The season may not have officially started, but things are beginning to get under way in Arkansas NICA.
At the end of February we had a couple trail work events to kick off the season for service. Saturday February 27, OORC hosted a trail work day at the Baker Hayes Trail in Pea Ridge. Baker Hayes is a pocket park that is connected to the schools by sidewalks and little-used streets, as well as connected to several neighborhoods in Pea Ridge. The Pea Ridge Blackhawks coaches Joshua Johnson and Keln Taylor are leading the charge to increase access to trail fo their community, and they brought dozens of the student athletes on their team as well as a few from other teams out to build trail.
Sunday February 28 Arkansas NICA hosted a Teen Trail Corps Serve workshop. Robbie Wells from NWA Trailblazers taught us how to identify trouble spots on both traditional singletrack and flow trails so that the student athletes can do some maintenance on their own.
See below for more opportunities to lead your community through service!
March 5-6 we kicked off the coach training season with a sold-out Coach Retreat at Park Springs Park in Bentonville. On Saturday, coaches had workshops on building team culture, running fun practices, preride routines, and more! Sunday the coaches participated in either First Aid training or On-The-Bike 201 training, which will help them level up to meet requirements for Coaching Level 2 or 3. We will have another coach retreat April 10-11 at Mount Nebo. We will also offer the coach retreat content as well as material for new coaches at our annual Leader’s Summit on June 5-6.
Spring Merchandise – On Sale Now!
New spring merchandise is up on the store. Store will close Sunday, April 4th, at midnight and then they will print the items and ship!
Shop Here: https://www.tcscreenprint.com/collections/arkansas-nica
Oz Trails US Pro Cup
As part of the Oz Trails US Pro Cup being presented by Experience Fayetteville – the top athletes in cross country mountain biking are headed to Fayetteville in April for back to back weekends of UCI professional and amateur racing. The short track and XCO formats are expected to draw both well known men and women athletes from across the country – including several Olympic hopefuls.
Held April 9-11 and 16-18, you can checkout the full schedule of races at www.uscupmtb.com
An outdoor and open air venue means spectators will be allowed – and the event is FREE to attend.
The student athletes and teams have the opportunity to be a part of and experience an event that most communities never will.
Here are several different ways to do that:
1) Volunteer at the race by signing up at https://uscupmtb.com/index.
2) Volunteer for the NICA Expo tent the league will be hosting throughout both weekends of racing at https://signup.com/go/GRHRgbn
3) The event staff have set aside two separate times for NICA Team Preride Sessions on the amateur courses (that includes a few appropriate sections of the pros course!). Coaches will need to fill out the preseason event form to reserve the team’s spot. More information will be given to the coaches.
4) Participate in the race! Sign up here
Here is a link to the course: https://ridewithgps.com/
For more info on the event you can contact Brannon Pack with Experience Fayetteville at bpack@experiencefayetteville.
Upcoming Service Opportunities
Arkansas NICA is committed to building leadership through serving our community. Here’s a list of some upcoming opportunities:
March 27, 9 am – OORC Buffalo Headwaters Trail Love, Red Star
March 28, 3 pm – 5 pm – Bike Loaner Clean and Tune-Up, Bentonville
April 10-11, 17-18 – NICA Tent at the US Pro Cup Expo
April 9-11, 16-18 -US Pro Cup Race Volunteers, Fayetteville
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