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HEAR US ROAR!
Wed, 09/30/2009 - 11:41am
Okay, ladies (and gentlemen and promoters). I've been wondering just WHO WE ARE so I pulled up some demographic data from USA Cycling. After a bit of manipulation, here's what I can tell you about the women of the NCNCA. This data is current through today and likely includes some women who aren't actively racing, purchase an annual license for one event, or who are focusing on cyclocross, but I think it's a good snapshot.
USA CYCLING ANNUAL LICENSE HOLDERS (ROAD RACING):
TOTAL WOMEN 599
CAT 1 42
CAT 1 JUNIOR 0
CAT 1 U23 1
CAT 1 30+ 30
CAT 1 35+ 22
CAT 1 40+ 12
CAT 2 98
CAT 2 JUNIOR 0
CAT 2 U23 5
CAT 2 30+ 78
CAT 2 35+ 57
CAT 2 40+ 42
CAT 3 142
CAT 3 JUNIOR 3
CAT 3 U23 4
CAT 3 30+ 111
CAT 3 35+ 89
CAT 3 40+ 60
CAT 4 317
CAT 4 JUNIOR 26
CAT 4 U23 17
CAT 4 30+ 223
CAT 4 35+ 174
CAT 4 40+ 136
PROMOTERS -- Although we all appreciate single-category races, here are some other combinations of note:
W1/2 140
W1/2/3 282
W3 142
W3/4 459
W4 317
W1/2/3 35+ 168
W1/2/3 40+ 114
W3/4 35+ 263
W3/4 40+ 196
W3 35+ 89
W3 40+ 60
W4 35+ 174
W4 40+ 136
W JUNIORS 29
CLUBS, are you recruiting? Here are unattached women who might be interested in joining a team. How do we reach out to these women? Most of us on teams would agree that being part of a team helps improve racer retention.
UNATTACHED 124
UNATTACHED W1 4
UNATTACHED W2 17
UNATTACHED W3 24
UNATTACHED W4 79
UNATTACHED JUNIORS 4
UNATTACHED U23 5
UNATTACHED 30+ 88
UNATTACHED 35+ 66
UNATTACHED 40+ 48
And just for kicks:
CAT 1 YOUNGEST: 20 years old
CAT 1 OLDEST: 50 years young
CAT 2 YOUNGEST: 19
CAT 2 OLDEST: 53
CAT 3 YOUNGEST: 13
CAT 3 OLDEST: 62
CAT 4 YOUNGEST: 10
CAT 4 OLDEST: 69
L3,
That's killer news! I'm making a t-shirt that says 599 on it. I will make on for you too. Just out of curiosity, what did the men's numbers look like? I just want to know how many guys race. I also wonder what the retention rates are between the genders. Child care, career, worry over weight: all those things could changes numbers one way or the other. Is it better to spend recruiting dollars on women who may attend more than one race but less than 5 because they are wanting to improve health and fitness rather then the guy who will do only one and never come back. I just wondered what your opinion was and what your experience has taught you. I'm not necessarily asking because I want you to do all the foot work. I'll help. Just let me know where to start counting.
-Maroon
P.S. When you say Masters women you are counting women who's ages happen to be over 30 or over 35? I should sit down with you and a couple of beers and pick your brain.
CAT ONE
>20----0
20-29--1
30-39--3
40-49--1
50+----1
TOTAL=6
CAT TWO
>20----0
20-29--4
30-39--5
40-49--5
50+----1
TOTAL=15
CAT THREE
>20----3
20-29--7
30-39--8
40-49--8
50+----2
TOTAL=27
Youngest cat 3 rider is 16 and oldest is 59.
That's a total of 48 cat 1,2 3 riders, of which 26 raced this year at Hellyer.
About 65 women in all categories raced in some mass start race in 2009.
George Meilahn
VP Road 2009
I realized that I didn't post this IMPORTANT number anywhere.
Total women racers: 599
Total masters women racers: 442
That's 73% of our women who are masters age. It sure would be great to be able to provide more opportunities for that 73% of women to race against their age peers.
Lorri
Lorri Lee Lown
http://www.velogirls.com
George, you bring up such a good point. Track racing is great for juniors (and adult racers) because it's a 'destination" sport. For youth athletes, this seems to be an important factor in participation and it's the way many youth sports are organized -- training + competing on a regular schedule at the same time and the same PLACE.
I think track racing, especially with all of the efforts in the past two years to recruit and retain women racers, can be a great way to recruit and retain women racers as well as juniors. And I would guess that increases in participation @ that track will translate into increases in participation in road racing.
Lorri Lee Lown
http://www.velogirls.com
As for the Junior women look at this:
My research indicates that 34 different junior women competed last year (that's ~100% of licensees!!). And since only 3 have graduated, there could very well be this many road racers in 2010:
JR Women 15-18---17 riders
JR Women 10-14---14 riders
And probably 10 junior women track riders will return for 2010.
That's nearly 30% of junior women who race the track!!
Even the Master Men's categories can't boast of such participation!