St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School will be hosting the 7th Annual Tennessee Interscholastic Cycling League Championships for high school and middle school on Sunday, Nov. 3.
The state championship race is the last of a five-race series for the NICA Tennessee League’s 2019 event schedule. There is a course pre-ride Saturday afternoon. Category races for middle school, girls, varsity and junior varsity will begin on Sunday morning. The individual and team award ceremony will take place at the conclusion of the races.
Many volunteers are needed to support the race championships. Opportunities to help on Saturday with course setup and on Sunday with various jobs are open for signup on the league website at
www.tennesseemtb.org.
SAS coaches Speed Baranco, Beth Pride Ford and Michael Short coach a team of 31 middle and high school riders with the assistance of parent and community volunteers Jill Mollica, Karen Singer,
Barbara Fox, Sian Baranco, Steve Holt, Alex Durant, John Fox, Alex Neubauer and Pete Mollica.
"St. Andrew’s–Sewanee offers a comprehensive mountain biking program for students in grades six through 12. The SAS mountain biking program is designed to provide a wide range of riding experiences for boys and girls of all ages and abilities. The coaches are committed to creating a positive environment that fosters respect, support, inclusiveness, fairness, safety, enthusiasm and work ethic," officials said.
There will be three programs offered during the fall semester. The upper school racing team is composed of experienced riders who compete against other schools in the Tennessee NICA (National Interscholastic Cycling Association) league. Boys and girls compete in separate divisions with categories for freshmen, sophomore, junior varsity and varsity riders. With the newly introduced middle school competition in the Tennessee league, SAS also fields a middle school racing team for experienced middle school riders. For middle school students who would like to learn basic mountain biking skills and simply enjoy riding the trails without competing, there is a non-competitive afternoon mountain biking program offered as part of the overall program.