You’re already familiar with the thrill of Zwift. Whether it’s grinding up the Alpe, sprinting to open a gap in Crit City, or spinning in a group ride, Zwift has transformed how we train, race, and connect. But what if it could do even more? What if Zwift became the gateway to cycling for high school athletes through a High School Racing League?
*Note – For this vision to come to life, Zwift would need to reintroduce its under-16 program, which was previously discontinued due to the complexities (and costs) of verification and privacy compliance. This program would be essential; without it, students wouldn’t be able to join until age 16, leaving them with little time to grow in the sport. Freshman year would be an essential window when students are most open to new opportunities, making it the perfect time to introduce them to the sport. By starting early, Zwift would set a solid stage for the athletes.
Picture this: high school teams competing in Zwift’s immersive worlds, friendly rivalries driving the competition. Like XC, the league could have varsity and junior varsity divisions to ensure fair competition and inclusive opportunities.
Cycling has a good bit of global popularity, yet it struggles to attract younger athletes. Zwift’s gamified features, virtual worlds, and tech-forward appeal could make cycling a favorite among young athletes. And with its ability to connect riders regardless of location, Zwift has the potential to inspire from all corners of the globe—even in areas without safe or suitable outdoor environments.
How Zwift Can Support the High School Racing League
Zwift’s infrastructure is already well-suited to hosting a High School Racing League. Here’s how it could work:
- Club-Based Teams: Schools could form virtual cycling clubs using Zwift’s club tools to train & track progress. Teams could compete in state or national championships.
- Divisions for Fair Play: The league could feature varsity and junior varsity categories, allowing athletes of all experience levels to compete and develop.
- Diverse Race Formats: Zwift’s versatility supports mass-start events, time trials, and more, catering to a wide range of rider preferences.
- Accessible Training: Schools in areas with unsafe roads or harsh weather could create shared “pain caves” equipped with smart trainers, bikes, and screens. These setups could be funded through local sponsorships, fundraising, and/or discounts from Zwift and equipment manufacturers.
Additionally, Zwift could provide coaching and training plans to help support the league’s growth and the development of individual riders:
- Centralized Coaching: Zwift could provide coaching at regional or state levels for schools lacking local expertise, helping teams refine and get better.
- Tailored Training Plans: Training plans could be designed for high school teams, giving riders a tailored way to grow.
Uncovering Talent
The High School Racing League wouldn’t just be about competition—it could be another talent pipeline for the sport.
- Race-Driven Talent Scouting: By tracking performance in league races, such as consistent wins and podium finishes, identifying promising athletes with the potential to excel would be effortless.
- Pathways to Professional Cycling: The environment could feed directly into national development programs or professional networks, creating a clear trajectory for young athletes.
- Inclusive Talent Discovery: Virtual racing would remove many barriers, ensuring all talented riders have a chance.
Overcoming Challenges
Launching the league won’t be without its challenges, but they’re far from insurmountable:
- Equipment Costs: While smart trainers and bikes may be expensive, athletes (and schools) could set up fundraising events to buy trainers (for a discounted price) from hardware manufacturers.
- Ensuring Inclusivity: Programs offering loaner equipment or scholarships could ensure every student has the opportunity to participate.
Benefits for Everyone
- For Students: Consistent training access, a gamified approach to fitness, and valuable life skills like teamwork and goal-setting.
- For Schools: A new sport that diversifies extracurricular offerings, engages the community, and is easy to implement with Zwift’s intuitive tools.
- For Zwift: Ensuring growing community, a new talent pipeline, and increased visibility in both the cycling and esports worlds.
Making it a Reality
To bring the Zwift High School Racing League to life, the following steps are key:
- Pilot Programs: Test the concept with a small number of schools to refine the format and address challenges.
- Funding and Sponsorships: Collaborate with schools to secure funding through community events and partnerships with local businesses.
- Affordable Options: Provide discounted school subscriptions, shared accounts, and equipment bundles to lower the barrier to entry.
- Comprehensive Support: Offer training plans, coaching resources, and community support to help schools and students get started.
By combining gamification, competition, and accessibility, Zwift has the potential to introduce cycling to a new generation. The Zwift High School Racing League could inspire young athletes, expand the platform’s community, and develop the next wave of cyclists.
Your Thoughts
What do you think? Is there an opportunity here for Zwift to impact the next generation of riders in a big way? Share your thoughts below!
Awesome 👌 you know what to do
I have 2 kids who race and both would do this. I love the thought you’ve put in and where you’re going with it but I do have a hard time seeing high schools around here in Wisconsin getting enough students to field their own teams. Even the larger mtb driven programs like NICA are generally composite or club teams. My daughter is frequently the only female showing up at road and CX races representing our area suburban area of 200,000+ people. On the other hand, we need more on ramps for kids who will never show up at a local crit and don’t even know they exist.
I’m so glad my kids had Zwift accounts before they closed the door to entry. My 9 year old races and puts in 100-150 miles a week (yes you read that correctly) on Zwift in the winter. It has been a key part of making him one of top racers his age in the USA. It’s a real bummer that his teammates that are just now experimenting with online cycling can’t join him and have to ride MyWhoosh as 45kg riders saying they are 16.
I’d love to see you keep pushing forward with your ideas. Go for it!
