Nordic Mountain: aka Mt. Morris aka Mt. Mosquito aka Mud Mountain

From twisting trail winding through the woods where you can see your friends and competitors at every turn, to grueling climbs up the grassy pondside hill, and racing though the camping area where your teammates are chillin’ waiting for you to finish, Nordic Mountain has been part of NICA racing in Wisconsin for many years. Student athletes tend to have a love/hate experience on this course. It’s both exciting and flowing and challenging, with a 300’+ elevation gain at 15+% grade, for a bit. Whether the sun is beating down on your back as you race the open space or it’s downpouring rain creating rivers in the trail, this venue is one that you will always remember. Here’s hoping for dry weather so we don’t have to call the 16-wheel tractors to pull out our rigs!

Get your climbing legs ready for this race, you will need them! Coaches, be sure to practice hill repeats and shifting gears for this event so your athletes are prepared for Nordic Mountain!

Half the League will race over October 1-2 and the other half over October 8-9. This newsletter covers both races so keep reading and star this message for future reference if you are on for Nordic #2. See you on the mountain!

Renee Griswold, League Director
Angela Brooks, Program Manager/Race Director

2021 Nordic Mountain Highlights

What’s Covered In This Newsletter?

▪ Race Guide – Refer to it often!
▪ Check Your Race Times
▪ Camping
▪ Team Pitzone
▪ Volunteer and Earn Priority Pitzone Placement!!
▪ Last Chance for Raffle Tickets!
▪ Warm-Up Area
▪ Food Options
▪ Bonus Fun!
▪ Coach Training at Nordic Mountain Weekends
▪ How to be a Good Spectator
▪ Lowes Creek Recap
▪ Taking Care of Yourself?

Race Guide – Refer to it often!

We are paperless so this is the source for all things racing! Updates are made often so always check it out before a race.

Registration, race plates, course map, schedule for the weekend and more. Please take the time to read it so you know the scoop and download what you need for race weekend.

2022 RACE GUIDE

REMINDER: Online race registration is made in Pitzone and closes at 11:59pm the Tuesday before each race.

On-site registration is available but has a late fee and athletes lose their staging position if they are not registered by the Tuesday night deadline.

Check Your Race Times

IMPORTANT: Please check the Race Guide each week for current wave start times. D1 & D2 will alternate between start times and there may be other modifications as well. Pending any extenuating last minute changes, the schedule listed on Thursday before each race day should be accurate.

Camping

Camping reservations are made with your Team Camping Planner. Please contact him/her/them for all your team details.

The Nordic Mountain course is being reviewed and possibly redesigned in some areas but there is potential that camping access will cross the course. If this is the case and you must leave the venue before all racing ends, your full cooperation and patience with Race Officials will be essential at the course crossing. You will only be able to exit when they have deemed it safe for all athletes, which may require waiting a while at the crossing. Thank you for your full cooperation.

Team Pitzone

The Team Pitzone is located near the race start and is ideal for race day operations. Athletes can gather at your Pitzone tent on Sunday to warm-up, get tune-ups and prepare for staging before they race.

Pitzone Set-up:
Saturday, 11:00am-5:00pm
Sunday, 7:00-8:00am
Reminder, vehicles should be in Pitzone for a little time as possible. Unload, park vehicle, return to set-up. Please do not set-up your space until you have moved your vehicle.

Pitzone Tear-Down: Sunday starting at approx 3:15
Tear-down your Pitzone space before bringing in your vehicle so you can load quickly and move your vehicle promptly from Ptizone.

Trash is again carry-in/carry-out. Please plan accordingly.

Reminder all bikes need to be WALKED in Pitzone. Where does Pitzone officially start and end?? Look for our new pool noodle markers at Nordic. Inside the pool noddle zone…..walk your bike (and using your bike as a scooter is not walking).

Volunteer and Earn Priority Pitzone Placement!!

Volunteers have fun and simple training is provided!

You don’t need experience and you don’t need to miss your athlete’s race as a volunteer. From helping people figure out where to park to watching the races on the course or riding your bike during the race helping athletes during their races there are opportunities for you. These are some of the volunteer needs.

Teams who rack up the highest percentage of volunteer hours based on their team size at each race will receive PRIORITY PITZONE PLACEMENT for their next race!! WOOT!! (Yes, Trek hours will transfer to the 2023 season).

Which volunteer position is right for you?

Consider your athlete’s race schedule. Consider how much time you are willing to give to your athlete’s race to make it successful and awesome. Look at the volunteer registration form and find the times that coordinate with those factors. Find jobs that you would enjoy based on the descriptions in the signups and remember, training is provided so give anything a try.

Questions? Please contact the League’s fantastic Volunteer Coordinator, Allison Carmody.

NORDIC MOUNTAIN #1 VOLUNTEER SIGNUP

NORDIC MOUNTAIN #2 VOLUNTEER SIGNUP

ROVER VOLUNTEER SIGNUP (LEVEL 2 & 3 COACHES ONLY)

Our State Championship at TREK will be here before you know it! Get involved!

VOLUNTEER FOR TREK RACE

Last Chance for Raffle Tickets!

Grand Prize: Trek Top Fuel

October 2 & October 9 are the due dates for raffle tickets to be turned back into the WI League, depending which day your team is racing.

