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-   -   Ladies here's a question for you? (http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/showthread.php?t=204678)

wakeboarddad01 12-30-2004 5:46 PM

Why don't we have more women turning pro and going on the tour. I see there are only 2 stops on the pro tour again this year. I know the talent is out there because I have seen some good riders here in Florida. It seems that it's the same 10 to 15 women riders each year. Any thoughts and what do you think it takes to turn pro? Thanks

nikki 01-01-2005 9:27 AM

i think it could be that most of the pros have been riding since they were very very little. Little boys like thrilling things like that, but a lot of the little girls dont conquer their fears of being afraid of everything until later down the line. But then there is the exception of some little girls and those are the ones who have a better chance bc they started much younger. Anyways i just thought about that, so its a possibility, but then i could be totally wrong. Who knows! I think the ladies who are pros need to step it up a bit if they want to see more tour stops. my .02

xtremebordgurl 01-03-2005 9:34 PM

I dunno, I think the pro women need to push themselves and be a little more ballsy. I'd like to see the women hitting double ups and really pushing the sport. If pro female gymnists can keep up with the guy gymnists then female wakeboarders should be able to keep up with the male riders. I think the tour needs to step it up and I think the stakes need to be raised. I know this is a VERY LONG shot but my goal for the next 2-3 yrs is to get and shape and see how far I can run with the sport, I know my weight is whats holding me back but I really want to see change in women's wakeboarding. I'd like to organize a girls only double up contest just to see what the girls can come up with. That would be VERY interesting. Get more girls to go out and ride with the guys. I really don't understand what is holdng them back. It's like they just stopped trying new things, or so it seems. I'm super stoked tho cause I've been hearing of some girls that are trying to change things and are pushing themselves really hard. I think women's wakeboarding is going to take off in the next ten years, or we can only hope.

xtremebordgurl 01-03-2005 9:53 PM

In terms of turning pro, I don't think its all that hard for the women, not to come across at all disrespectful to the pro women, but I don't think the competition is all that fierce. However there is not as much money involved for women so its a little harder, but I think more sponsors would be willing to invest more money into the women riders if they were pushing harder. I know guys that are riding in intermediate divisions in my region that are more impressive to watch than the pro women. I think the reason that it is the same 10-15 each yr is that a lot of girls get to a point where they are scared to try something and their progression stops there. Whereas guys seem to ride with no fear or if they are scared they hide it from the other guys and go for it anyway. I think a lot of amature women run into the same mental road blocks as the pros and thats whats keeping them from going that one extra step. I could be totally wrong, thats just my guess. Also, not to insult the guys but I think the women are a bit more sensible and tend to not be willing to risk everything to see if they can go pro. Not sure if that is a good trait or a bad trait, but there it is. I dunno, I could be totally wrong, thats just my .02

01-04-2005 5:40 AM

I'd like to chime in and say that although I think it sucks that the pro women wakeboarders are getting the shaft as far as the tour goes, competing is not everything. I used to be really into competing, but after a few years decided that I enjoy free riding a whole lot more. I enjoy going to tournaments to hang out and watch other people ride, and sometimes I still compete as well, but there are too many politics (like everything else) and I got tired of it. If I rode on the pro tour and saw what was happening with the women, I could look at it two ways. I could try to step it up and push myself to learn a bunch of new stuff, or I could say who cares - it's not worth it to bust my butt and risk getting injured - all just to try and get more exposure. I don't think the women are ever going to get the respect they deserve, do they ever? In most sports that are male-dominated, the women get the shaft when it comes to exposure. It's just a fact. <BR> I think it is awesome that there are so many women out there who wakeboard now. When I first started riding it was rare to see another girl on a board. I know of so many girls who are very good and could ride on the tour if they wanted, but they choose not to. They would rather hang out at the lake with their buddies and ride all they want instead of sitting around all day waiting for two passes that last less than 5 minutes. <BR> I think the women who push women's wakeboarding at an amateur level are great. People like Susan Wilson who started Girl's Day Out, Lauren McCaa, Tiffany Landry - these are the women who stand out in my mind the most when I think of women and wakeboarding. <BR> Somebody made a post on here about wives/girlfriends riding and I was really impressed at the stuff these women are doing, and seeing pictures was great! <BR> I think that even though the pro women are not getting as much exposure as we would all like to see, there are still a bunch of great women riders out there who push the sport locally and are successful. <BR> That is my outlook!

dakid 01-11-2005 1:53 AM

what it really boils down to is that the pro tour is the one responsible for the lack of pro tourneys for the women. female riders didn't approach the pro tour and say, "hey, there are too many stops, can you ax most of 'em? thanks!" the pro tour simply cut the women's tour drastically. if you were to ask pro women, they'd all prolly say that they should have as many stops as the men. <BR> <BR><blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1><b>quote:</b></font><p>I don't think the competition is all that fierce.<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote> <BR> <BR>just because you don't see them in vids, mags or even all 2 stops, doesn't mean they're not out there. <BR> <BR><blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1><b>quote:</b></font><p>Also, not to insult the guys but I think the women are a bit more sensible and tend to not be willing to risk everything to see if they can go pro.<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote> <BR> <BR>guys are just more competitive than women. <BR> <BR><font size="-2">disclaimer: it's not my intention to be sexist. it's just what i've observed.</font>

mikel 01-12-2005 7:48 PM

If you look at the local tourney's, the women are coming. Numbers are growing...the sport will be pushed by the young girls coming up. Look at what has happened with surfing in the last 10 years. As a dad, I love seeing it.

xtremebordgurl 01-23-2005 7:36 PM

Yea thats a really good point. Did you guys ever see Step into Liquid? They mentioned something that I thought was super cool that it was actually a good thing to "Surf Like a Girl" and they had a pic of a huge sticker on the side of a car that said "Surf Like a Girl". I thought that was pretty sweet. So I think that proves that its possible for women to be at the same level as the guys.

09-03-2005 9:30 PM

In my opinion Girls need to be more agressive about sports in general, I know their are alot of women in sports, and I am aware that women who do push it are usually quite successful, Ladies we really need to step up and not be so afraid of the fall, I think that many of us are just waiting for it to happen, but really we need to start making it happen-- and you know if the guys would stay home once in awhile...lol!!


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