants registered from across the state. The Summit is shaping up to be an excellent kickoff for the organization, according to Montana League Director, Sam Schultz. “This is a great opportunity to bring potential coaches together to develop skills and get the knowledge needed to establish and support teams.” Excitement has been growing around the state and it’s going to be so good to get the early adopters into the same room and continue to build the community around it, states Schultz. If you’re interested in being involved, it’s not too late to join. Email sam@montanamtb.org for more info.
Montana coaches and team leaders will spend the rest of the Spring providing outreach to 6th-12th graders around Montana to join a local team and take part in weekly practices that will start in July. The season will culminate with a 4 race series starting in late August. Currently, there are teams formed in the Flathead Valley, Missoula, Hamilton, Helena, Butte, Bozeman, Big Sky, and Billings. Visit montanamtb.org/existing-team-map for a map of teams along with contact info for team leaders. The League is looking to expand into as many communities as possible and interested coaches should reach out to sam@montanamtb.orgfor more information about getting additional teams up and running.
The league also invites independent riders in Montana where a team might not be established. All registered riders are covered by NICA insurance and able to attend any practice held by nearby teams.
The 2019 race series is as follows:
Race 1: August 24th- Crosscut Classic, Bozeman, MT
Race 2: September 7th- Herron Hustle, Kalispell, MT
Race 3: September 21st- Lolo Lift-Off, Lolo, MT
Race 4: October 5th- Copper City Classic, Copper City, MT
The Montana League’s founding Board consists of dedicated community leaders throughout the state. MICL continues to invite individuals who are passionate about creating quality opportunities for youth in Montana to join this effort, mountain bike skills not required! If you are interested in volunteer opportunities for coaching, event support, logistical support, fundraising and more, please contact League Director, Sam Schultz at sam@montanamtb.orgfor more information.
About the Montana League:
Web: montanamtb.org and nationalmtb.org
Facebook: Montana Interscholastic Cycling League
Instagram: @montanamtb
