States, in Summary
There is a lot that can be said about states, but here are the basics.
- States is awesome! There is nothing quite like it. If you can go, you should go.
- Don’t sweat it if you can’t go! You don’t need to go to States to have a great NICA season and NICA experience.
- Qualifying for States is now harder than ever before
- Qualifying for States from Sophomore category is particularly hard
- The new Non-Championship race opens up the States experience to everyone! If you’re quick to register, that is.
Qualifying is simple
- Start three races
- Finish one of them within the cutoff for your category
- Freshman: top 15
- Sophomore: top 3
- JV: top 12
- Varsity: all qualify
- Freshman: top 35
- Sophomore: top 5
- JV: top 30
- Varsity: all qualify
What it takes to Qualify
Why the Changes?
There are two main reasons for the changes to how States is being run.
- NICA is growing! So there are simply more riders competing to qualify for states.
- SoCal has completely changed their category organization, and it no longer matches NorCal’s.
Understanding SoCal Categories
SoCal’s new categorization is based on ability, and not so much on age or team size. Their new categories are
- Freshman - ‘cause Freshman are still special. The other categories are all for grades 10-12
- JV 1 - for beginners and people racing for fun
- JV 2 - for intermediate / medium intensity riders
- Varsity - (aka level 3) for the fastest and most competitive riders
- No separation of D1 or D2 categories based on school size
- No Sophomore category (it has been replaced by JV 1)
Categories for States
So when we meet for States, there will be the following race categories, one each for Boys and one for Girls
- Non-Championship
- Freshman
- JV
- Varsity
Qualifying, by the Numbers
For those who want to understand this completely, here it is by the numbers.
Race Count
Start with the total number of State Championship races. There will be 6. 3 Boys, 3 Girls. In the past, there have been 11. 7 Boys, 4 Girls (because D1 and D2 were separate for Boys). Since every race is still limited to 100 entrants, this means that the number of available spots has been cut almost in half. 55% to be exact.
Race Groups - Frosh, Soph, JV Boys
For these categories, NorCal has 2 Conferences, and each of these have 2 Divisions. SoCal has 3 Conferences, and no Divisions. So this is a total of 7 groups that race independently in the regular season that will meet for States. So the qualifying number is set at 15 per group for these categories, meaning a minimum of 7x15 = 105 riders will qualify for each race. Of course, the top 15 in each race varies, so probably more like 140 riders will qualify in the end. To make it tricky though, Sophomore and JV are both competing to get into the same States JV race.
Race Groups - Girls and Varsity Boys
For Girls and Varsity Boys, NorCal combines D1 and D2, and SoCal combines their 3 conferences. So for these categories this is a total of 3 groups that will meet at States: NorCal North, NorCal South, and SoCal. So the qualifying number is set at 35 meaning that a minimum of 3x35 = 105 riders will qualify for each race. Again, the top 35 varies, so it’ll probably be more like 140. This doesn’t apply to Varsity of course which generally doesn’t have more than 25 riders in each group, so all Varsity riders qualify. Like for the boys, Sophomore and JV are both competing to get into the same States JV race.
Race Count
Start with the total number of State Championship races. There will be 6. 3 Boys, 3 Girls. In the past, there have been 11. 7 Boys, 4 Girls (because D1 and D2 were separate for Boys). Since every race is still limited to 100 entrants, this means that the number of available spots has been cut almost in half. 55% to be exact.
Race Groups - Frosh, Soph, JV Boys
For these categories, NorCal has 2 Conferences, and each of these have 2 Divisions. SoCal has 3 Conferences, and no Divisions. So this is a total of 7 groups that race independently in the regular season that will meet for States. So the qualifying number is set at 15 per group for these categories, meaning a minimum of 7x15 = 105 riders will qualify for each race. Of course, the top 15 in each race varies, so probably more like 140 riders will qualify in the end. To make it tricky though, Sophomore and JV are both competing to get into the same States JV race.
Race Groups - Girls and Varsity Boys
For Girls and Varsity Boys, NorCal combines D1 and D2, and SoCal combines their 3 conferences. So for these categories this is a total of 3 groups that will meet at States: NorCal North, NorCal South, and SoCal. So the qualifying number is set at 35 meaning that a minimum of 3x35 = 105 riders will qualify for each race. Again, the top 35 varies, so it’ll probably be more like 140. This doesn’t apply to Varsity of course which generally doesn’t have more than 25 riders in each group, so all Varsity riders qualify. Like for the boys, Sophomore and JV are both competing to get into the same States JV race.
The Team Dynamic
Last but not least, the dynamics for the State Champion Teams will be very different. There will only be two team classifications - School Teams, and Composite Teams. The top 3 will be recognized in each classification, so that is 6 team awards total. This means that D1 and D2 teams will all be competing for the same State Champ “School Teams” award. All team scoring will be determined by the top 4 racers, and as usual at least one of the 4 must be a boy and one must be a girl. Here are some observations
- with the new rules for qualifying, it’s going to be particularly difficult for many teams to bring 4 riders to states!
- Girls will, even more so, be a huge advantage to a team’s scoring.
- D1 teams, with separate races and lots of riders, will likely bring many more than 4 riders to states, especially more girls, giving them an advantage. But growing a D1 team is really hard and brings a great experience to the riders - so they kind of deserve that.
Conclusion
Amazingly enough, the new rules have improved things, made them more fair. With static “top 15, top 35” numbers, we no longer fuss with percentages or wonder what the cutoff will be this year. Also, the new numbers will still work as the leagues grow. Without the artificial separation of D1 and D2 races, “Freshman State Champ” really does mean you’re the fastest Freshman in the state. Similarly with JV, for the boys at least. It also puts the boys and girls state champs on equal footing, instead of there being 2 boys for every girl. And the team competition has been flattened out so that composite’s don’t always edge out D2 school teams, and so that being State Champ School team really means you’re the top of the top. With fewer riders on course for the races, it will be more about your true riding ability, and less about your ability to pass riders who aren’t in your race. So even though it’s harder to qualify, things are more fair and equitable in general. Great job, NorCal & SoCal!