Why is it that there are so few women racing XC in Socal? The fields are super small accross the board! After seeing such shallow fields accross the board at the US Cup Unification race at Bonelli Park I feel that IF there is anything we can do, we need to do it NOW. The few women that show up don't have any competition and that is just not fun.
I have hypothesized that it is simply due to the fact that as the price of racing goes up, and the level of support available goes down, women are the first racers to get squeezed out. (I really don't want to go into the socio-political reasons I feel back up this theory, or my hypothesis that this trend will continue into the men's fields.) Support for the Elite riders is pretty scarce so I assume it isn't any better for the lower categories.
If I am incorrect with my hypothesis and women have the bikes/funds to race, is there anything that other racers can do to help? I know my wife Allison would love to help encourage more women to participate, and I would love to support that effort as well.
Maybe some open discussion can get things moving in the right direction. Have at it....
As a side note, Allison will be speaking at an upcoming RockNRoad Dirt Divas gathering. We aren't quite sure what to expect as this is her first time trying to do something like this. We are hoping that maybe some other women will be energized by the idea that some focused training and a bit of discipline can yeild some pretty cool results, even for someone with no athletic history whatsoever.
I have hypothesized that it is simply due to the fact that as the price of racing goes up, and the level of support available goes down, women are the first racers to get squeezed out. (I really don't want to go into the socio-political reasons I feel back up this theory, or my hypothesis that this trend will continue into the men's fields.) Support for the Elite riders is pretty scarce so I assume it isn't any better for the lower categories.
If I am incorrect with my hypothesis and women have the bikes/funds to race, is there anything that other racers can do to help? I know my wife Allison would love to help encourage more women to participate, and I would love to support that effort as well.
Maybe some open discussion can get things moving in the right direction. Have at it....
As a side note, Allison will be speaking at an upcoming RockNRoad Dirt Divas gathering. We aren't quite sure what to expect as this is her first time trying to do something like this. We are hoping that maybe some other women will be energized by the idea that some focused training and a bit of discipline can yeild some pretty cool results, even for someone with no athletic history whatsoever.