Registration for our 2023 season will begin in the spring, with practices begining in July. Our season runs until the end of October.

Pre-Season Events (May/June)

May 2023: GRiT Try It Out Event at Blackhawk Ski Club, East Chalet.

May 2023: New Athletes & New Coaches meeting. Returning athletes are also welcome, but this meeting is geared toward new families. 

May 2023: Returning Athletes & Coaches meeting. We will host a meeting in mid-to-late May for returning athletes. More info to come via email.

The slides from the 2021 meeting can be found here.

Practices (July-October)

West Madison NICA mountain biking is considered a fall high school sport and runs during the summer and fall, starting the first or second week of July and ending near the end of October. Practice times and locations vary based on the school you attend. 

  • Students in the West High School district meet Tuesdays and Thursdays, 4:30 – 6:30 PM. If MMSD middle school end times continue to be at 4:17pm for the 2023-2024 school year, we will slightly shift the middle school practice times. More details will be shared via email.
  • Students in the Memorial, Verona, Oregon, Belleville, and New Glarus school districts meet Mondays and Wednesdays, 4:30-6:30 PM.

Early season practices start in early July and are held at local schools and parks (exact locations will be emailed before practices begin) for a few weeks, until all riders have practiced the skills needed to safely ride trails. We are fortunate to have two great mountain bike trail systems located off of bicycle commuter paths, so most riders are able to ride with the team to practice.

Adventure Rides (July-October)

Adventure rides are fun rides that can include scavenger hunts on bikes, exploring new trails, or even overnight camping trips to destinations further afield. The goals are to have FUN, support riders in developing confidence and new skills, and provide opportunities for riders to experience trails in new ways. Coaches will provide details during the season.

Girls Riding Together (GRiT)

The Girls Riding Together (GRiT) initiative is an effort by the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) to recruit and retain more girls and female coaches in NICA programs. The goal of the NICA GRiT initiative is to increase the overall participation rate to 33% female riders (coaches and student-athletes each) by 2023. #moregirlsonbikes!

We welcome and encourage female and female-identifying riders (student athletes and potential coaches) to check us out, whether you are a complete novice or an experienced rider! We welcome riders of all abilities and do everything we can to create a team and practice environment that is supportive of our female riders.

Summer/Fall Adventure Camps and Weekends

Dates to come.

Race Schedule (September-October)

In 2023, each team will participate in five races total (four weekend races, plus the championship race at Trek), beginning Labor Day weekend and concluding Oct 24 at Trek. Below are the two 2022 races our team attended 2023 dates will be provided once confirmed.

  • Sept 3-4 Telemark, Cable, WI
  • Sept 10-11, Minooka Park, Waukesha, WI
  • Sept 17-18, Englewood Farm, Fall River, WI
  • Oct 8-9, Nordic Mountain #2, Mt. Morris, WI
  • Oct 22-23 State Championships, Trek Trails, Waterloo, WI

Race Weekends

What does a race weekend look like?

Each race weekend is composed of a pre-ride on Saturday with racing on Sunday.

The race course opens up on Saturday afternoon for athletes to come and pre-ride the race course. Although this can be done any time the course is open, as a team, we coordinate a pre-ride, so that coaches can ride with the athletes, discuss challenging areas, and develop a race plan (where they can pass, where the slow sections vs. the fast sections are). Pre-riding is a great tool for anyone who is new to racing or nervous about racing.  

Sunday is our big race day. The morning starts with the middle school boys’ race. As with all the grade levels, athletes are grouped according to age. Each age group then has “waves” of riders.  These waves ensure that no one group is too crowded at the starting line.  

After the middle school boys, it’s the girls’ race. All the girls race during the same time frame, in waves and heats according to age, with the 6th grade girls starting off.

After the girls’ races, the day proceeds with Boys JV1, Boys JV2, and Varsity.

The award ceremony is the finale of the weekend.  

Many riders stay for some portion of the day after their race, but we understand that weekends go by quickly, and there are other things to attend to! We sometimes have the option to camp at the race venue, which can be a lot of fun.

We encourage you to participate in race weekends in the way that works best for your family. We are a family-oriented team and we respect and understand that each rider and family needs to make their own choices.