What are NICA and the SoCal League? School mountain bike racing, explained

NICA is the National Interscholastic Cycling Association, a nonprofit that runs cross-country mountain bike leagues for middle and high school students across the United States. It started in California in 2009 and now counts 33 leagues in 31 states, with more than 24,500 student riders and 14,500 volunteer coaches.

The SoCal League is the SoCal High School Cycling League, a separate nonprofit that has run middle and high school mountain bike racing in Southern California since 2008. It helped found NICA, left it in 2022 and now runs on its own. Events on our calendar named “SoCal League Race 1” and so on are its races.

For a family, the two work the same way. She joins a team, practices with trained coaches a couple of times a week, and races a handful of weekends a season. There are no tryouts and nobody sits out. NICA’s own phrase for it is “no selections and no sidelines.”

SoCal League racing is open to California residents in middle school (grades 6–8) or high school (grades 9–12), whether she goes to a public school, a private school or is homeschooled. Middle school racers have to be 11 to 15 during the school year, and high school racers 13 to 19. Kids in grades K–5 can register as Junior riders and practice with a team, but they do not race.

Golden State South takes students in grades 5 through 12, from Santa Maria south to San Diego.

Girls’ race categories in the SoCal League

Boys have the same high school categories and a few more middle school fields, split by grade. A typical race is two laps. Middle School Level 3 and Varsity usually race three.

Girls’ categories in Golden State South

NICA’s league sorts middle schoolers by grade. At its October 2026 festival the girls’ fields were Grade 5, Grade 6, Grade 7, Grade 8, JV2 and JV1. One thing to know: the JV numbers run the opposite way. In the SoCal League, JV1 is the entry level and JV2 is a step up. In NICA, new high school riders start in JV2 and move up to JV1.

• Nobody gets cut. There are no tryouts and no bench. Every registered rider practices, and every rider who wants to race can.
• The coaches are trained. Both leagues license their coaches and require a background check every year. On trail rides the SoCal League caps a group at eight riders with two coaches.
• Middle school is low pressure. The SoCal League keeps no team scores or season standings in middle school. Its rulebook says the point at that age is fun and fitness, not results.
• Girls count toward the team score. A high school team’s result cannot be all boys. In the SoCal League’s largest division, at most six of the eight scores that count can come from boys or from girls. In the smaller divisions it is three of four.
• There is a program just for girls. NICA’s GRiT (Girls Riding Together) runs girls-only rides, clinics and camps and recruits women coaches. Girls are 24% of NICA riders today, and the goal is 35% by 2033. Golden State South put a GRiT ride on the schedule of its October 2026 festival.
• It is a family weekend. Many families camp at the race venue, and every team needs parent volunteers.

The SoCal League calls 2026–27 Season 19. Registration opened in September 2026. The rulebook sets the rest of the calendar:

• Before October 15: no team riding.
• October 15 to November 30: pre-season. Teams can meet once a week, with the focus on skills and getting to know each other.
• December 1 to May 31: the regular season. Teams can practice up to four times a week, and riders are expected at two or more.
• February to April: the five-race series, then the state championships.

Points and team scores

• High school racers earn points at every race. Her best four of five results make up her season total, so one missed or bad race is dropped.
• Finishing all five races adds 25 bonus points.
• Middle school races each stand alone. Medals go five deep in every field, and nothing carries over.

The 2027 SoCal League schedule

State championships

The SoCal League hosts the California State Youth Cycling Championships after its series ends. In 2026 it was a standalone event open to any student in grades 6–12 who lives or goes to school in California. The rulebook also says a league rider has to start at least three series races to be eligible for a championship race.

NICA’s Golden State South season

Both leagues race cross-country: everyone in a category starts together and rides laps of a marked course on dirt roads and trails. Several categories share the course at once, started a few minutes apart in waves.

