NICA Program Details

Registration

Registration for new student-athletes for the Bozeman HS/Gallatin HS NICA Team (6th – 12th grades) opens on Friday, April 21 at 7pm – see our REGISTRATION PAGE. The Bozeman HS/Gallatin HS NICA Team is only open to kids living and attending school within the Bozeman School District (including homeschool!) and are in the pipeline to attend either Bozeman HS or Gallatin HS. This team is not appropriate for families just visiting the area for the summer. Please see the FAQ page for details on this. Wondering if the NICA team is for you? Read up more on that HERE.

Team Expectations

Bozeman HS/Gallatin HS NICA Team Fees (2023) – $485 MS/$510 HS total:

$250 Bozeman/Gallatin HS NICA Team Program Fee (our local team fee; required)
$235 MS or $260 HS NICA Fee (required; non-refundable) you pay to NICA Pit Zone after team registration. Includes: NICA National fee + insurance + Montana NICA League fee + entry into ALL 5 Montana NICA League races

**Scholarships are available thanks to our generous sponsors! Please visit our scholarship page. Applications must be completed by April 1st, 2023. In addition, we continue to seek additional sponsors and donations that enable us to financially support the team. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor or making a tax-deductible financial contribution to Bozeman Youth Cycling and the Bozeman HS/Gallatin HS NICA Team, please reach out to us or make your donation online HERE.

**Please remember the Bozeman HS/Gallatin HS NICA Team is a cross-country mountain bike team (not enduro or downhill).

Before You Register:

BEFORE YOU REGISTER: As with all things, our NICA team is evolving. We love our team and we want you on our team. We work hard and are focused on creating a strong team community where every athlete is a part of contributing to something bigger than themselves. With this in mind, please consider these TEAM PRACTICE REQUIREMENTS:

PRACTICES – To build the best possible team experience for all we have arrived at a place where implementing attendance requirements makes sense. There are 15 weeks in our NICA season and we are asking our student-athletes to attend 1 practice per week (or a minimum of 15 practices during the season). We love that our student-athletes are involved in other sports and activities (you should be!) but we ask that you have an honest conversation with your family if this fits in your calendar.
RACES – There are 5 races in the Montana NICA League this season and we ask that each athlete attend a minimum of 1 race. You do not have to race – being there is an important part of our team community! Please see the Montana NICA League for the race series dates and locations.
HEALTH – The Bozeman HS and Gallatin HS NICA Teams do require a sports physical from a healthcare provider for every student-athlete before they are able to participate in their first team practice. This is a typical Bozeman School District requirement. If your child has had a sports physical during the 22-23 school year in another sport, that counts (must be after August 1st, 2022)!
CONCUSSIONS – The Bozeman HS and Gallatin HS NICA Teams require Impact Baseline Concussion testing for ALL student-athletes in grades 8th thru 12th. This is an online computer test the student-athlete can complete at home in less than 30 mins. The cost of the baseline concussion testing will be covered by Bozeman Youth Cycling.
PARENT INVOLVEMENT – The NICA team is not a normal drop-off youth sports team. Outside of our 1 Head Coach and 3 Assistant Coaches – all of our coaches are parent/community member VOLUNTEERS! There are many ways for you to contribute to our team community both on and off a bike! Please reach out – if you’re interested in coaching, please let us know HERE.

*Student-athletes who meet ALL the practice requirements will have priority registration for the following season.

*Parents will also need to sign liability waivers for Bozeman Youth Cycling and Crosscut Mountain Sports Center.

Spring and Summer Practice Schedule (2023)

May/June 2023: Pre-season events (these are HIGHLY encouraged to attend!):

Online Parent Info Meeting
Student-Athlete Team Meetings
Fix-a-Flat Clinic for Coaches (only; Valley West Park Pavilion)
Bike Check and Helmet Fit (Lindley Center)
Skills Carnival for High School and Middle School
Monday, July 3rd – First practice evening for the whole team up at Crosscut!

July/August 2023: Bozeman NICA Team practices will take place 2 to 3 days per week, per the following schedule:

Monday – Entire Team – 5:15pm to 7:15pm – Crosscut Mountain Sports Center
Wednesday – High School Team – 9am to 11am – Town Trails (Sunset Hills/Lindley/Highland Glen/Painted Hills/Triple Tree trails) – meet at Lindley Center
Wednesday – Middle School Team – 4:45pm to 6:30pm – Town Trails (Sunset Hills/Lindley/Highland Glen/Painted Hills/Triple Tree trails) – meet at Lindley Center
Friday evening/Saturday morning – periodically, mixed locations

September/October 2023: Bozeman NICA Team practices will continue to take place 1-2 days per week during September and part of October!

Mondays and Wednesdays 4:15pm to 5:45pm – town trails (a couple Crosscut practices too!)
Check TeamReach for most up-to-date practice schedule!

We realize that not every participant will make every practice – and that’s okay!
Come when you can! But please see practice requirement details above.

TRAIL WORK: We love contributing to our trail systems and we love supporting our team partners Crosscut Mountain Sports Center and GVLT. We will have trail work days scheduled this summer. Please try and sign-up for at least one trail work event! More trail work = more trails (and features) to bike on!

Parent Involvement

The Bozeman NICA Team is committed to creating a sense of community and excitement around mountain biking. One of the ways we accomplish this is by asking you, the parents, to be involved! There are volunteer opportunities for everyone: we need lots of parents willing to ride with groups at practice (and, no, you don’t need to be an expert!) but we also need parents to help with carpooling, team communications, fundraising, travel and food logistics for races, and much, much more. Please reach out to get involved – WE NEED YOU!

Racing

The Bozeman NICA Team is all about having fun, teaching skills, enhancing fitness, and building confidence on the bike. We believe cycling has the added ability to instill skills that will benefit students well into their adult lives, whether a rider races or remains a recreational cyclist, and we want students to first and foremost discover those life skills.

Many of our participants may want to try racing or strengthen their love for cycling by racing. The newly-formed Montana NICA League will be hosting five cross-country races this fall. As we know from previous seasons – these races are guaranteed to be fun, community-building events, as well a chance to meet youth riders from around the state. Racing is encouraged, however, racing is optional and nobody will be pressured to race.