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The Rumpo Kid.
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July 10, 2013 at 10:43 am #19331
thebungle
Women’s (Pro) Cycling.
Does it matter? Should there be a campaign to have it of the same stature as mens racing?
What should the ultimate goal of equality be?
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I posted that comment on a news thread but I thought it would be interesting to give it a slightly wider audience for debate.
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If viewing figures showed
If viewing figures showed more people were watching Men’s Football than Women’s, would you still consider them to be a “false indication of interest”?
I can’t comment on how exciting the Women’s Giro was to watch, for the simple reason it wasn’t on television (and that in itself will mean less people talking about it online). I did however, watch the Olympic Women’s Road Race, and found it more exciting than the Men’s. What did You think?
For reasons best Known to itself, the UCI (who clearly think that viewing figures ARE an indication of interest), chose not to publicise the figures from the Women’s Road Race. I think they should tell us why.The Rumpo Kid wrote:I think
The Rumpo Kid wrote:I think the Olympic Road Race figures are worthy of mention in that it gives a direct comparison between a Men’s and a Women’s event over the same course (although a shorter distance for the Women). I’m not saying these figures would be duplicated for all events, but the fact that the peak audience for the Women’s Race was larger than that for the Men’s BY A THIRD would seem to indicate that Women racers can attract a substantial number of viewers. Yet when the same Women are racing in the Giro Rosa, we are told that no one would want to watch it.I personally think those figures are a false indication of interest, more telling IMo would be how many Google searches are there for the Giro Rosa, how many threads are appearing on the various cycling websites.
Do you feel the Giro Rosa should have the same level of coverage as the mens race? Is it as exciting to watch? Is there the same depth of talent which made the mens race so exciting this year? Are they descending better than BW?
Sport, unlike business is all about who & what provides the most entertainment and therefore exposure for advertisers, if the women aren’t providing the product, and my perosnal opinion is that womens racing isn’t as good as mens then quite simply they won’t have equal money.
jstreetley
Gkam84 wrote:
I don’t thinkGkam84 wrote:I don’t think you can have full equality. People are all screaming for equal prize money. This is fine on one day races, I’m all for that. But to look at the Giro and Giro Rosa, you can’t have it being equal until the number of stages and distances are equal in my view.
Why? Do you want to pay them by the kilometre?
Gkam84 wrote:
I’m going to say it, SOME woman have less endurance than men when it comes to LONG tours. I could think off hand of maybe 10 Pro female cyclists who could finish the mens Giro, but they wouldn’t be competitive, So how can people scream for equality when things can never be equal ;)Even if the racing was slower/shorter, that shouldn’t be a barrier to equality in terms of reputation and stature.
Look at Wimbledon. Women play 3 sets, and generally have a slower serve, but equal prize money and coverage (at least on the BBC). I think this is what should be aimed for.
I think the Olympic Road Race
I think the Olympic Road Race figures are worthy of mention in that it gives a direct comparison between a Men’s and a Women’s event over the same course (although a shorter distance for the Women). I’m not saying these figures would be duplicated for all events, but the fact that the peak audience for the Women’s Race was larger than that for the Men’s BY A THIRD would seem to indicate that Women racers can attract a substantial number of viewers. Yet when the same Women are racing in the Giro Rosa, we are told that no one would want to watch it.I’ve noticed you mention the
I’ve noticed you mention the Olympic RR on quite a number of occasions now, I would argue that those viewing figures are not representative of viewing demand, how many of us tuned in to sports that ordinarily we would not give a second glance to?Viewing figures for mens racing are low enough and that’s with a higher quality field, why would a TV company or advertiser choose to invest in womens cycling if the return for them isn’t nearly as great?
Gkam84 wrote:I think you are
Gkam84 wrote:I think you are all forgetting something….Take the TdF for instance. WHO supplies the video to the broadcasters??
Its the ASO who sort all that out. So to get woman’s racing live, Its NOT upto the broadcaster, its the race organisers who need to put on some sort of coverage. Its themselves who are holding back woman’s cycling.
As for the question “What should the ultimate goal of equality be?”
I don’t think you can have full equality. People are all screaming for equal prize money. This is fine on one day races, I’m all for that. But to look at the Giro and Giro Rosa, you can’t have it being equal until the number of stages and distances are equal in my view.
I’m going to say it, SOME woman have less endurance than men when it comes to LONG tours. I could think off hand of maybe 10 Pro female cyclists who could finish the mens Giro, but they wouldn’t be competitive, So how can people scream for equality when things can never be equal ;)
Raisport had limited coverage of the Giro Rosa. Why couldn’t another channel pick up the footage that already exists? And as to stages and distances, well we don’t measure racing solely by the yard. The Women’s Olympic Road Race was shorter than the Men’s, but it got a larger TV audience.Gkam84
I think you are all
I think you are all forgetting something….Take the TdF for instance. WHO supplies the video to the broadcasters??
Its the ASO who sort all that out. So to get woman’s racing live, Its NOT upto the broadcaster, its the race organisers who need to put on some sort of coverage. Its themselves who are holding back woman’s cycling.
As for the question “What should the ultimate goal of equality be?”
I don’t think you can have full equality. People are all screaming for equal prize money. This is fine on one day races, I’m all for that. But to look at the Giro and Giro Rosa, you can’t have it being equal until the number of stages and distances are equal in my view.
I’m going to say it, SOME woman have less endurance than men when it comes to LONG tours. I could think off hand of maybe 10 Pro female cyclists who could finish the mens Giro, but they wouldn’t be competitive, So how can people scream for equality when things can never be equal 😉
Agreed. I would have loved to
Agreed. I would have loved to see the Women’s Giro on TV, but Broadcasters assure us there is no audience for Women’s Road Racing. The figures from the Olympics (which the UCI chose not to publicise) would suggest otherwise.Threeh
Matters massively, I think
Matters massively, I think the Olympics showed that. I would love to see women’s pro cycling treated with the same respect as the men’s sport, i.e women competing in the same grand tours.Track cycling, downhill, XC, BMX etc seem to have largely embraced equality, would like to see the same for the road.
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