Season 9 of NJ NICA opens soon and we are excited to start our second season! We are your local interscholastic mountain bike (MTB) team.
Information Meeting: Sparta Library, lower meeting room ℹ️ℹ️ℹ️
Date/Time/Location: Thursday December 5th 2024, 6:30pm -- View the pretty graphic here
Sussex County Composite Mountain Bike Club is your local interscholastic mountain bike team. Come out and learn more about riding and racing with us as a member of New Jersey Interscholastic Cycling League, one of 30 National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) leagues across the country
How to join the team 🤝🤝🤝
- You can follow NJICL's directions here or...
- You can jump right to the contact form here and get the wheel rolling!
- Once you have contacted us, we can invite you to register!
- Once you are registered, we can get you in the communcation loop, share our schedule and hopefully accomplish anything else that
About The Sussex County Composite Mountain Bike Club - Cubs 🐻🐻🐻
The SCCMTB Team is a team of young women and men from the middle and high schools in Sussex County NJ. We compete in the New Jersey Interscholastic Cycling League (NJICL) which is part of National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA). Team rides start in October and run until late June. Races start in April and run through June.
Racing is encouraged, but not required, just join us to ride with friends. No experience necessary. Nobody sits on the bench!
#rideBikesNotBenches
Coaches are trained and certified by NICA. Want to coach? Contact us!
About the NJICL 🎖️ 🏆 🏅
The NJ Interscholastic Cycling League produces a scholastic based spring club sport mountain bike race series.
- Co-ed, no cuts, everyone rides -- No experience, no problem!
- Scholarships & loaner bikes available -- No bike, no problem!
- Open to all NJ High School & Middle School students
- Part of NICA, with over 22,000 student athletes across 30 states and growing
- We welcome and provide training to adult volunteers -- We'd love to have you!
About NICA 🏅 🏆 🎖️
The National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) is guided by values of fun, inclusivity, equity, respect, and community. Every youth is empowered to be part of a thriving and engaged cycling community. We build strong minds, bodies, character, and communities through cycling.
Try It Out 🎟️🎟️🎟️🎟️
Want to see if The SCCMTB is a good fit for you? Come to one of our "Try It Out" rides and meet kids and coaches from the team, learn some basic skills, and hit the trails!
2024-2025 Try-It-Out Rides:
- Location/Date/Time: TBD
- Contact us and let us know if we should host our Try-it-out at your local park!
Please email hi@sussex-county-nj-mtb.org and we can let you know when our next “Try It Out” ride is.
What do I need in order to ride with SCCMTB? 🚴 🚴♂️ 🚴♀️
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A mountain bike that's in good working order. Safety is our top priority. With that in mind, some bikes from big box stores look like mountain bikes, but don't hold up to the demands of the sport. Give us a shout if you're not sure if your child's bike is appropriate for trail riding. We also have loaner bikes available on a first-come basis!
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A properly fitting helmet. Helmets should sit level on the head, not bounce or move, cover the rider's forehead and have a working chin strap.
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Weather-appropriate clothes (jacket, hat, gloves if necessary). It's always best to have the ability to shed layers as riders warm up on cool days. This requires a backpack or hydration pack that can hold a light jacket.
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Water. A bike water bottle mounted to the bike or hydration pack is best, but a water bottle in a backpack will do for a try-it-out ride
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A waiver. Please print, sign, and bring this waiver with you (this also applies to parents who are considering coaching). This waiver allows you to ride one time with the team. After that, if you sign up, you're cleared to attend all preseason rides, practices, and races!
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A sense of adventure! Come prepared to ride for about 2 hours and for a great time!
FAQ - Ride with the SCCMTB Cubs! ❓ 🚵 🚵♂️ 🚵♀️
Here are some of the most common questions about joining the Cubs.
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What towns does the SCCMTB Club cover? 🤔 🤔 🤔
- If your student athlete lives or goes to school in Sussex County New Jersey, then we're your team!
- Andover, Branchville, Byram, Frankford, Franklin, Fredon, Green, Hamburg, Hampton, Hardyston, Hopatcong, Lafayette, Montague, Newton, Ogdensburg, Sandyston, Sparta, Stanhope, Stillwater, Sussex, Vernon, Walpack and Wantage
- If you register with your area team, you are in turn allowed to ride with any team in the state (if they have the ability to support more athletes)!
- If your student athlete lives or goes to school in Sussex County New Jersey, then we're your team!
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Oh no, I don't see my town above. Can I still join? 🫠 🫠 🫠
- Hopefully! Maybe Wikipedia let us down! No problem, contact us or click here for the league's team map to find your local team. If you don’t see your town on the league map, just contact us and we will get you out riding with whichever group works best for you!
