BERKELEY, Calif. – March 8, 2022 – With an ongoing commitment to get more kids on bikes, the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) today announced that New Mexico is the latest league to join NICA, which develops interscholastic mountain biking programs for student-athletes and coaches across the United States. The New Mexico Interscholastic Cycling League (NMICL) www.newmexicomtb.org kicks off its inaugural cycling season in fall 2022.
"Our mountain bike community is full of dedicated volunteers, coaches, and families who have been working together for years to build youth mountain biking," said Mary Grow, league director, NMICL. "We are so excited to bring more opportunities to New Mexico with a NICA League. We can't wait to help more kids experience the exhilaration of biking while being part of such an amazing community."
Jennifer and Jerry Brown are two members of the New Mexico community. Jennifer and Jerry will serve as DEI co-coordinators for NMICL.
The Browns added: "We are amazed by all that NICA and the Gallup Comp team has done for the youth in Gallup. Kids who hadn't been on bikes, riding, learning, supporting, and pushing each other to grow and improve. Seeing this value has pushed us to get involved too, we are excited to be a part of NICA NM. Bringing NICA to NM means we can take what our daughter has experienced and bring it to other youth. We can open up the world of mountain biking to even more kids."
NMICL worked collaboratively with Anders Lundahl (NMICL race director), Scott Nydam, Jennifer Brown, Rick Smith, Jen Robinson, Chris Shaw, Deborah Kearney, Travis Moulton to submit its bid to join the nation's leading interscholastic cycling organization. The bid process was also supported by initial funders Allen Hilton, Tijeras Foundation, and the Southwest Indian Initiative. NICA evaluated and accepted NMICL's bid as part of the organization's new league application process. With the addition of the New Mexico League, NICA has grown to 29 leagues and counting. NMICL will open registration on April 1st, and begin hosting events and races in fall 2022.
"We are looking forward to welcoming and working with the dedicated and experienced team that's leading the New Mexico Interscholastic Cycling Association," said NICA President Amanda Carey. "With its many trails and strong community support, New Mexico is a natural addition to the NICA family. Most importantly, together, we are committed to growing the sport in the right way by remaining mission-focused to build strong minds, bodies, character, and communities through cycling."
The addition of New Mexico to NICA will increase the regional opportunities for youth cycling, and add to the growing community across the United States. NICA supports its leagues through racing, outdoor adventure, and teen trail corps programming along with coach licensing among other efforts. In addition, the organization offers an initiative called GRiT, which is designed to get more girls into cycling, along with a dedicated Diversity, Equity & Inclusion initiative to bring more underrepresented communities into NICA. NICA's core values of fun, inclusivity, equity, respect, and community are visible throughout its national organization and leagues.
About the New Mexico Interscholastic Cycling League (NMICL)
The New Mexico Interscholastic Cycling League's (NMICL) vision is to provide a fun, inclusive, and safe environment for the youth community of New Mexico to experience the benefits of outdoor recreation, specifically mountain biking.
About the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA)
The National Interscholastic Cycling Association's (NICA) mission is to build strong minds, bodies, character, and communities through cycling. NICA recognizes the value of participation in NICA League events for all student-athletes, free from discrimination based on race, religion, or gender identity. Our core value of inclusivity demonstrates our belief that everyone should participate in our programs and feel welcomed, respected, and supported.
Founded in 2009 as a 501(c)3 nonprofit, NICA develops interscholastic and community-based cycling programs for student-athletes and coaches across the United States. NICA provides leadership services and governance for local leagues to deliver quality mountain bike activities and events. NICA has served almost 64,000 student-athletes since 2009. Currently, NICA has 29 state and regional leagues and 14,000+ registered volunteer coaches who are working annually with over 27,000 student-athletes from over 1,000 high school and middle school teams in the USA.