Really impressive to hear about your kids’ dedication! As for getting enough students into teams, Zwift’s uniqueness compared to traditional sports might solve that problem by attracting students who haven’t found a sport they like. Additionally, if Zwift high school teams generate enough hype, I’m sure the gamified features and would interest many.
Let’s make this happen!!! Having been involved in NICA and seeing the growth and popularity of that program here in Utah. The Zwift program would fit in perfectly.
I think this is the best idea I’ve read in quite a while. The potential for uncovering talent could be enormous especially in the US.
Government over regulation prevents this, which is why Zwift discontinued support for youths previously. This is especially a problem in Europe, but is becoming worse in the US too.
I believe that some way can be found through those regulations as MMO games like Fortnite can, especially if it is shown how encouraging and easy it would be to support fitness for youths through Zwift.
In what way are governments preventing kids to join Zwift?
The cost of meeting the needed privacy requirements for kids is one of the reasons why Zwift discontinued its u16 program.
Okay, well. That is a Regulation that pushes Zwift to have to work. Sure, you could argue, that the u16 Program was free, but as I see things there are two options:
In any case, right now it is Zwifts decision to work to earn money or not. I wouldn’t agree that government prevents u16 riders to join Zwift. Right now Zwift prevents that from happening, because they are not interested in working for that.
I think it’s okay that you have to work to earn money…
This ☝️
This is a fantastic idea. I would love to help. What can Zwift users do to help make this a reality?
Seems like a pilot project or two would be a good start, to assess feasibility and work out the kinks. Are there already high-school level cycling competitions? Are the high schools themselves involved or more local bike shops and clubs who organize event for high school age riders?
I can’t say that I’ve heard of many cycling races for high school athletes in my area (though this may be different in other states). That’s why a virtual racing league would be great—it would allow you to race against your peers regardless of the popularity of cycling or the infrastructure in your area. As for high schools vs. bike shops, I think bike shops would be more involved at first, as they’d have more knowledge and resources overall.
As a high school student who is a freshman this year and uses Zwift to train, I find this an awesome idea for new opportunities and benefits for young athletes like me. I would love to make this a reality. It would also make a better experience for younger riders and to be able to push each other to our potential. Zwift, PLEASE make this happen!!
Strava has a student discount and I’m kind of surprised that Zwift doesn’t offer something similar. Pretty easy to verify students (https://support.strava.com/hc/en-us/articles/5836974002957-Student-Plan). Their plan isn’t perfect for high-schoolers since it only allows for 4 years, but it is a start.
I’m a coach on a high school/middle school MTB team and the team has purchased trainers so that the varsity racers can use Zwift for training. I think the athletes would be interested in competing in Zwift races if the proper categories were setup. Our team is part of the SoCal league and for High school we have Freshman, JV1, JV2, and Varsity categories. I think you could setup the races pretty easily by using grade and Zwift racing score to limit which fields you were allowed to race in.
Seems pretty doable, but would require Zwift to allow for students and give a student discount.
Zwift might be hesitant to use Stravas verification method (SheerID) as Vendr reported that on average, SheerID costs $77,000 per year. (https://www.vendr.com/buyer-guides/sheerid) Athough, with a lot of expectations for family plans, they will hopefully add a student plan as well (at the very least for collegiate athlethes).
Love that idea…I would reach out to NICA as a starting point; even though they are MTB-focused. Zwift is great intensity training and creates opportunities for learning race tactics and how deep into their well/pain cave an athlete can go, which can be adjusted for use in IRL (not directly, and not always, but enough to benefit IRL performance; a tool)
This is a super idea and not unique to USA – in the UK we struggle to interest kids in competative cyclingand this is an easy way in. The only way it will work though is with national governing bodies and central funding + local sponsorshop and local clubs driving it alongside the schools.
Great idea. You are a hero for advocating for it. I know it’s unlikely with the lack of under-16 access to Zwift but keep up the fight, you deserve it.
I agree wholeheartedly! What a great way to introduce young people to cycling. A side advantage is having them become interested and riding bikes to school and for pleasure. The bicycling industry should get behind this.
Love this!
Wonderful concept. Interestingly, it could be a global educational experience for high school students too.
A sort of cultural exchange too!
Please, please do this I’m a freshman and I love Zwifting. I’ve never thought about this before but this sounds wonderful.
I am a high school teacher in Bath, Maine and I would LOVE to start a Zwift cycling team! What can I do to help?
I prefer a Zwift team that competes against a Whoosh team. Or several teams.
Having been a high school MTB coach for 6 years I support this BUT it likely won’t be nearly as great as IRL training and racing. But why not?
Similar to previous comments – have a couple of lads (UK) who try really hard on Zwift but would love to be part of something they could be competitive in. They do alright considering they are racing adults but would be great to keep their interest by actually having a chance to be near the front!
Hopefully this can progress 🙂
Cancelling the opportunity to sign up new kids accounts without prior notice for sure was a great first step!
missed it by 2 days, now my son weighting 20kgs is stuck with trying to move my account up the hills
I’m a former high school teacher and coach who has moved into K12 technology. I’ve been kicking this idea around. My boss is already the e-sports coach. Having a Zwift team in e-sports would be awesome. It would also give another season of competition to the NICA riders. I can easily see a school buying 10x Zwift bikes with Kickrs. Many of the e-sports teams are already spending $100K on their programs. If anyone in the Bentonville AR wants to try to make this possible let me know!
Sounds great!