Flipping the Script: What Happens When You Build a Team Around Girls First?
What happens when girls are not just included, but centered? When a team is built around their experience, their voices, and their growth? The result is something powerful.
Try It Out is now Give it a Go: Here’s how we’re using it with GRiT
Looking for a simple way to welcome new riders to your team this season? Try It Out events are now called Give It a Go events, and we’re introducing a new GRiT Give It a Go event designed to help more girls feel comfortable trying mountain biking for the first time.
Teaching girls to speak up: Building voice and confidence on the trail
Ever noticed that quiet pause? You see it in a rider who lingers, maybe breathing just a bit harder than she’d like to admit. She’s weighing the next challenge, wondering if she should speak up about the pace or the obstacle ahead. That hesitation? It’s where NICA coaches can shine.
Want More Girls on Bikes? Start With a GRiT Coach Lead
The GRiT Coach Lead helps organize GRiT recruitment events, connects with the league’s GRiT Coordinator, and makes it easier for new girls and female coaches to find their place in NICA. It’s a simple role with an outsized impact, and every team benefits from having someone in this position.
Reframing “Sorry”: Teaching Girls to Take Up Space on the Trail
It happens all the time. A girl puts a foot down on a climb and says “sorry” to the rider behind her. She takes her time sessioning a rock garden and apologizes to the group. She drops back on a long climb and says she’s sorry for slowing everyone down. You don’t hear that nearly as often from the boys.
Camp Feature
Many NICA leagues have camps this time of year – from adventure riding camps to GRiT camps to skills clinics, kids have lots of opportunities to ride with their peers in new and exciting situations and places! One league that has been strong in their camp game is West Virginia NICA! This summer, WV held their 4th annual adventure riding camp and their 6th annual GRiT camp!
Introducing: NICA’s Guide to GRiT – a new CEU course
Coaches, we are excited to announce the launch of our newest NICA course: the GRiT CEU!
Celebrate Women’s Mountain Biking Day
This grassroots day of recognition is a time for women to gather and share their stoke for riding. It can involve anything from an informal group shred to an organized, stoke-filled event. IMBA, the International Mountain Biking Association, wants NICA teams to join in the fun across the country…
Grit with GRiT: tenacity and an unwavering vision in Tennessee
Tennessee’s Beth Pride Ford shares her experience with growing a GRiT program from the ground up, and the challenges – and joy – that can crop up along the way.
Celebrating a year of GRiT growth in 2022
The percentage of female student-athletes in NICA has held steady since we started tracking…until now! Over the past year, we’ve increased the percentage of girls… Read More »Celebrating a year of GRiT growth in 2022