FAQ’s

1. What grade level can participate?
Any high school or middle schooler. No elementary students are allowed to participate

2. Can girls participate?
Absolutely. NICA has a program geared toward girls. GRIT (girls riding on bikes together)

3. What schools can participate?
Any student attending a public, charter, or private school in Buncombe County that does not have a NICA school based team. Please note that NICA determines team placement based on the school your child attends and not where you live.

4. My child is a homeschooler?
Home-school students can participate if they are in middle school or high school And their home-school is registered in Buncombe County.

5. When is the season and what days do you ride?
Pre-Season starts Oct 15 (Regular Season Beings Dec 1) and Season ends May 30th

Practice days are Saturdays or Sundays alternating and in spring adding one week day practice.

6. Where do your ride?
All local trails in Bent Creek and Dupont.

7. My son/daughter does other sports, is that a problem?
Not a problem … students can drop in and out of practice as needed based on the season.

8. Does my son/daughter have to race?
Races are not mandatory but we do encourage all team members to try a race.

9. My child has never ridden a bike or is a beginner or is super fast?
While we don’t have time to teach students to ride a bike, we base group rides on ability.
We also teach basic mountain bike skills. If your son/daughter is an advanced rider we
will break them up into a faster group.

10. What kind of training do coaches have?
All coaches are NICA trained and have concussion and risk management training as well as a background check.

11. Do you guys do races?
NICA provides 5 races across the state of NC.

The closest race is about 2 hours away at this
point and the farthest is about 5 hours away. Most races are near the Charlotte area.

12. Who does my child race against?
Student riders will only race against riders in their same grade level and gender.

For example, a 6th grade girl will
only race against other 6th grade girls from other NC NICA teams.

13. Do you provide bikes and transportation?
No transportation but we may be able to provide a loaner bike if necessary.

14. Can I ride/coach with the student athletes?
If you become a NICA coach and do the NICA concussion and risk management training as well as background check you can coach. Some fees may be paid for by the team.

15. Can I be a sponbsor?
Yes we are actively seeking sponsors for financial support of the team. See one of the coaches if interested. Also see our sponsor page on the web site.

16. Are there scholarships or bikes to help offset the cost?
The team is willing to help offset costs if needed. Also NICA does have a few loaner
bikes if needed. See a coach for more information.

17. Isn’t MTB biking dangerous?
NICA has a strong track record of being very safe, however, mountain biking, like any sport/activity, can be dangerous. Students are required to wear helmets and ride with a coach at all times.       NOTE: Biking cannot be made safe – it always has an inherent risk.

NICA's first priority is safety of student athletes.

18. I just found out about the team. Can I join mid-season?
If we have available capacity you could possibly join us till 1/31 when Student-Athlete Registrations Closes

18. How can I start a team at my own school? While our team is a composite team of different schools, the goal is to have each middleor high school start its own team. It is best to speak with the Pisgah Rage team director or email the NC NICA director directly.