Most people at Charlottesville High School know about the wide variety of varsity sports that are available in the school. What many don’t know about, however, are the club sports offered at C.H.S. such as the mountain biking team. The C.H.S. mountain biking team only had 6 riders during their first season of the club, only 3 of whom were racing, but these disparities  did not limit the team’s success. The team raced in numerous events in the Fall, including the NICA Race Series, where riders Blaze Prax and Chet Martinussen placed respectively 17th and 7th in the competition. All three riders that competed improved their previous times. In a race where riders from all over the state competed, the club’s success in their first go-round is more than impressive.

Even though the team is not under VHSL rules and is a club team, this does not stop them from practicing and enjoying their rides everyday. “We practice Monday and Wednesday, and often on Fridays we just do fun rides,” explained the team’s coach and C.H.S. reading specialist Carole Jones, “Normally we start out front on the field, and then we just ride. We ride the Rivanna Trail, we ride O-Hill, we’ve ridden with some of the other high schools in the area off campus in different sites.” Not all riders compete in the races either, being one of the other advantages of participating in a clubs port in comparison to varsity. Of the 6 consistent riders, only 3 competed, while the other 3 purely rode with the team for indulgence. The team doesn’t need to meet the same requirements as varsity sports do, but the enjoyment of the sport does not differ.

The team hopes to continue their success to this Spring, as they compete in both the Spring and Fall seasons. The team is looking for new riders to join the team though, regardless of experience or skill level. “We’re definitely looking for new riders this spring, they don’t have to be experienced,” Ms. Jones said about the team. “We even have an organization in town, Community Bikes, that is helping us find new bikes.”