WMX Officially Done

57F1VE
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PA US
Unfortunately, MX Sports put out a press release stating they have ended the WMX series, which has been declining. Through being at a majority of races and meeting the women riders, the talent and numbers of girls riding are higher than ever. The amount of respect and attention from the promoters turned many away. There were times we'd show up and people working registration didnt even know there was a WMX round that weekend or what it was. The riders would get facebook messages at 8am notifying them their practice time was moved forward an hour. No reception? Oh well.

Myself along with a few others are already working on a smaller, but competitive, womens series for next year. If anyone is interested in supporting these women riders for a single race or a series, just message me or reply. Even if you just want to discuss options, we're open to listening. Anyone in the industry who may be interested in donating goods, or any track owners interested in hosting a round, also just hit me up and we can discuss what we've got going on so far!
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NorCal 50+
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Grass Valley, CA US
10/22/2018 5:03pm
It's a no-brainer that this a sector of the industry that needs to grow. "Makeup to Mud" got a lot of crap from the fans, but my 4 year old daughter loved it and instantly idolized the riders.
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Justin345
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Southern MD, MD US
10/22/2018 5:19pm Edited Date/Time 10/22/2018 5:23pm
I thought I just saw the schedule for next year was released?

Edit: never mind. The article I saw had a misleading headline. Looks like it was cancelled and is now just like any other amateur national title at Loretta’s.
make1go
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BF
10/22/2018 6:05pm
typical short sightedness from mx sports..

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The Shop

Bry145
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366
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Bridgeville, PA US
10/22/2018 6:07pm
Shouldn't we encourage female racers to race male racers of similar skill? Does segregation help anyone improve?

It may not send the right message to females that they should be segregated and not compete with men.

With marriage rates going off a cliff, many of these young people will be on their own regarding earning a living and paying the bills in the future. Learning competition and self-reliance at a young age would be a big help. Being shielded from competition via gender segregation may not help in the long run.









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Alex.434
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Warner Springs, CA US
10/22/2018 6:09pm
NorCal 50+ wrote:
It's a no-brainer that this a sector of the industry that needs to grow. "Makeup to Mud" got a lot of crap from the fans, but...
It's a no-brainer that this a sector of the industry that needs to grow. "Makeup to Mud" got a lot of crap from the fans, but my 4 year old daughter loved it and instantly idolized the riders.
Yup.
2
57F1VE
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PA US
10/22/2018 6:12pm
Bry145 wrote:
Shouldn't we encourage female racers to race male racers of similar skill? Does segregation help anyone improve? It may not send the right message to females...
Shouldn't we encourage female racers to race male racers of similar skill? Does segregation help anyone improve?

It may not send the right message to females that they should be segregated and not compete with men.

With marriage rates going off a cliff, many of these young people will be on their own regarding earning a living and paying the bills in the future. Learning competition and self-reliance at a young age would be a big help. Being shielded from competition via gender segregation may not help in the long run.









Theyre allowed to race with men.

Its the as having open a and 125 classes. Yes you can race your 125 in open a. But its not really fair.
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haydos25
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Sydney AU
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10/22/2018 6:14pm
Why dont they run parallel to the big amateur races? Womens pro class at World Mini, Mammoth etc. etc. with a double points meet at Lorettas? Even if they only race the weekend not throughout the week, i assume most of these women have fulltime jobs during the week.

Not that i know anything about US womens motocross, just seems like that would be a better fit then trying to cram them in a one day format along side the men, where they would be the first on the chopping block if time starts getting away.
boston_jorj
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Where The Blue Grass Grows, KY US
10/22/2018 6:23pm Edited Date/Time 10/22/2018 6:24pm
That sucks! I really enjoyed watching Jordan Jarvis shredding on press day (dry weather) at the Ironman this year.
1
yak651
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Appleton, WI US
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10/22/2018 6:30pm
MX Sports seems to be missing the boat if they want US to dominate MX again. Need to follow MXGP and go back to the weekend event and stop catering to the threats of SX only contracts. Can have amateur/Womens/2-stroke classes on Sat with pro qualifying, Let the tracks get used/rough thru the weekend with minimal grooming. Sunday pro finals with a couple classes at intermission (maybe alternate which one gets "prime time"). Let the amateurs with full factory support earn their ride instead of only racing 3-4 big races//year. Should take a closer look at what is working in Europe instead of ignoring their results.
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2
10/22/2018 6:32pm
I think the WHOLE SPORT needs to wake up.

