In an effort to get more females to join the school’s mountain biking team, a member of the North Carolina Interscholastic Cycling League (NICA) came to Chapel Hill to talk to students about mountain biking in late November.
Libba Moravec, a member of NICA and Girls Riding Together (GRiT), promoted the sport and taught girls at Chapel Hill High School how to change a flat tire on a mountain bike.
Moravec has been mountain biking for ten years and is the head coach for three different mountain biking teams: Central Park School for Children Middle School, Durham School of the Arts and the Durham County Stampede, a composite team for any student-athlete in Durham County who wants to join a mountain biking team, but doesn’t have a school team.
“I have seen so many girls transform into incredible leaders on their team and in their community because they started riding,” Moravec said. “I am hoping that other girls find mountain biking and use it as a vehicle to reach their full potential and beyond.”
Moravec has visited over 15 schools in North Carolina to educate students about mountain biking. Over the last seven years, NICA has established middle and high school cycling programs in 25 states and regional leagues.
“Seventeen percent of the members of mountain biking teams in North Carolina are female. Our goal is to increase that number to 33 percent by 2023,” Moravec said.
NICA created GRiT to increase female involvement in mountain biking. According to its website, NICA’s goal is to create a fun, safe and competitive environment for young women to excel by promoting positive physical health, confidence and self-esteem and providing coach training.
“GRiT is geared toward young women because they’re often left out of the conversation. Its goal is to build a community—it provides a special area for girls to be safe and visible,” assistant mountain biking coach Kristen Morgan said. “GRiT also does clinics at races, for girls only, building skills.”
Two female students on the mountain biking team joined Moravec in the lesson and gave more information about the mountain biking season to potential team members.
Senior Alondra De La Rosa has been on the team since it started her freshman year, three years ago.
“When I first joined, I was one of the only girls, but now there are more on the team,” De La Rosa said. “I enjoy the people on the team the most. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be riding.”
Head coach Benjamin Reed also encouraged students to try the sport and possibly join the team.
He informed students about a scholarship program through the North Carolina Interscholastic Cycling League that helps students afford the league fees. The scholarship covers state and national registration fees and five individual race entry fees. He also gave students the option to loan a bike from the school to see if they wanted to commit to mountain biking.
“Everyone on the team is really supportive,” freshman Amelia Brinson said. “It’s a great environment to be a part of.”
The team races against 50 other school teams all throughout North Carolina.
The team’s season takes place between December and March and includes five races between March and May. Training for the mountain biking season spans four months between December and March.
