FAQs

  • The VTYC Board of Directors is committed to making seasonal membership to the league and access to VTYC events available to ANY interested Vermont youth who wishes to participate. Please encourage riders to apply for a scholarship. Nbkzy_v3ZuxdEXCgTEfQaEDJUwLKQm8C5dllAg/viewform?usp=sf_link

  • We do! It applies to all riders (adults & youth) during the season. Please find it in our handbook.

  • Practice dates, times and locations will be determined by your coach. Practices generally start in May or over the summer.

  • We have many athletes who also play another fall sport. So long as you, your adults, and the coach agree on how many practices and races you’ll be attending, you’re good to go.

  • Courses are designed to be non technical race loops, but it is mountain biking so do expect elevation (up & down!), rock, roots, and mud. An average lap will be approximately 2-3 miles. Time of completion will of course depend on the rider's ability and fitness. More details will be available prior to each specific race.

  • Absolutely. We welcome riders in grades 5-12 and at all ability levels. Not only do we want experienced racers to come have a blast racing against other student athletes, we want you to show the kids who are just getting into it how it’s done. On the flip side, we have plenty of people who have never raced before.

  • Yes, we offer a 5/6th grade race and categories C, B and A, each competing in different distances.

  • All gender categories will start and race at the same time. Podiums and scoring are by gender category (girl, boy, gender diverse/non-binary).

  • Yes, please join! Talk with your coach, reach out to your local bike shop, or contact us at vtyouthcycling@gmail.com if you need ideas for how to find a bike. As part of a VT Youth Cycling team, you’ll receive skills lessons from your coach and plenty of opportunity to practice. For you and others like you who are just getting into it, we are all about having fun while you learn to love riding in the dirt.

  • We encourage you to register as an independent rider! Visit BikeReg and look for the Independent Rider category.

  • Each head coach will determine their team’s practice schedule. Head coaches are responsible for ensuring that all riders who are not yet VTYC members have signed a waiver (online or paper copy) prior to practicing.

    As a coach you are responsible for all aspects of the team. This includes promoting the team to get athletes registered, scheduling and running practices, attending races, recruiting assistant coaches, ride leaders and volunteers as needed.

  • The number of assistant coaches and volunteers will depend on the size of the team and the age range of athletes on the team. At a very minimum, you need one coach and one assistant coach or volunteer at each practice. A team with a wide range of athletes may need more coaches since the athletes will be at several different skill levels. We suggest a 1:6 coach to rider ratio.

  • No limit has been set on the maximum size. If a team gets too large, you may consider splitting it into two teams. This may be the case when you have a composite team made up of multiple towns. If one town has 10+ members on the team and you have enough coaches, you can consider splitting the team to make coaching more manageable.

  • Visit the coaching tab to see steps you need to take to form a team.

  • Riders register for each race individually, on BikeReg, so that we can accurately assign chips at each event. Members will receive a unique coupon code for each race so they can get 100% off race day fees, as it is included with seasonal membership.

  • That’s fine! Membership fees include all race fees, and the series points are counted on the best 4 out of 5 races.

  • Teams can be formed either through schools or across larger communities. Teams that choose to work with a school for practices, meetings, training, etc, must communicate with school administration to be sure they’re adhering to school rules for student activities.

  • To get the word out about the info session we suggest you reach out to the following people in the communities you are targeting: teachers in each high school that are cyclists, local bike shop, town recreation department and local social media. We suggest that you set up an info session at your bike shop.

  • You’re welcome to race in any athletic wear as long as it’s safe. If you’d like suggestions on custom jerseys please email us (vtyouthcycling@gmail.com) and we will happily provide details on our partnership for design and product.