Mens racing is practically DEAD as well when you look at the percentages of have and have not vs the amount of guys racing (big picture you are probably more likely to win a small lotto than make net positive income in moto vs what's put in to get there)

The current amatuer classes for woman is KILLING youth development - the age break downs need to mimic that of the boys classes - which would mean either a longer lorettas week - or a seperate amateur national for woman specifically.

Local womans classes are too small - so it would not apply to local races for those break downs - which isnt helpful.

And somehow - pro woman need to get paid if we are going to call it a pro sport. Sadly this is proving hard enough for the men's side of the sport!





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Indy mxer
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Linton, IN US
10/22/2018 6:35pm
NorCal 50+ wrote:
It's a no-brainer that this a sector of the industry that needs to grow. "Makeup to Mud" got a lot of crap from the fans, but...
It's a no-brainer that this a sector of the industry that needs to grow. "Makeup to Mud" got a lot of crap from the fans, but my 4 year old daughter loved it and instantly idolized the riders.
Alex.434 wrote:
Yup.
I enjoyed the "make up to mud" series. My wife really liked it and often commented about how cool it was.
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JustMX
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4/1/2008
Location
TN US
10/22/2018 6:38pm
yak651 wrote:
MX Sports seems to be missing the boat if they want US to dominate MX again. Need to follow MXGP and go back to the weekend...
MX Sports seems to be missing the boat if they want US to dominate MX again. Need to follow MXGP and go back to the weekend event and stop catering to the threats of SX only contracts. Can have amateur/Womens/2-stroke classes on Sat with pro qualifying, Let the tracks get used/rough thru the weekend with minimal grooming. Sunday pro finals with a couple classes at intermission (maybe alternate which one gets "prime time"). Let the amateurs with full factory support earn their ride instead of only racing 3-4 big races//year. Should take a closer look at what is working in Europe instead of ignoring their results.
Sorry, but youthstream starts salivating when they dream of putting together something like loretta's so I doubt mx sports is spending a lot of time trying to copy youthstream's feeder programs.
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yak651
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Appleton, WI US
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10/22/2018 6:44pm
yak651 wrote:
MX Sports seems to be missing the boat if they want US to dominate MX again. Need to follow MXGP and go back to the weekend...
MX Sports seems to be missing the boat if they want US to dominate MX again. Need to follow MXGP and go back to the weekend event and stop catering to the threats of SX only contracts. Can have amateur/Womens/2-stroke classes on Sat with pro qualifying, Let the tracks get used/rough thru the weekend with minimal grooming. Sunday pro finals with a couple classes at intermission (maybe alternate which one gets "prime time"). Let the amateurs with full factory support earn their ride instead of only racing 3-4 big races//year. Should take a closer look at what is working in Europe instead of ignoring their results.
JustMX wrote:
Sorry, but youthstream starts salivating when they dream of putting together something like loretta's so I doubt mx sports is spending a lot of time trying...
Sorry, but youthstream starts salivating when they dream of putting together something like loretta's so I doubt mx sports is spending a lot of time trying to copy youthstream's feeder programs.
So you don't think there is anything wrong with top (and many "non-top") amateur riders not racing any local events except qualifiers? And then spend the rest of the summer at facilities and then race 3 motos that decides their futures? Seems a series where they would race multiple times a summer would give a better gauge of how they will do as pros then 1 race? Granted the money grab that LL is probably does make greedy Italian stay up at night but my opinion is that they have a better set up when the up and comers are racing the same tracks/weekends the pros are.
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jemcee
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AU
10/22/2018 6:50pm
NorCal 50+ wrote:
It's a no-brainer that this a sector of the industry that needs to grow. "Makeup to Mud" got a lot of crap from the fans, but...
It's a no-brainer that this a sector of the industry that needs to grow. "Makeup to Mud" got a lot of crap from the fans, but my 4 year old daughter loved it and instantly idolized the riders.
Alex.434 wrote:
Yup.
Indy mxer wrote:
I enjoyed the "make up to mud" series. My wife really liked it and often commented about how cool it was.
But wait I'm a dude and that 3 minutes didn't cater directly to me (except for the hot ones obviously) so I'm gonna get the shits whenever it comes on and completely miss the point of it.. Prob miss a bit of the race when I get a beer or go for a piss though
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rider892
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League City, TX US
10/22/2018 7:58pm Edited Date/Time 10/22/2018 8:01pm
If there where more faster woman pro riders then just the top 6 then I could see it being bigger then it is now, just like it was around 2009... but unfortunately there are also some women riders that shouldn’t even be considered women’s pro level that raced the series..

