The Missouri Interscholastic Cycling League - New mountain bike clubs & teams for middle and high school students across Missouri: What is the League, Who is it for? How can I get started?
Upcoming League Informational Sessions are Jan 23rd in Cape Girardeau, Jan 25th in Des Peres, and Feb 7th in O'Fallon.
What is the League? Who is it for? Why might individuals, communities, and schools want to get involved? How can you get started?
All those questions and more are answered below.
What is the League? Who is it for? How can I get started?
- The League is a new interscholastic mountain bike league for middle and high school students with with teams and clubs forming now and the first season starting Fall 2020.
- School or regional teams can start with just one coach and a student athlete or two.
- Student-athletes can participate simply for fun, skills, and fitness, to participate in healthy outdoor activity--including both riding and trail-building--and/or to participate in meets and races competitively.
- Experience across that U.S. is that teams that start small often rapidly build participation, by both coaches and students.
- This is a new league in Missouri, with the first season in Fall 2020--but part of an established national program, the National Interscholastic Cycling Association, with Leagues in 31 states (including a large, successful league in nearby Arkansas), 19,000 student-athletes nationwide, a good track record, and the vision to "build strong minds, bodies, character, and communities through cycling."
- Ideally each school has a team and the teams are officially affiliated with the school and school district. However, independent "composite" teams can be established in areas where the school district does not want to be involved (yet), and athletes from areas without a team can participate, too.
- Annual training for coaches, high standards for teams and coaches, rules in place to prevent overtraining and other issues, fully insured, a very supportive culture and approach (everyone rides--no one is turned away), strongly supports respect, equity, and inclusivity, works to particularly support young woman athletes. And most of all--fitness and FUN!
- The League has school-affiliated teams forming in, for example, Warsaw, Neosho, Joplin, and St. Louis. In addition, many independent regional "composite" teams are forming across the state.
- Missouri has some of the best mountain bike trails in the midwest and some of the most active mountain biking communities. Nearly every community across the state has the facilities or trails needed for teams to train or could easily create them (single-track trails are relatively inexpensive to build and maintain--teams could start with nothing but a large field with some dirt trails to ride in).
- You may know that bicycling is one of the highest participation lifetime sports in the world, in the U.S., and in Missouri. Trails and bicycle facilities are in high demand across the state, and bicycling is the #1 activity Missourians are planning to do more of in the next five years.
- Mountain biking is currently one of the most popular forms of bicycling, nationwide and in Missouri. If you provide a mountain bike program to your students, you are certain to find interested students, volunteers, and coaches.
- Creating a school mountain bike team that joins the new League is one of the easiest ways to support cycling in your community and provide fitness, outdoors, recreation, and social opportunities to your students.
HOW TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE LEAGUE OR TAKE COACH/LEADERSHIP TRAINING
How to learn more:
- Visit the Missouri Interscholastic Cycling League web site
- Attend League Informational Sessions across Missouri over the next few weeks (Springfield, Joplin, St Joseph, Cape Girardeau, KC area, St Louis area)
- Any interested individuals who want to coach should plan should attend the Leaders' Summit, April 25-26, 2020 at Mizzou in Columbia--they will leave that weekend armed with the knowledge and skills to coach in our NICA League. More information coming soon on the League web site.
- How to stay abreast of Missouri Interscholastic Cycling League communication, information, and announcements:
- Please like the Missouri Interscholastic Cycling League and NICA GRiT Missouri (Girls Riding Together) on Facebook and follow the League on Instagram @missourimtb
- Be sure to visit the League website: www.missourimtb.org.
The site contains a wealth of information about coaching, volunteering, schedule of upcoming events, etc.
- Finally, sign up for League newsletter(s). The first Missouri newsletters are coming in the next 1-2 weeks! This will keep in you in the information loop about the League, deadlines, training opportunities, and more.
- Please like the Missouri Interscholastic Cycling League and NICA GRiT Missouri (Girls Riding Together) on Facebook and follow the League on Instagram @missourimtb
Helping promote more bicycling opportunities, more trails, and more participation in bicycling among Missouri's youth and schools is one of the ways we encourage more bicycling and walking and help create a world-class bicycle, pedestrian, and trails system in Missouri. Those are two of four primary goals in MoBikeFed's Vision for Bicycling and Walking in Missouri.
One way we we accomplish those goals is by supporting excellent organizations like the Missouri Interscholastic Cycling League in their work.
Your ongoing membership and generous financial support helps turn our Vision into reality!
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