NICA National Conference Recap

This past June a few of our staff headed to Fayetteville Arkansas for this year’s NICA National Conference. We discussed challenges, workshopped solutions and dreamed big with other leagues across the country.

Just like in years past, NICA invited relevant and inspirational speakers to present keynotes.

Thursday kicked off the sessions with best-selling author and coaching podcaster John O’Sullivan, who spoke of the need for youth sports to be accessible to all kids with the intent of creating lifelong athletes. His personal anecdote about the importance of mountain biking in his life left few dry eyes in the audience. 

On Friday, conference goers were treated to a motivating presentation from inclusivity guru Marley Blonsky of All Bodies on Bikes, followed by Danny Twilley of the Brad and Alys Smith Outdoor Economic Collaborative at West Virginia University. Marley challenged her audience to take inclusivity to a level many had not thought about before. Danny shared an emotional moment with the audience after speaking to the power of believing in a cause and persevering through adversity to truly achieve a goal. Marley and Danny helped inspire everyone in attendance to reach for NICA’s audacious goal of 100,000 student-athletes by 2033.

Saturday of the conference gave attendees and staff the chance to explore the trails and sights of Fayetteville. From the farmers market and TC Headquarters to Woka trails and Bentonville museums, there were many choices to decide from and people took full advantage of the beautiful weather. The conference ended with a dinner and recognition ceremony, and NICA staff encouraging all leagues to go back to their home states with all the new information and stoke that was shared through the experience. We can’t wait to get back together in 2026!

What’s with the Banana?

So you may have noticed #billybobbanana popping up in places. The truth is, a stuffed banana appeared and we decided that “this looks fun!” Sure enough, we were right! #billybobbanana has now been showing up all over! We’ve got some fun plans in place so you can participate too. Stay tuned!