I agree though it should be done with all the national races like mini Os , mammoth,etc
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newmann
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US
10/22/2018 8:15pm
There sure used to be some good women's racing here in Texas back in the mid 90's. Kristy Shealy and Dee Woods would mix it up in the men's intermediate 125 and 250 classes. Those two would rip around Lake Whitney, Mosier Valley and Thunder Mountain near Rusk. Kat Spann of the Tex MX newspaper hosted a bunch of international girl racers for the Thunder Mountain Women's International race. Good Times! Speaking of good times, Good Times MX Park near San Antonio had some good women's races back then too.
3
kb228
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Mansfield, OH US
10/22/2018 8:40pm
yak651 wrote:
MX Sports seems to be missing the boat if they want US to dominate MX again. Need to follow MXGP and go back to the weekend...
MX Sports seems to be missing the boat if they want US to dominate MX again. Need to follow MXGP and go back to the weekend event and stop catering to the threats of SX only contracts. Can have amateur/Womens/2-stroke classes on Sat with pro qualifying, Let the tracks get used/rough thru the weekend with minimal grooming. Sunday pro finals with a couple classes at intermission (maybe alternate which one gets "prime time"). Let the amateurs with full factory support earn their ride instead of only racing 3-4 big races//year. Should take a closer look at what is working in Europe instead of ignoring their results.
Why should they follow a series who cant fill their gates?

Hopefully another wmx comes up of some kind.
2
jeffro503
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St Helens, OR US
10/22/2018 9:33pm
57F1VE wrote:
Unfortunately, MX Sports put out a press release stating they have ended the WMX series, which has been declining. Through being at a majority of races...
Unfortunately, MX Sports put out a press release stating they have ended the WMX series, which has been declining. Through being at a majority of races and meeting the women riders, the talent and numbers of girls riding are higher than ever. The amount of respect and attention from the promoters turned many away. There were times we'd show up and people working registration didnt even know there was a WMX round that weekend or what it was. The riders would get facebook messages at 8am notifying them their practice time was moved forward an hour. No reception? Oh well.

Myself along with a few others are already working on a smaller, but competitive, womens series for next year. If anyone is interested in supporting these women riders for a single race or a series, just message me or reply. Even if you just want to discuss options, we're open to listening. Anyone in the industry who may be interested in donating goods, or any track owners interested in hosting a round, also just hit me up and we can discuss what we've got going on so far!
Chick's that ride....rule in my book! I wish this series the best. Here in the NW , maybe try and get a hold of a gal by the name of Bronwyn Watson. ( Goes by Bronwyn on here ) She help set up the women's class at the 125 dream race at Washougal , and they had a good turn out. She lives , breathe's and loves this sport and one of the coolest moto chick's around. So if anything happen's out this way , she may be able to help.

Women's MX need's to stay strong ( which is weird , because out this way , it's been growing? ) so hopefully all the moto chick's can get together and make it work!
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tek14
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Vantaa FI
10/22/2018 11:22pm
WMX is alive and well running along MXGP series. Im sure all US girls are free to race there.
10/22/2018 11:49pm Edited Date/Time 10/22/2018 11:50pm
Sucks. But they’re isn’t money in mx as it is for the riders. It’s mostly to build your family bonds in my opinion. I’m gonna take my daughter to the golf course. Or the tennis courts. Family bonds and potential for outrageous income. But the family bond is most important.

Good luck with the new series. Hopefully gives those moto family racers a new place to continue memories.
10/23/2018 12:59am
Its the era of gender neutrality so stick them in with the boys or whatever they call males these days
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GODZILLA
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FR
10/23/2018 4:06am
That's a real shame.
I've always had the utmost admiration for the young women who engage themselves in such a sport.
Kudos to all of them.
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navalseabee
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Virginia Beach, VA US
10/23/2018 6:10am
Watched most of the Canadian MX nationals this year, their womens class gates were usually close to full. The spread of talent in that gate was HUGE but it was pretty good sized.

Racing local stuff around me theres usually 2-5 women on any given race day participating in a myriad of classes. Generally the faster women line up with the men and slower ones in the womens/girls classes.
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ccullins76
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Riverside, CA US
10/23/2018 6:55am
For women it appears off-road racing is the way to go. KTM, Husky, Beta all have factory woman off-road racers.

