2024 GRiT Gatherings
GRiT Gatherings are for female student-athletes and coaches looking to meet other females who love to mountain bike! These gatherings include fun icebreaker games, a short skills session, a fun no-drop ride ride, and some sort of delicious treat. These events are all FREE! Come to as many as you would like. Please note that coaches who attend will receive 3 CEUs.
Know of a friend who might want to “try it out” but isn’t signed up? They can fill out this waiver HERE and join for us to three events!
2024 Nevada North + NorCal GRiT Summer Camp – July 11-13 at Tahoe Donner in Truckee, CA
We are really excited to announce that we are co-hosting a GRiT summer camp with the NorCal League. This camp will be an awesome opportunity to make new friends, empower one-another, learn mountain bike and camping skills, enjoy time on-and-off the bike, and more!
Who: All female mountain bike student-athletes grades 6-12 who are registered in the PitZone. All fitness and skill levels are welcome!
What: 3 days of fun, riding, and empowerment
When: July 11-13th, 2024
Where: Tahoe Donner, Truckee, Ca
Cost: $415
We have 15 Nevada North middle school spots and 15 Nevada North high school spots. We also have scholarship opportunities available. You can learn more about scholarships below.
Campers will need to bring their own camping gear. We will provide a packing and equipment list. If you do not have camping gear, reach out to Nikki at nikki@nevadamtb.org and we will help you find gear for the camp!
We have scholarships available if needed!
Please have female athletes fill out this link here if a scholarship is needed for camp: Nevada North Scholarship Application
WHY JOIN GRiT?
Currently, girls represent 20% of NICA’s overall national student-athlete participation. NICA GRiT (Girls Riding Together) seeks to increase that number significantly over the next five years. The GRiT Program is NICA’s effort to recruit and retain more girls and female coaches in NICA programs.
NICL GRiT Goals
HAVE FUN
Activities are focused on increasing girls awareness of NICA programs by offering girls-only social and riding opportunities for girls, moms, friends, siblings and female coaches. GRiT Camps and GRiT student-athlete Ambassador programs are available in some leagues as well!
BE EMPOWERED
GRiT recognizes the need to get more girls on bikes. GRiT’s goal is to empower female student-athlete’s to make their mark, on or off the bike. All NICA leagues have an individual GRiT Coordinator to implement programming from the NICA GRiT Tool box and events at the league level.
EQUITY
Girls Riding Together is NICA’s initiative to increase female participation to 33% overall by 2023. With help from the Walton Family Foundation, and a number of other sponsors and NICA leagues across the country, GRiT’s mission is to provide fair treatment, equal access, opportunity, advancement and elimination of barriers to encourage participation for all.
COMMUNITY
NICA is making a concentrated effort to increase the number of girls and female coaches in NICA programs by focusing on creating a more welcoming environment for girls to join through girls-only events, rides, camps, clinics and socializing opportunities.
GRiT CHALLENGE
Why do NICA leagues need a special program to recruit more girls and females if NICA programming is inclusive and equal?
Although NICA has been successful in providing equal opportunities to all once participating in our programs, we can only be truly equal when we address many females need different things to feel welcome and invited into NICA programs.
RECRUITMENT
Girls tend to thrive in NICA programs once they join. Where NICA has to improve is in our recruiting and inviting girls into our programs. NICA must focus on equity – giving girls and females the experiences and opportunities to ensure they feel welcome and invited to participate in NICA programs – if it is to increase our overall female participation.
RETENTION
To address the participation challenge, the GRiT Program recognizes that girls and women often join sports and activities for different reasons than boys and men, especially in a male-dominated sport like mountain biking. GRiT focuses on both recruitment and retention to ensure female riders keep riding after their first year.
EXPERIENCES
Without GRiT, we are missing a significant opportunity to offer girls and women the amazing experiences and empowerment that mountain biking provides. To empower all our participants to seek inclusivity and equality
FEEL WELCOME
To make everyone feel welcome. To make mountain biking equally accessible to all.
HOW TO GET INVOLVED IN GRiT
CONNECT
For more information about GRiT in your local community, reach out to our NICL GRiT Coordinator:
Northern Conference:
- Nikki Peterson (nikki@nevadamtb.org)
PARTICIPATE IN GRiT EVENTS
GRiT events are happening now across the state. Come out, meet other NICL riders and have fun!
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DONATE
You can help us achieve our goal by donating to the NICL GRiT program HERE. We greatly appreciate the support and every dollar helps!