One of my favorite stories to come out of the off-season is from Huntsville and our Madison County Composite Team (MADCO). This off-season, the team, led by coach Eric Blocker, has obtained approval and received a grant to build trails on the Huntsville Middle School property. Sisters, student athletes, team members, and GRIT ambassadors Lainey and Leah Daugherty spoke before the city council in Huntsville in April about how being on a mountain biking team has made a difference to them and why their town needs more trails. The City Council and Planning Commission are hosting a hearing to discuss adopting a regional master plan for bike-ped infrastructure on May 24, and you can bet the members of the team are going to be there. I love hearing about how our NICA student athletes make a difference in their broader community, with help from caring and active coaches.
Ride safe and happy,
Kyla, Terry, and the Arkansas NICA Team.
Time to Sign Up for Leader’s Summit!
Leaders’ Summit is our annual event where coaches – new, veteran, prospective – come together for training seminars and workshops, networking with each other, and working with league leadership to prepare for our season. We will return to Thaden School and take advantage of their beautiful open air gymnasium.
Check out the tentative agenda. Then, register on Eventbrite. There are numerous ticket options allowing you to get the most out of the weekend. Saturday tracts for both first-time attendees and veteran coaches. Sunday consists of additional sessions for each tract and finishes with On The Bike skills or NICA First Aid.
Leaders’ Summit is always a full weekend; we try to offer all of the most valuable programming within only two days. Coaches often leave with a full head of ideas and a full heart of passion for the upcoming season. We hope you will join us!
Race Staff Volunteers Needed
Arkansas NICA added a couple events to our calendar, and we are looking for individuals who want to join our race production team. It’s the most fun team in town! Below is a list of some of the jobs available.
List of positions available:
- Chief Course Marshal
- Medical Coordinator
- Volunteer Coordinator
- Timing and Scoring
- Registration
- Operation Manager
- Course Setting
- Photo/Video
- Audio/Visual Specialist
Email Glenn@arkansasmtb.org if you are interested in joining
GRIT Rides Saturday!
We have two opportunities for GRIT rides this weekend!
1. NWA GRiT Ride – Centennial Park at 10 AM. Bring a lunch, we will provide drinks. We will ride for a bit, then each lunch together before heading out around 12:30. The race course from a few weeks ago is still quite a rutted disaster, but we will ride the surrounding trails and get an idea of this new NICA race location. Central Ark girls are welcome at this ride too!
2. Central Ark GRiT Ride – GRiT Girls ride at the race course of the Ugly Gnome race at 12:00. We will have a few extra bikes available if you want to bring a friend that doesn’t have a bike! Girls in NWA are welcome to this ride too! The proceeds of this race go to our Conway Bearcats NICA team. If you want to race, details can be found here: https://www.bikereg.com/the-
New Team Try-it-Out Events
We just completed three awesome “ Try it out” events with great success at getting communities involved in youth mountain biking. Eureka Springs had 45 kids in attendance!!. Another great event was held in Fayetteville where Eliot Jackson and Rahsaan Bahati attended and met with potential student athletes from the Yvonne Richardson Community Center.
Upcoming events:
- Clarksville – June 26
- North Little Rock – Date TBD
- Dequeen – July 10
Email Terry@arkansasmtb.org for more information.
Upcoming Arkansas NICA Events
- June 5-6 – Leader’s Summit, Thaden School, Bentonville
- August 7-8 – AR-MO Adventure
- August 28-29 – Time Trial Season Prelude
- September 11-12 – Race 1 – Spring Hill, Barling
- September 25-26 – Race 2 – Clysta Willett Park, Mountain Home
- October 9-10 – Race 3 – Camp War Eagle, Rogers
- October 30-31 – Race 4 – Centennial Park, Fayetteville
Upcoming Service Opportunities
Arkansas NICA is committed to building leadership through serving our community. Here’s a list of some upcoming opportunities:
- May 15, 8 am – 12 pm – OORC Kessler Trail Love, Fayetteville
- May 15, 9 am – Frontier OORC – Ben Geren Trail Love, Fort Smith
- May 17, 2021, 5:45 pm – TACO – Lakeside Trail, Hot Springs
- May 22, 7 am – 11 am – OORC – Pea Ridge Course Prep
- May 23, 8 am – 12 pm – OORC – Mt. Sequoyah Trail Love Fayetteville
- May 29, 8 am – 12 pm OORC, Lake Fayetteville Trail Love, Fayetteville
- June 5, 8 am – 12 pm OORC, Mt. Kessler Trail Love, Fayetteville
- June 26, 8 am – 12 pm OORC, Mt. Kessler Trail Love, Fayetteville
Check out arkansasmtb.org/stewardship for more information!
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