You can search the website for your local races, clubs and teams. You do not have to be on a team and do not need a yearlong license to race as you can purchase a one day license at races, but being on a team will give you a large source of people that can help you and a yearlong license will save you money if you race a lot. Race schedules should come out in January, but you can plan on seeing the same races as 2009 and look at that schedule to get an idea of what is to come. There are 4 categories for adults, Pro, 1, 2, and 3. Cat 3 is for beginners, Cat 2 is for developing races, Cat 3 is for expert racers and all of these are broken up into age groups. Juniors are made up of racers 1-18 years of age. You would be in the 15-18 age group. These are sometimes broken up into categories, example: nationals, but most of the time it is just the age group.

Your first race should be a less technical race so you can get a feel of the sport and not get discouraged. The more you race and ride the technical skills will come. Just remember that I have seen pros get off their bikes and run by an obstacle.