Thanks to some fund raising the woman's class at last weekends Endurocross in Denver had a big purse, first got $1,600, second $1,300 I believe.

While off-road men racers don't get paid near as much as mx racers, it seems the other way around for woman.
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Fourth_Floor
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Saint Marys, PA US
10/23/2018 7:21am
Bry145 wrote:
Shouldn't we encourage female racers to race male racers of similar skill? Does segregation help anyone improve? It may not send the right message to females...
Shouldn't we encourage female racers to race male racers of similar skill? Does segregation help anyone improve?

It may not send the right message to females that they should be segregated and not compete with men.

With marriage rates going off a cliff, many of these young people will be on their own regarding earning a living and paying the bills in the future. Learning competition and self-reliance at a young age would be a big help. Being shielded from competition via gender segregation may not help in the long run.









It's tough when it comes to motocross. There are numerous studies that have been done that show, without a shadow of a doubt, that men are way more likely than women to take "idiotic risks". The sport of motocross, in and of itself, is an idiotic risk. I mean, a guy that's basically wearing a T-shirt hops on a fire breathing 60HP, 230lb hunk of rubber and metal and launches the thing 30ft in the air and hopes for the best.

In short, guys are way more likely to take risks and engage in activities that could potentially result in severe physical damage and/or death and with a sport as brutal as motocross you have that in the back of your head and ignore it every time you throw a leg over a bike. I don't think it's as much of a physical handicap that holds ladies back from competing with Eli, Kenny or any other top pro, I think women just have a higher sense and awareness of self preservation than guys do.
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aroark247
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556
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TX US
10/23/2018 7:57am
Bry145 wrote:
Shouldn't we encourage female racers to race male racers of similar skill? Does segregation help anyone improve? It may not send the right message to females...
Shouldn't we encourage female racers to race male racers of similar skill? Does segregation help anyone improve?

It may not send the right message to females that they should be segregated and not compete with men.

With marriage rates going off a cliff, many of these young people will be on their own regarding earning a living and paying the bills in the future. Learning competition and self-reliance at a young age would be a big help. Being shielded from competition via gender segregation may not help in the long run.









The problem with that and sad truth is, the fastest woman on the planet wouldn't make the night show of a SX or the actual moto's at an outdoor. At least the WMX was a national platform that the girls could go for.
sybro
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164
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Location
Montreal CA
10/23/2018 9:44am
haydos25 wrote:
Why dont they run parallel to the big amateur races? Womens pro class at World Mini, Mammoth etc. etc. with a double points meet at Lorettas...
Why dont they run parallel to the big amateur races? Womens pro class at World Mini, Mammoth etc. etc. with a double points meet at Lorettas? Even if they only race the weekend not throughout the week, i assume most of these women have fulltime jobs during the week.

Not that i know anything about US womens motocross, just seems like that would be a better fit then trying to cram them in a one day format along side the men, where they would be the first on the chopping block if time starts getting away.
That's how it was for the last 3-4 years running at Daytona, Freestone, Pala, Mini Os, etc...but then they started putting some races at local event.

Bry145
Posts
366
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6/12/2013
Location
Bridgeville, PA US
10/23/2018 12:40pm
It's tough when it comes to motocross. There are numerous studies that have been done that show, without a shadow of a doubt, that men are...
It's tough when it comes to motocross. There are numerous studies that have been done that show, without a shadow of a doubt, that men are way more likely than women to take "idiotic risks". The sport of motocross, in and of itself, is an idiotic risk. I mean, a guy that's basically wearing a T-shirt hops on a fire breathing 60HP, 230lb hunk of rubber and metal and launches the thing 30ft in the air and hopes for the best.

In short, guys are way more likely to take risks and engage in activities that could potentially result in severe physical damage and/or death and with a sport as brutal as motocross you have that in the back of your head and ignore it every time you throw a leg over a bike. I don't think it's as much of a physical handicap that holds ladies back from competing with Eli, Kenny or any other top pro, I think women just have a higher sense and awareness of self preservation than guys do.
If it is an uphill battle getting females to participate, why put in the effort if the return on investment will be low?

Maybe we should try to win back the males that have left motocross for various reasons?

An emphasis on 125 races could be the ticket, as they are affordable machines and possibly safer due to slower speeds. Other ideas could be reducing the number of classes at local events and increasing the laps to help the cost/benefit analysis.



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