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What ages are eligible for the team? 👶🏽 👩🏽🦳 👶🏽
- Student athletes in grades 5 through 12 can join the team.
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Can I try it out? 😏 😏 😏
- Heck yes! You will have to sign a one-time waiver so you can join us on a team practice ride (kids and potential coaches are welcome).
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Is NICA co-ed? 👨👩👧👦 👨👩👧👦 👨👩👧👦
- The co-ed-iest! The league is looking to grow our female shredders out there. NICA's GRiT program is specifically designed to welcome female riders to the sport.
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Is experience necessary? 😎 😎 😎
- No. We do, however, ask that your child can confidently ride a bicycle.
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My child loves to ride bikes. But I'm not sure if he/she would enjoy racing. Is racing mandatory? 🏁 🏅 🏁
- Absolutely not! Some of our student athletes love racing, while others enjoy the exercise with friends or plain old fun that comes with riding. The SCCMTB team's main goal is getting more kids riding bikes and to sharing the thrill of mountain biking. Racing is awesome, but winning races is not what it is all about.
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Is a mountain bike necessary? 🚵🏾♀️ 🚵🏾♀️ 🚵🏾♀️
- Yes, you will need your own mountain bike. We do have team loaner bikes for short-term use. The league does have some loaner bikes for long-term use for needs based riders.
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Will any mountain bike do? 🚵🏼 🚵🏼 🚵🏼
- Well, that is a tricky question.. There are a lot of bikes out there that are designed to look like mountain bikes, but can't hold up to the demands of the sport. A good rule of thumb: if a bike shop sold you a mountain bike, you're likely good to go. If it was purchased from a big box store, it may not be safe for riding on trails and you should check with a coach.
- Need a bike: let us know. The league may be able to assist you and/or other members may be able to help you find a bike!
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When does your season run? 🐥 🐥 🐥
- Registration starts Oct 15th. Preseason starts after registration opens. This is a great time to try riding with the team. Our regular season runs from December to June and you may register anytime during the season. But it should be noted that athletes that register before (need the date) receive a custom number plate for their bike from the league.
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What does the practice schedule look like? 📅 📅 📅
- Throughout the coldest months, we try to get in one ride per weekend, weather permitting. Once we change the clocks in the Spring, our season ramps up and we have two weeknight practices in addition to a weekend ride.
- If we have enough athletes and coaches, we will break kids out by skill level.
- We also partner with neighboring teams and ride with them, so if our schedule doesn't work or if you want to check out other trails, its always an option!
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What if your practice conflicts with another sport my child plays? 🙀 🙀 🙀
- All good, we realize kids are busy and have other commitments. But we're flexible. All we ask is that your child makes it to practice when possible.
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Where do you practice? 🌎 🌎 🌎
- Kittatiny Park, Weldon, Sparta Glen.
- Know any good trails we should be riding? Let us know! We'd love to know every trail in our area.
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When and where are the races? 🌍 🌍 🌍
- Racing season starts in April and runs through June. We participate in 5 races that are spread out around New Jersey.
- Please chec the NJICL to see the official schedule.
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Cool sports like mountain biking are always expensive. How much is it to join? 🤑 🤑 🤑
- Our league frequently claims to be the best deal in youth sports -- and we agree! For approximately $300, your child gets over 6 months of riding and racing. There are no additional fees to participate in races. Please don't let finances dictate your decision...scholarships are available.
- The cost of a mountain bikes covers a wide range. If you don't have a bike yet, please let us know. The league may be able to help you out or someone may have some leads on quality used bikes! League members also get discounts with league partners.
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What are the goals of SCCMTB? 👩🏽🎓 👩🏿🎓 👩🎓
- 💪🏼 Build strong bodies, strong minds, strong characters, and strong communities
- Have fun, ride and race safely, and include and value every rider.
- Get as many kids on bikes as possible!
- Introduce mountain biking to as many kids as possible
- To make our club redundant by inspiring the creation of a NICA team for every middle and high school in Sussex County!
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Sounds great! How do I sign up! 📜 📜 📜
- It's easy! Contact our Team Director and he'll send you the sign-up link and answer any questions you have.
Donations or Sponsor SCCMTB 💸 💸 💸
The SCCMTB Team's goal is to get as many kids on bikes as possible, so we work hard to keep costs at an absolute minimum. To do that, we rely on the generosity of corporate and individual sponsors.
Your donation will help pay for:
- Tools and spare parts
- Coach's training
- CPR and first aid
- Travel reimbursement
- Healthy food and snacks for race day
- SO MUCH more
Want to get on our jersey?
- Sponsor us!
Contact our Team Director for information on how to donate. Thank you for your support!