Amazing Opportunities in June!

We have some amazing opportunities coming up this month! Bentonville is the host of the NICA National Conference, and the leadership for the 25 leagues across the country will be descending on our state in less than a week! With the conference brings some extra special activities for our league:

* NICA Natoinal Conference and Arkansas League Ice Cream Social, Party, and Panel on June 16
* Advanced Skills Clinic for Student-Athletes June 11
* Nutrition for Cyclists Class June 18

We hope you take advantage of these opportunities!

We are also so proud of the Pea Ridge Trail Build on June 2. We made a ton of progress toward having an approachable, accessible trail for the students at that school and the members of the community. See the picture below – we had a great crowd! Don’t miss out on the next one – June 30.

We also have an introduction below of a new Gold level Arkansas League Sponsor, Simmons Foods! We are delighted to partner with Simmons over the next few years!

Kyla and the Arkansas Team

NICA National Conference – Arkansas League Party June 16

It is a really special and unique thing to have the NICA National Conference in Bentonville. Of the 23 states with existing leagues, they chose us to visit! Below is the note we sent out a couple weeks ago from NICA National to invite our league to participate in some of the events of the conference.

Arkansas League!

NICA is so excited to be coming to Bentonville for the 2018 NICA Conference! We look forward to seeing the sights, hitting the trails and partaking in the great culture, food and vibe and most importantly, connecting with all of you!

We greatly appreciate Kyla for not only helping us coordinate our conference, but for envisioning, creating and facilitating this fabulous time with the Arkansas league.

NICA is pleased to invite the Arkansas League to join the NICA conference Saturday afternoon and evening! Here are the opportunities (all occur in Downtown Bentonville):

Ice Cream Social and Dinner
When: Saturday 6:00 pm
Who: NICA Arkansas Coaches, Parents and Students
Location: Compton Gardens

Ice Cream social (provided for all) and food truck dinner (optional, self pay)
Details: Join us for a fun ice cream social! We’ll have door prizes, games, and an art project in addition to free ice cream! Food trucks will be available for you to purchase dinner.

NICA Conference Saturday Evening Closing Panel
When: Saturday 7:00 PM
Who: NICA Parents and Coaches
Location: Meteor

7:00 PM Cocktail Hour (no host)
7:30 PM Conference Panel:

“What do we want NICA and youth cycling to look like in 20 years? How can we — individually and collectively — influence and lead the movement?”

Facilitator: Kyla Templeton, Arkansas League Director

Panel Members:
Austin McInerny, NICA President
Brendan Quirk, Cycling Program Director, Runway Group
Lucas Euser, Sports Marketing, Clif Bar and Company
League Director Representatives

We look forward to meeting all of you!

The NICA National Team

Advanced Skills Clinic June 11

June 11
8:30 am – 12:30 pm
Slaughter Pen Bike Park
We have an awesome opportunity to do another skills clinic with Ben Tufford from Cognition Coaching. He’s coming to Arkansas for the NICA National Conference and he’s going to offer an advanced skills clinic. The requirement for attending this clinic is having raced in at least 4 NICA races with a desire to improve performance and a confirmation from their coach.

The clinic is only open to 15 participants. Cost is $75.

Time to get more ‘Race Specific’

Race starts
How to win the race before is begins

Sprinting
Use good sprinting form and technique to leave your competition eating dust.

Passing safely & effectively
Other riders are like rocks and trees that move on the trail. Learn how to communicate and pass safely.

High-Speed cornering
Use your entire body to take your turns to another level.

Climb with a plan
Use your BRAIN and your legs to get to the top faster than ever.

Nutrition for Cyclists June 18

June 18
6 pm – 7 pm
$5
Brightwater: A Center for the Study of Food
801 SE 8th Street Bentonville, AR 72712

Join us on Monday, June 18th, 6 – 7pm in the Brightwater Culinary Theater for our Nutrition for Cyclists seminar! During this seminar, Chef Dietitian Erin will discuss food as fuel and healthy pre and post workout snacks. We will provide samples and recipes of homemade energy balls and smoothies. $5 per athlete, contact Erin at eszopiak@nwacc.edu if you have additional questions. Brightwater: A Center for the Study of Food 801 SE 8th Street Bentonville, AR 72712
Stock number:8806552

Register HERE

Arkansas NICA Gold Sponsor Simmons Foods!

Simmons Foods is excited to join the Arkansas National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) family through sponsorship. We are a leading supplier of poultry, pet and animal nutrition products based in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. We are proud to be a private, family-owned business that believes there is always a better way. We often use the phrase “Simmons Strong” to describe our culture because we believe in strong people, strong performance and strong progress. Like NICA Arkansas, we are driven by that define how we operate as a business and as individuals.

“As a company that never stops building within our own business, we are also committed to building strong communities, families and individuals. I find cycling to be a great way to maintain a healthy lifestyle, and was thrilled to learn about the Arkansas National Interscholastic Cycling Association and their mission to build the character of our youth through the sport. We applaud NICA for being an organization that promotes health, wellness and character building. We are thrilled to be sponsors of this program and are excited about what’s to come,” said Todd Simmons, CEO of Simmons Foods.