Mountain bike team forming in Sammamish
January 18, 2012
By Christopher Huber
While many young mountain-biking enthusiasts in Sammamish may have already spent time traversing one of the state’s few designated mountain bike parks in Duthie Hill Park, they now have an option to compete formally.
More and more cyclists from Eastlake, Skyline and other area high schools are joining the ranks of a new mountain biking team as it begins its second season of racing. The team, Eastside Composite, fielded about eight riders in 2011 looks to add up to seven more in 2012, said coach and Sammamish resident Phil Therrien.
“It gives high school-age kids just another alternative sporting activity that they can participate in and compete in at the state level,” said Therrien. “Kids interested in cycling as a recreational activity, now have a way to form clubs and teams.”
The growing contingent of cross-country-style cyclists is part of the rapidly expanding Washington High School Cycling League, which began in 2010. Leaders expect to see twice as many youth turnout for the sport in January than did last year.
“The Sammamish area is especially unique in that there is a high concentration of high schools located near these trails and one of the few mountain bike parks in our state,” said Lisa Miller, the league’s state director. “I can’t tell you how many times I have heard, ‘I wish I had this in high school.’ Bringing this sport to our high schools is a dream come true.”
Washington’s league is an expansion of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association, founded in 2009 and modeled after a cycling league started in Northern California in 2001. Washington is the third state to emulate its model for high school-level teams, Miller said.
In its inaugural racing season last year, 14 Washington teams saw 80 students and 60 coaches and ride leaders participate. Miller expects to see up to 200 racers at the state races this year. Nationally, about 2,100 high schoolers and 500 coaches were expected to participate this season, she said, which includes the launching of new leagues in Texas, Utah and Minnesota.
“The momentum is there and the goal is coast-to-coast by 2020,” Miller said.
League and team leaders tout the fact that it’s a no-cut sport that accepts youth with any level of skill or interest. All they need is a mountain bike and a helmet and they can join the team. Girls and boys in grades nine through 12 are welcome. At races, they are all scored together to create the team’s final score.
“Unlike many sports, there are no try-outs and nobody is benched,” said Miller. “I think this is especially important to those students that have never participated in school sports before and also for those students that want to try a new sport in high school.”
Sammamish’s team just began practices at Duthie Hill Park in mid-January. The season consists of four races, including the state championship, and runs from late March through late May, Therrien said. It’s as competitive or casual as each rider wants it to be, but riders who place high enough at state have a chance to compete at the national championship in July in Sun Valley, Idaho.
Aside from training for races, the team leaders focus on teaching overall fitness, nutrition and basic maneuvering skills that the youth will be able to apply in life and riding after high school, Thirrien said.
“A big part of the effort in training is really around general fitness,” he said. “Those are skills the kids can use the rest of their lives.”
Therrien said Washington hopes to emulate California’s growth. The originating state now fields 30 teams and the state championship race draws about 500 riders and looks like a large cyclocross production.
“This means we have a very good opportunity,” he said. “We’ll probably double ridership this year from last year.”
As the ridership grows, the Eastside Composite will split into school-specific teams, consisting of as few as six riders per school.
“This provides the unique experience that is unique to high school kids,” Therrien said.
Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com.
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