Please check with your team’s raffle coordinator on their plans to get your tickets ready for the big drawing at Trek on October 23.

The grand prize is a Trek Top Fuel Bike!! Many, many other prizes from personal bike gear like helmets and pedals along with bike accessories, swag and entry to bike events are all up for grabs! Get yourself a few more tickets and share this great opportunity with friends and family too!

Warm-Up Area

Please check the map for the designated warm-up area. Please do not use the roads or parking areas for warm-up.

Food Options

Food Trucks expected on Sundays at Nordic #1 & #2
Taco Tuties & Englewood Farm

Nordic #1 Only
On The Fritz Concessions

Nordic # 2 Only:
Fire Truck Pizza

Bonus Fun!

GRiT: Girls Riding Together
Saturdays, October 1 & October 8
12:00pm Meet at the GRiT tent wearing pink and make posters
12:30pm GRiT Ride. All female identifying athletes and coaches welcome.

Questions? Contact Heather Rainer Peat, GRiT Coordinator.

NICA Adventure
Skills Course & Adventure Tent
We are set for Adventure Activities on Saturday, October 1 but we are seeking a few coaches to help out on October 8. Please contact Joe, below, if you can help.

Skills Course will be open Saturday at 5:00 through 2:00 on Sunday. Check it out!

On The Bike Games Saturday 5:30-7:00pm

The Adventure Tent will be staffed from 9:00-11:00am on Sunday. Come by and say HI!

Questions? Contact Joe FitzGibbon, Adventure Coordinator.

Teen Trail Corps Tent
Stop by the new Teen Trail Corps tent and learn all about TTC opportunities and how to EARN TTC BADGES for your trail work. Information will be posted all weekend and TTC volunteers will be available to answer questions at various times too.

Questions, reach out to Mike Seiler, Teen Trail Corps Coordinator.

Coach Training at Nordic Mountain Weekends

OTB 101
Saturday, October 1 or Saturday, October 8
2:00-5:00pm with Heather Rainer Peat
Meet at the GRiT Tent (classes are co-ed)

Up your coaching skills at these easy-access OTB courses. Space is limited and pre-registration is required so act fast! (However, please be sure your team is not counting on you to maintain pre-ride coach/student athlete ratios before registering.)

OTB 201
Saturday, October 8
7:00am-1200pm with Angela Brooks
Meet at the GRiT Tent (classes are co-ed)
Friday night camping, with checking starting at 5:00pm, is available for coaches registered for this class via the Registration Link below (not via your Team Camping Planner)

Coaches must have previously completed OTB 101 to enroll in OTB 201 as this is the second level of mountain bike skills instruction for NICA coaches of student-athletes.

REGISTER HERE

How to be a Good Spectator

NICA races are so exciting! Watching athletes work so hard and accomplish new goals is a rush! Sometimes the excitement can get in the away though of good spectator etiquette and this can cause hazards to athletes and race officials. Please keep the following in mind and realize the poor spectator behavior can result in a team penalty.

Always be aware of your surroundings, even behind you! Walking a trail to get to good spot? Check over your shoulder often for athletes on the course and always move well out of their way.

Course tape is there for a reason – please find the designated path to where you want to go. We build crossings in where they are allowed and safe. Please do not duck under/jump over course tape.

Be a good sport. Be a good role model to your child and all student athletes by remaining calm and positive.

Keep the course clear. Only cross the active course if absolutely necessary. You might think it is clear but athletes are fast and they need a clear path ahead.

Listen to Race Officials. They have a job to do to keep the race going safely. Please cooperate and follow their instructions with a smile.

Bike Patrol ALWAYS has right of way. They are just like an ambulance on the road, on a bike or when driving their UTV. Clear the way immediately when you hear their the horn or voices so they can get to the person in need as quickly and safety as possible….it could be your child they are trying to help some day.

Keep small children (and dogs) close and help them learn to be good spectators too.

Only help athletes with their bikes on course if they ask. Many athletes can fix their own bikes and there are time penalties for getting outside assistance so please don’t jump in unless they ask.

All these rules, and more, are found in the NICA HANDBOOK and all coaches, parents, spectators and athletes are expected to know and follow the rules. Many of the spectator-specific rules are in Section 3.

Thank you for helping all athletes have a safe and fast race!

Lowes Creek Recap

A cool Saturday with some evening rain brought sunny skies for racing on Sunday but it sure was windy! Athletes navigated between the stumps and trees on well-draining sand which made for pretty great racing conditions.

The Sussex team even celebrated homecoming-away-from-home during pre-ride!

Race results and photos will be posted here but give photos a bit more time to upload if you are quick to click today. A big thanks to our photographers this weekend!

See you at your next race!
Renee Griswold, League Director

***

Taking Care of Yourself?

Dr. Jared Hunter, of Paramount Performance, joined us at the Englewood Farm race and shared his insight on warm-up, cool-down and recovery for MTB Athletes. Here is a reference sheet based on the important topics in this session for easy incorporation to practices.

Paramount Performance is offering Wisconsin League Athletes and Coaches the following:

▪ 15-minute injury screens for $15 (originally $25)
▪ $100 off a 60-minute physical therapy session
▪ 24/7 injury triage consultations for advice and consultation for any symptoms and/or injury
Contact Paramount Performance today. Locations in Sun Prairie and Green Bay.