Anyone have any links to any studies on the ratio of male to female in triathlons in the U.S?
You could probably just do a sample from a few Ironman events - or ask USAT.
USAT publishes some demographics: www.usatriathlon.org/about-multisport/demographics.aspx
Since 2000, USA Triathlon’s female membership has grown from 27 percent of the total of the annual members to more than 36.5 percent at the end of 2013.
It also says that triathlon participation was about 40% female in 2009 (presumably at USAT sanctioned events?). It would be interesting to see how that breaks down over different race distances.
Triathletes are a bunch of old, white, rich, men.
(On average)
You could probably just do a sample from a few Ironman events - or ask USAT.
I think the typical IM race is about 25-30% female.
Triathlon is more than IM distance
From what I see, there are a higher percentage of women in the shorter races compared to the longer distance
lol, maybe they need to change the name to iron person so not to discriminate
.
TunaBoo, the main reason that women don’t do triathlons is that women don’t want to get their hair wet. They like spin classes and cycling and running; yet, having to redo their hair after a swim is the number one complaint that I’ve heard from women followed by redoing make up and finding a suit that looks good on them. The women who do triathlons have gotten past the hair issue.
Racially the swim is probably the reason it’s mostly white. Black people have told me that blacks can’t swim, which is not true, but a belief that keeps their numbers down.
Triathlons require some money. If one can keep the cycling and race costs down it helps. A health club like LA Fitness has a pool, spin classes and treadmills for a $1 a day which is cheap entertainment and most people use that much in water alone. There is a wide variety of people there beginning triathlon training. However again, for some reason, many women don’t like to shower and use other peoples’ bathrooms.
Triathlons are for people who no longer excel in one sport, don’t mind getting their hair wet, have time and some money. Old, white, rich, men - but not by design.
Triathlons are for people who no longer excel in one sport,
Or never did…
TunaBoo, the main reason that women don’t do triathlons is that women don’t want to get their hair wet. They like spin classes and cycling and running; yet, having to redo their hair after a swim is the number one complaint that I’ve heard from women followed by redoing make up and finding a suit that looks good on them. The women who do triathlons have gotten past the hair issue.
Oh come on 
My wife likes tris. She doesn’t care about her hair getting wet. But someone has to spend 9 months hatching a baby, so it is obviously going to take her away for a few seasons of tri.
Swimming seems just as popular male/female, at least in high school. Running seems to have more females. Competitive biking I would guess has more men… but again, tri is different from the 3 sports… you have to commit a lot of your life to a stupid hobby. It seems like men are more likely to have massive time sucking stupid hobbies…
Competitive biking I would guess has more men…
87% men, 13% women.
Triathlon is more than IM distance
From what I see, there are a higher percentage of women in the shorter races compared to the longer distance
lol, maybe they need to change the name to iron person so not to discriminate
Yes. This is what I see. Lots of females in sprints, quite a few in half’s but it goes down in full IM.
TunaBoo, the main reason that women don’t do triathlons is that women don’t want to get their hair wet. They like spin classes and cycling and running; yet, having to redo their hair after a swim is the number one complaint that I’ve heard from women followed by redoing make up and finding a suit that looks good on them. The women who do triathlons have gotten past the hair issue.
Racially the swim is probably the reason it’s mostly white. Black people have told me that blacks can’t swim, which is not true, but a belief that keeps their numbers down.
Triathlons require some money. If one can keep the cycling and race costs down it helps. A health club like LA Fitness has a pool, spin classes and treadmills for a $1 a day which is cheap entertainment and most people use that much in water alone. There is a wide variety of people there beginning triathlon training. However again, for some reason, many women don’t like to shower and use other peoples’ bathrooms.
Triathlons are for people who no longer excel in one sport, don’t mind getting their hair wet, have time and some money. Old, white, rich, men - but not by design.
I’m so glad to hear this. Makes me feel better to know all those long-haired individuals finishing ahead of me are actually dudes and not women. I was starting to get emasculated.
