Women's Commission - and Women in the Sport

Here's a response from Sherri to Matt Bauer, editor of 
Bauer Tri News - Tongue 'n Cheek Triathlon
www.bauertrinews.com <http://www.bauertrinews.com/>

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From: bauer@bauertrinews.com [mailto:bauer@bauertrinews.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2005 10:22 AM
To: Wattenbarger, Sherri
Subject: Bauer Tri News Story on Women's Triathlon


I work for Bauer Triathlon News and we're putting together a story on age
and gender in triathlon.  We feel it's an under-reported subject but one
that's very important to the future of triathlon.  I'm hoping you as a
chairperson of the Women's Commission could provide the commission's
thoughts on these issues.  Specifically I'm hoping the commission could
comment on the questions below: 

1.    Continued success in triathlon as a sport requires involvement of
more women, what does the commission see as roadblocks to making this
happen?

Most of the roadblocks facing women are of a practical nature.  Women still shoulder a disproportionate amount of child care responsibilities and household duties.  Thus, the typical woman tends to have less free time to devote to training than the typical male.  Furthermore, women tend to make less money than men and this is an expensive sport.
Also, some women lack mentors in the sport, although that is rapidly changing.  Many women seem to approach triathlon training in a very communal way -- they like group workouts and especially companionship when they train.  If women can't find this in their communities they are less likely to be active members of the triathlon community.  Some of this desire for training groups is due to concerns about personal safety on roads and trails.  However, it also stems from the tendency of women to create relationships around their activities.
At times it has been unclear whether certain members of the leadership at USAT and manufacturers perceive the enormous impact increased numbers of women could have on this sport.  Increased numbers of women in the sport would bring new energy in terms of racers and volunteers and new consumers to the purchasing counter.


2.    Women's triathlon clinics are sprouting up throughout the country
and are well received by those that attend.  What other plans does the
commission have to overcome the roadblocks mentioned above?

The Women's Commission has produced educational materials and made annual grants to individuals and organizations sponsoring low-cost training camps and clinics for novice female triathletes.  The number of these camps and clinics has exploded in the last 5 years.  The Women's Commission also has been advocating for several years that USAT undertake a major marketing push at the Danskin and Reebox women's triathlons. 
We are always open and welcoming of new volunteers with ideas that would promote and support women and girls in multisport.

3.    Triathlon has a wide range of distances - everything from a sprint
to an Ultraman.  Is the commission focused on a subset of this range?  If so
why?
No, we want to encourage women to race in every distance.

4.    Triathlon is an equipment intensive sport with its combination of
swimming, biking and running demands.  Does the commission feel equipment
manufacturers are properly addressing the needs of female triathletes?

No, it is still very difficult to find appropriate equipment unless you fall within the size ranges of the average male triathlete. In many instances, "unisex" really just means "we don't care enough about female athletes to make appropriate clothing and equipment for you, but we'd like you to pay good money to buy this ill-fitting (clothing, equipment) because you don't have any other choice."
Female bodies are very different from male bodies, which we all learned in sixth grade health class, but the manufacturers don't quite seem to get this.  And, by the way, we are not all built like the thin and buff pro-females.  Women triathletes come in all shapes and sizes from tall to short, from thin to voluptuous.  We need clothing and equipment to fit our shapes.  Women tend to have have wider hips, shorter arms, and narrower shoulders and feet than men. It is particularly difficult to find bicycles made for petite women and wetsuits and tri-specific clothing of all sizes. However, some manufacturers do get it, like Terry Bicycles which makes equipment and clothing designed especially for female bodies.

5.    The longer, more endurance focused triathlons like the half Ironman,
full Ironman and Ultraman include cutoff times for each leg.  The cutoff
times are blind to gender even though physiological differences exist and
cause women to not be as fast.  What does the commission think about this?
Would the commission like to see different cutoff times for women that take
into account physiological differences?  If so, what plans does the
commission have to address this issue?

The Women's Commission has not specifically addressed this issue in the past, but it is worthy of study.  We might want to start by looking at older women triathletes as to whether they are disadvantaged by these cut off times.  I mention the older females first because they missed out on the advantage that Title IX has given to the younger women in that older women did not have the opportunities for life-long involvement in sports that their male counterparts did.  This could result in disproportionate disadvantage in these age groups. 

6.    Problems the commission is tasked with won't be solved quickly but
will get solved in time.  What things can both male and female triathletes
do to help?

Volunteer, volunteer, volunteer.  We are still faced with overwhelming tasks to accomplish for by an all-volunteer USAT board of directors and commissions.  We need more help in all areas to make the kind of progress we would like to see by 2010.

The goal of this article is to bring to light some of the issues triathlon
faces going ahead.  Having the thoughts of the Women's Commission will
significantly help the discussion of these issues.  We're also gathering
input from male and female triathletes, race directors and equipment
manufacturers on these issues too.  Please let me know if you're able to
answer these questions.  You can reach me at bauer@bauertrinews.com   If you have any questions for concerns please feel free to contact me.


Sincerely,
Matt Bauer
Executive Editor and Producer
Bauer Tri News - Tongue 'n Cheek Triathlon
www.bauertrinews.com <http://www.bauertrinews.com/>