• Pre-ride. Riders can preview the course with a coach at set times during race weekend. It is a look around, not a practice race.
• Staging. Racers line up in a start chute. In SoCal League high school races the top riders in the standings are called to the front. Middle school has no call-ups.
• Laps. Usually two, or three for the top categories. NICA sets its lap counts so a middle school race takes no more than 45 minutes and a high school race no more than 75.
• She fixes her own bike. Racers carry their own tools and tube. In the SoCal League, outside help with a flat or a mechanical costs a five-minute penalty.
• The feed zone. It is the one place a parent or coach can hand her a bottle or food, hand to hand.
• No caffeine. The SoCal League bans caffeinated gels, bars and drinks at its races and practices.

Bike rules worth knowing

• A mountain bike with 26 to 29 inch wheels and knobby tires at least 1.75 inches wide. A rider too small for those wheels can ask for an exception.
• Working front and rear brakes, at least five gears in back, and plugs in the ends of the handlebars.
• No e-bikes for students, in races or at practice.
• A helmet any time she is on the bike, buckled.

Those are the SoCal League’s rules. Shopping for a bike that fits them? See our mountain bike buying guide.

1. 1.Find a team. The SoCal League has a team map and a contact form on its home page. Golden State South lists its teams with a coach’s email for each.
2. 2.Check which team she belongs on. In the SoCal League, a high schooler whose school has a team has to race for that team. If it does not, she can join a composite team for her area or register as an independent rider. Middle schoolers can join any team that takes them.
3. 3.Try a practice. One session is allowed before she registers.
4. 4.Register with the league. Every rider has to be registered and paid before she joins team practices. SoCal League registration is online. NICA leagues register through NICA’s Pit Zone, by invitation from the team.
5. 5.Sign up for a volunteer shift. The SoCal League asks for one shift per rider each race season.

What it costs

Help with fees exists in both leagues. The SoCal League has a scholarship application that goes through its coaches, and Golden State South has a financial assistance form on its site. NICA also runs the Trek NICA Pathfinders Scholarship for riders from communities of color, which gives selected riders a bike, a helmet and $365 toward fees.

School leagues are not built as a feeder system. NICA says plainly that it does not push kids toward elite racing, and in both leagues a rider does not have to race at all. For the ones who want more, there are a few next steps.

• In the SoCal League, the season ends at the California State Youth Cycling Championships, planned for Tehachapi in 2027.
• In Golden State South, riders can go to NICA’s first Western Regionals on November 14–15, 2026 in St. George, Utah, which brings ten NICA leagues together.
• Beyond the leagues, open races are run under USA Cycling, the official governing body for competitive cycling in the United States. Its junior fields are grouped by age, usually in two-year ranges, and a first-timer can race on a one-day license.
• The SoCal League treats outside races as separate from league activity. Its rulebook says a team should never require them.

The full path, from a first school race to national championships and the Olympics, is in our guide, So you want to compete in mountain biking.

School mountain biking started as a club at Berkeley High School in Northern California. That club grew into the NorCal League, founded in 2001. Its director, Matt Fritzinger, then took the model south, and the SoCal League was established in 2008. Its first season drew more than 100 students, which showed the idea could work somewhere new.

In 2009 Fritzinger launched NICA to help other states start leagues of their own, with the SoCal League as a founding member. In July 2022 the SoCal League announced it had ended that relationship. NICA accepted a new Southern California league, Golden State South, in October 2023. The SoCal League is now in its nineteenth season, with more than 1,000 student riders and about 700 coaches.

Yes. Races are held at parks, campgrounds and recreation areas, with team tents in a pit area and spectator spots along the course. Watching one is the easiest way to show her what it looks like before she joins. The SoCal League also has a live stream page for its middle and high school races. Check the race flyer for parking and venue fees before you go.

The SoCal League’s season opener, SoCal Shredfest on October 17, 2026 at SkyPark at Santa’s Village, is a riding day rather than a race, and teams set up booths there. Every upcoming race is on our events page.