MICL Categories and High School Upgrade Policy

New Race Categories!

Based on recommendations from NICA National as well as other NICA Leagues, we are changing up our race categories in the direction of ability-based in hopes of making them more streamlined for our student athletes.

Categories for the 2025 Season are as follows:

6th Grade– 6th Grade only (1 lap race)

7th Grade– 7th Grade only (1 lap race)

8th Grade– 8th Grade only (1 lap race)

Competitive 7th and 8th– for 7th and 8th grade Boys and Girls ready to race 2 laps and looking for a more competitive race.

JV3- This is a novice category with shorter races to make for an easy transition from middle school racing or introduction to mountain bike racing.

JV2- This is a step up from JV3 with a slightly longer race and a higher level of competition than JV3. This category is for:

JV1- This category is one step below Varsity and is for:

Varsity- This is the most competitive category with the longest races. It is for:

Here is our Category Change Request for reference. Please note that the Upgrade Petition Form can only be submitted by head coaches.