Golden State South NICA Finish Line Festival 2026

About this event

Golden State South NICA closes its 2026 Southern and Central California youth mountain-bike season with the Finish Line Festival at Midland School in Los Olivos on Saturday and Sunday, October 24–25. GoSo festivals combine cross-country racing with an event village, off-bike and on-bike games, adventure activities, GRiT programming, community time, and volunteer-powered course operations. Saturday is the setup, festival, games, and course pre-ride day; the active volunteer schedule shows course and infield setup beginning at 9:00 AM, festival support from noon, pre-ride crossing coverage from 1:45 PM, and games support from 3:00–5:00 PM. Sunday is race day: volunteer windows show registration and parking opening at 7:00 AM, high-school course operations in the morning, and middle-school operations through the afternoon. Published staging-support windows place High School Girls around 8:45–9:15 AM, High School Boys around 10:15–10:45 AM, Middle School Girls around 11:45 AM–12:15 PM, and Middle School Boys around 12:45–1:15 PM; these are support windows, not guaranteed race start times, so families should use league communications for their final call-up schedule. Racing is for students in grades 5–12 registered with a Golden State South/NICA team or program. All abilities are welcome, but a rider must be registered with the league and complete the NICA participation waiver; exact event lock date, individual entry price, detailed category splits, camping arrangements, and awards timing are not yet published on the public event page. Spectators can attend in person and no separate spectator ticket is advertised. The active volunteer signup lists 80 roles across both days, ranging from greeter, parking, setup, scoring, and registration help to course marshal, sweep, crossing guard, and feed/medical-zone support. This is an outdoor event and schedule changes or cancellations are communicated through the league website and registered-family email. Riders must wear a properly fitted helmet whenever riding and follow NICA trail, sportsmanship, and equipment rules. Midland School is in Santa Barbara County, about 130 road miles northwest of central Los Angeles.

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