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I'm pretty sure that's not gonna happen.
Girls on the podium and off the track.
First of all, we are talking about professional women racing amateur nationals. If the women go back to racing amateur races, what makes it so special and worth while to become a professional racer? There must be some distinction in women's motocross between the amateurs and the professionals. One solution, create a Pro Women's class at Loretta's and any other amateur national that would be in this series, that way there is still a raison d'être for professional women--something that makes their work and accomplishments recognizable. In the past, I have heard there is simply, "not enough time" in the schedules at the amateur nationals to make this happen, if that is the case than it is certainly something that needs to be addressed and I'm sure there would be a way to make up the time in order for this to happen if it is planned far enough in advanced.
Another implication of incorporating the WMX series into some of the amateur nationals is the potential for it to hurt the future of women's motocross. In order to go pro, up and coming women have to race these amateur nationals and do well in order to obtain professional status. While some women would be thrilled at the opportunity to race against the pros, when you're racing against pros to become a pro, it makes for a pretty daunting and intimidating task. Many girls may not think that they have a chance to win or to even get top ten at an amateur national because there are ten to twenty PROFESSIONAL racers on the line with them. The men do not have to race against pros to get their pro license and if they had to race RV, RD, CR, JS, and the like, i'm sure there would be protests. Again, if there is a Women's pro class added to these schedules, the problem can be averted and there will still be plenty of room on the line to foster a new generation of professional women racers.
Women's motocross is still relatively new, it needs to be nurtured. By lining the professional women up alongside the amateurs it does just the opposite and could discourage the progress that has been made. No matter what the argument is against women racing--and women racing professional motocross--it is literally half of the market. If encouraged, promoted, and marketed correctly, women's racing has the potential to double the size of our motocross family and to help our sport grow! Not just in participation but also in audience and monetarily. Women need bikes, women need gear, women need parts, women still pay to ride...its an opportunity that I think a lot of the industry is still missing.
Thank you.
So far, no one is lining up.
Pit Row
Now you got the easy part done, time to start on the arduous stuff!
Seriously, mens basketball didnt start the WNBA, women did, wmx
just needs the right people to start their own deal, instead of placing
blame on the mx sports series. Just as usual tho, try to help someone
out, and things are hunky dory, stop helping, and instantly you are a no
good SOB, and never helped a person in your life!
For one thing, to be half the market they would have to be in the market...as in, "in the market for bikes and/or products".
I like women racers, but I don't typically watch their motos. Davey knows what he's doing...
Sorry but WMX has peaked and its all down hill from here, there is no furture for WMX.
But here's the sticking point, and it's my own opinion: I do not believe that all WMX racers are full-on pro, though a few at the top do race for their living. The rest are Pro-Am, in the sense that when you line up against the men, most women race in the B class and not the full-on pro class. By definition, that's a Pro-Am rider. And while that may seem like a small issue, it's big when the rank-and-file say they do not want to race in anything but the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship because every other big outdoor race is amateur or pro-am. This limits the growth of women's professional motocross to this series, which has severe time constraints.
If anyone has a better idea or solution, I would be glad to listen/help/participate. DC@mxsports.com
DC
MX Sports
When I'm at the race, I'll watch the women's class race, but I'd never go out of my way to watch them. If I wanted to watch a C class level rider (I'd say the top 5 are a decent B class speed), I could do that any time I'm out at the track. When I turn on the TV to watch racing, I want to see just how fast a human can ride a motorcycle.
Long story short, you are severely overestimating your gender's piece of the motocross pie - I can guarantee you that women will never make up more than 15% of the core fan-base. Either take what you can get to continue to "grow your side of the sport" by being forced in front of everyone by being a halftime to the real show, or go start your own series and see how that goes for you. I really do wish you guys the best of luck though - I know you all work very hard.
Raceday resources are finite and precious. Women's pro racing is a terrific goal, but the notion that any tweaks or changes to promoting the premiere 250 and 450 classes ought to be subordinated to it is seriously misguided.
concept of women's racing.
Any sanctioning body that will not create some sort of outlet for a women's division
will be crucified in the current popular culture.
The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship played host to the WMX.
It's obvious to me that is was a financial flop.
The majority of fans have rejected this blasphemy (did he really use that word?) on
a day that is the showpiece of all of Moto.
The girls must prove that they can run with the men in order to have any chance to gain the
respect required to be taken seriously.
I am going to say something that is very unpopular in today's culture.
There are many things that women are world class at.
Motocross is not one of those things.
Look at those who said women couldn't become educated--women used to be kept out of colleges and universities and professional workplaces...now they constitute the majority in our educational system and are doing the same within professions in a variety of areas. Women can do whatever they put their minds, hearts, and souls into but they must be first given the opportunity.
A lot of money, attention and support went into WMX in the last ten+ years, including the best possible exposure in being presented on race day during the nationals, with TV for some of that, but in spite of that it became less competitive, with a bigger gap between the people running at the front and the rear, and small fields. And, as happens even with the fastest local pro, the speed pales by comparison to the premiere classes, so they sometimes end up look a lot less impressive than they really are.
Is it possible that a WMX series at the pro outdoors was premature if most riders really are pro am?
The way i see it, it is the only growing segment in our sport. Several years ago my daugther would be the only one on the line for a race, now you can guarantee a line of 20+ riders, pretty decent growth to me. Just about every other class has declined in that same period. DC perhaps you have some data you can share on this, I am just going by what I see at the track.
"The average MX fan does not want to watch WMX"............your missing the point.........the definition of the average MX fan is changing and is including the female gender at an alarming rate.
Sponsors want exposure and the 250 and 450 classes are where all the interest is right? So that would mean the current 250MX champion should garner all the interest over the current WMX champion Ashley Fiolek? Interesting how Ashley has more than twice as many followers on twitter as Baggett. Yes it's true, twice as many people are interested in what Ashley has to say than Blake. AC92 is the new marketing machine you say....29,808 followers vs Ashley's 41,877. Yes we can argue that the depth of following is much less for WMX but the fact that Ashley is in the same company as Trey Canard (44,924) and Justin Barcia (43,215) is impressive. We need to capitalize on this not kill it!
DC, I realize this is a very difficult issue to resolve and you face real finanacial and logistical hurdles in trying economic times but don't forget that this segment IS growing in our sport right now and the industry is in desperate need of new growth and new opportunity.
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