Athletics Update: Mountain Biking Makes Its Debut
Mountain biking was introduced to Belmont Day seven years ago as a middle school club. The club met once a week and was limited to experienced riders who owned their own bike. Despite its success, the program remained an exclusive activity with limited participation. This year, under the leadership of second-year physical education and athletics teacher Alex Tzelnic, mountain biking has grown into a full athletics offering, and, like the rest of Belmont Day’s middle school sports, is open to all students regardless of experience or equipment.
This evolution of the offering began this fall when Tzelnic coordinated the purchase of a full fleet of 20 mountain bikes. With bikes available, Tzelnic introduced the sport into the fall Outdoor Adventures program, starting slowly on Claflin Field with skills courses and riding practice before heading onto the trails. This spring, mountain biking is a stand-alone offering for the first time in program history, and eighth graders took to the trails this week and are seeing some interesting sites near our campus. The accompanying photo was taken during a ride past a former hospital building in Waltham.
Congratulations to Coach Tzelnic and all of our mountain biking athletes.
