Interscholastic Pennsylvania Cycling League to hold finals in Boyce Park

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, October 27, 2017 | 8:54 PM

The Interscholastic Pennsylvania Cycling League will hold its fifth and final event of the season at Boyce Park on Saturday and Sunday.

The league consists of 37 teams, separated in divisions from middle school to high school throughout Pennsylvania.

One of the many team sponsors, Barry Jeffries, the sponsor of Pittsburgh East, coached by Jim Pottinger, helped get the event to the Boyce Park location.

“This event is very organized, which is part of the reason that the league continues to grow every year,” Jeffries said. “Last year, Boyce Park was rated as the favorite location for the bikers to ride, which is why the finals are being held here this year.”

Pottinger started coaching Pittsburgh East last year when he put the team together. After finishing 18th out of 21 teams last year, the team is now seventh out of 37.

“It is a great experience for the kids, and it teaches sportsmanship,” Pottinger said. “No one sits the bench so it keeps everybody active, they all get the same amount of attention and it just teaches the kids that hard work pays off.”

The league continues to grow every year, this year especially. In 2016, there were an estimated 170 racers. This year there are expected to be around 400.

“With the bad publicity sports like football are getting with concussions and issues like that, cycling is a nice safe way for the kids to stay active,” Jeffries said. “In this league, safety is at the top of the list.”

The riders put in a lot of training and dedication to be able to compete in this event, from practicing to cleaning up the trails.

“A lot goes into what we are trying to do here from trail work to practicing for events,” Pottinger said. “We train at least two times a week, working on braking and shifting, and we build mini courses for the kids to work on so they are mentally prepared and confident with obstacles like trees during the races.”

As for the races, the high school division will compete in a 5-mile race and the junior high division will ride a 2.5-mile race.

Saturday practices will start around 1:30 p.m. at Boyce Park and will continue throughout the day and will be open for other riders to ride and check out the course. And the actual race will be held Sunday at 9:30 a.m.

For more information on the league and the upcoming event, visit www.pamtb.org.

Cody Scott is a freelance writer.