Local teen petitions to make mountain biking a school sport
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REXBURG — Fifteen-year-old Hunter Brown has a passion for mountain biking. He makes jumps, competes in races and now he’s trying to make mountain biking a recognized sport at Madison High School.
Hunter started a petition at the beginning of February to get mountain biking recognized as a sport at Madison High School. His petition got more than 200 signatures during its first week.
He has presented to a district board to make headway on his effort, but he’s finding that the process to authorizing a sport may be out of the hands of the Madison School District.
In fact, officials at Madison High School say they don’t have total control on what sports become recognized. Erick Wills, the school’s athletic director, said sports must be sanctioned through the Idaho High School Activities Association.
“In order to become an official sanctioned sport or activity, then it does need to go through the IHSAA. That’s so you’re (in) competition with other schools, then it has a ruling governing body that controls how many events you can participate in,” Wills said. “There’s a plus and a minus to being a sport versus a club.”
Madison High School participates in every sanctioned program, both athletic and nonathletic, Wills said.
Although chances of getting a sport approved seem low, team members, coaches and parents remain steady in the mountain bike cause.
“Mountain biking in general is something really cool for these kids to get involved in just because it’s something they can do their entire life. It’s a healthy lifestyle, getting outside and burning off some calories, and it’s a ton of fun,” Madison County Composite Mountain Bike Team coach Joe Hill said.
The Madison Composite Team is part of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association, or NICA. The local team is co-ed, and can take participants from sixth to 12th grade. NICA as well as the composite team focus on inclusion and every team member participating in each race. Hill said gaining recognition can help create increased involvement for kids who don’t participate in traditional sports programs.
Lisa Child, a parent, says her family has been engaged in the mountain bike scene. She said her kids benefit greatly from the sport.
“I think the greatest thing that it’s done for them is that they have something that they can participate in that’s team oriented,” parent Lisa Child said.
KUTV in Salt Lake City reported in October 2015 that the Utah High School Mountain Biking League is pushing for the same recognition. The organized club has met with local school boards to promote its advancement to a sport, and is still trying.
Ty Jones, executive director of IHSAA, told EastIdahoNews.com the process for authorizing a sport takes time.
To get a sport sanctioned, typically a group/club associated with a high school presents a proposal to the IHSAA board. However, multiple schools must agree to accredit the particular sport.
“You’re going to probably be looking at a minimum of 50 to 60 that have to jump on board on this initiative,” Jones said.
From there, the board takes two votes in two separate meetings. Members of the board gather and discuss as much information as possible about the sport, and then make a formal decision based on votes. The IHSAA also has to verify the sport is covered through its insurance.
Wills said there are positive and negative aspects of having a sport sanctioned. He said sometimes groups might be better off as clubs because there are fewer limitations. If and when a sport does become sanctioned, it falls under the jurisdiction of the IHSAA and also the National Federation of State High School Association, said Wills.
“They have very specific rules that they allow. Some people don’t want to have their sport sanctioned because then it (is governed) differently and there’s limitations on what they can do,” Wills said.
One of the limitations could be the number of events participants in the sport would be allowed to attend per season. However, participants would get school-excused absences, and the sport would be funded by the district.
For now, Hunter is working on reigniting the schools mountain bike club and is not giving up on his dream of a sanctioned team.
“I think it’s fun,” he said. “People should experience what I’m experiencing.”