Of course, I still lose to my wife and I’m sure she’s a woman.
TunaBoo, the main reason that women don’t do triathlons is that women don’t want to get their hair wet. They like spin classes and cycling and running; yet, having to redo their hair after a swim is the number one complaint that I’ve heard from women followed by redoing make up and finding a suit that looks good on them. The women who do triathlons have gotten past the hair issue.
There are way more competitive/fast women swimming at my pool than there are fast men. They have hair too.
Inner cities and poor communities can’t afford to keep up pools at the numbers rich parts of town can. So, swimming is choice wealthier people have. But a basketball court takes almost zero dollars to build and maintain. In lots of cases, you just need a goal and a driveway, street, or alley. And unfortunately, that gives you the racial makeup of those sports today.
TunaBoo, the main reason that women don’t do triathlons is that women don’t want to get their hair wet. They like spin classes and cycling and running; yet, having to redo their hair after a swim is the number one complaint that I’ve heard from women followed by redoing make up and finding a suit that looks good on them. The women who do triathlons have gotten past the hair issue.
There are way more competitive/fast women swimming at my pool than there are fast men. They have hair too.
I still think there are real logistical issues that limit the non-hardcore female participation in cycling and swimming, and yes, hair is a big deal to them.
Most women I know do not bike commute even if they love being on their bike because of the helmet hair as well as clothing issues once they get to work. Like it or not, men have it easier on this front for sure.
Serious women swimmers do it early enough not to matter, but I know that a lot of people swim during their lunch break, and it’s a big deal for a woman if they have hair issues that aren’t resolvable in time for after lunch to look professional at work again.
For the ‘racers’, I don’t think any of these issues will affect them - they’ll participate at the same rate as men. But if you’re talking increasing M:F ratio, it’s all about increasing the number of new/beginner female triathletes, who will def see more logistical roadblocks.
TunaBoo, the main reason that women don’t do triathlons is that women don’t want to get their hair wet. They like spin classes and cycling and running; yet, having to redo their hair after a swim is the number one complaint that I’ve heard from women followed by redoing make up and finding a suit that looks good on them. The women who do triathlons have gotten past the hair issue.
Racially the swim is probably the reason it’s mostly white. Black people have told me that blacks can’t swim, which is not true, but a belief that keeps their numbers down.
Triathlons require some money. If one can keep the cycling and race costs down it helps. A health club like LA Fitness has a pool, spin classes and treadmills for a $1 a day which is cheap entertainment and most people use that much in water alone. There is a wide variety of people there beginning triathlon training. However again, for some reason, many women don’t like to shower and use other peoples’ bathrooms.
Triathlons are for people who no longer excel in one sport, don’t mind getting their hair wet, have time and some money. Old, white, rich, men - but not by design.
Well at least your post gave me a chuckle. I love the hair theory. Maybe you can narrow down your sample even further to old, white, rich, *bald *men.
Inner cities and poor communities can’t afford to keep up pools at the numbers rich parts of town can. So, swimming is choice wealthier people have. But a basketball court takes almost zero dollars to build and maintain. In lots of cases, you just need a goal and a driveway, street, or alley. And unfortunately, that gives you the racial makeup of those sports today.
Actually black people are much less likely to know how to swim even when controlling for income, which also results in black children being much more likely to drown than white children let alone participate in triathlons. It does appear to be a culturally reinforced thing and probably partly due to the history of segregated swimming pools. There are some good programs right now to teach black children how to swim, with people like Cullen Jones as spokesman, because this is something with serious consequences.
Worth everybody’s read - When blacks were great swimmers and whites were not. https://archive.org/stream/pdfy-Qk7CNEVnSajeTEJp/1451-1699-Swimming-An-African-Tradition_djvu.txt
Worth everybody’s read - When blacks were great swimmers and whites were not. https://archive.org/...n-Tradition_djvu.txt
Wait, still not true?