Sams’ NIAS selection

After applying for the NIAS 2022 Mountain Bike squad and partaking in trials in November, Gunnedah’s Rebecca Sams has been selected for this year’s team.

What makes the selection even more unique is that Rebecca is the only girls competitor in the squad for this season.

The year eight student at Calrossy in Tamworth, has only been competing for the last six months and is already impressing coach, Michael Crummy.

“We competed at an event at the end of January and she was joined by a couple of boys from the 2021 squad as a team,” Crummy said.

“They came first in their category and Rebecca’s enthusiasm, natural skills and ability were on full display.”

The annual event took place at Maison Dieu Park in Singleton on Sunday, January 30 and the NIAS squad was competing against schools from across the Hunter region in a mixed boys and girls category.

The NIAS squad consisted of athletes from as far as Guyra, Inverell, Walcha, Tamworth, Armidale and Gunnedah. 

After a strong performance in Singleton, Rebecca will make regular trips to Tamworth for training and competitions.

Along with these weekly commitments, Crummy said it will be a busy first six months for the mountain bike team.

“We’ve got a number of competitions programmed for the NIAS squad over the next six months, which will include Rebecca,” Crummy said.

With a big year ahead, Rebecca’s father, Greg Sams, said she has big goals for mountain biking.

He added: “Rebecca wants to push her limits and see how far she can go within the sport.”