Is doing a female-only triathlon a more attractive option than do an open registration triathlon?
Is there a need for a female specific event in Michigan in addition to the events already in place?
Would this race be *in addition to *your participation in open registration events, or *in lieu of *open participation events? (i.e., if there was an all-women’s race would you do that instead of doing the open race on a different date, or would you do both given an appropriate time interval between events?)
What are the primary draws to a female only event, why should we put one on as opposed to an open registration event.
What I hear a lot Tom is the need for more TT starts…as many folks are there to cross the finish line rather than to race. I.e. - have the “elites” do a mass start and then the common folk TT afterwards. It’s a great way for 1st timers to get their pix taken as well…
I think a women-only tri is really attractive for first-time women racers and encourages a lot more women into the sport. I’m not sure how many veteran women participate in them, though.
This is my third season of triathlons. The first year I did 2 female-only races (Reebook in Naperville, IL & Danskin in Pleasant Prairie). For a woman new to triathlons, it is a lot less intimidating knowing that you are not swimming with men who are likely to swim over you.
On the downside, if you are a decent cyclist, then the bike courses of these events can be an accident waiting to happen. My average speed was way faster than most of the other women on the course (elite wave excluded) and I found many of the women on the course had no concept of how to safely ride in a group. They were riding 3, 4 even 5 abreast forcing me to make unsafe passes. Even though I shouted myself hoarse saying “on your left”, very few moved over even though they had plenty of room on the right.
My last triathlon during my first season was the open registration Pleasant Prairie Triathlon which I found to be a much better experience. The swim was no problem as all the young studs went off in much earlier waves. The bike was a pleasure because people actually followed the rules and rode safely. The run is a non-issue as I am used to doing open road races and don’t find any benefit in separating men from women in that venue.
While I can’t comment on Michigan in particular, a women-only event is not appealing to me based on my past experiences.
FWIW, my 3 triathlons this season will be Aurora High Cliffs 1/2 Ironman, Spirit of Racine 1/2 Ironman and Pleasant Prairie Olympic distance.
This is a good insight. Thanks. We are comtemplating a female specific event, intended predominantly for first timers/entry level athletes to begin to learn the sport and have a positive experience in a low key environment.
I saw an ad for a women-only tri in a magazine last night and noticed something that was (to me) peculiar.
The tri being advertised came in two distances: sprint and super sprint. Going from memory, the sprint was something like 750 yd swim, 20K bike and a 5k run. The supersprint was a 375 yd swim, 10k bike and 3k run!
I’m all for women only events. And I understand that the super sprint is offered as a confidence booster and as a way to gain new participants in our sport. This was the fist time I have ever heard of a super sprint distance, and I wonder if it works in women only races if it will start appearing in general races. I don’t think I like that idea.
Hmm, you like the idea of the “super-sprint” for the female only events but would prefer not to see that in general participation events? Is that right? If so. I tend to agree FWIW.
The first race I signed up for was the Danskin Women’s Race near Chicago. At the time, the thought of a “triathlon” was daunting, but it gave me the motivation I needed to start working out on a regular basis.
From the women that I’ve talked with who don’t think of themselves at athletes, let alone competitive athletes, a women’s-only race is a lot less daunting then an open race.
That being said, my first race ended up being the Ann Arbor tri in 2003, one month before the Danskin. Both races were great. Both races have their own atmosphere. For example, in AA, people tried to push me off the trail, at the Danskin people line the run course to cheer on the final finisher of the race.
I don’t know that there’s enough local draw for a women’s only race in Michigan. But I know of at least 2 other Michigander’s that did their 1st tri’s at the Chicagoland-Danskin race. I also know of women from Minneapolis-St.Paul who travel to the Wisconsin-Illinois border for their first tri.
An alternative, might be a “mentoring” or training group set up for women wanting to do their first tri? But doesn’t that leads to the whole Team in Training debate?
Yep, these races are much less intimidating to first timers and moms/spouses of other triathletes. Usually the swim format is such that the younger age groups also see a boost in participants (7-16 yrs old). This indicates they are much less intimidating to teen age girls. There is still an alarming sports dropout rate in teen girls in this country. Don’t get me wrong, women’s sports are better than they’ve ever been but teen girls are still WAY more likely to become sedentary than teen boys. With childhood obesity running rampant these days, I think the women only format does alot to encourage mom’s/spouses to a healthlier lifestyle. That has gotta roll downhill to the kids at some point,eh?
On the broader perspective, engaging more of a cross section of the entire community is going to do alot to help race directors and the sport in general. The die hards can duke it out in the “real” races but “empowerment” races like women only events (or beginner only events) bring in more folks from the community. Hopefully this would translate to one less person calling and complaining to the city that the road is partially shut down and she can’t get to the mall or soccer practice in a timely fashion. …by the way, those examples I just gave are NOT random.
You know I’m conflicted. A big part of me thinks the women only races are BS. The number one argument I’ve heard from women that have participated in them is that for a first tri it is intimidating for a novice woman to line up with men; even more so if the woman does not consider herself athletic.
I remember my first tri. I’m a guy and it was a bit intimidating. I remember doing a handful of sprints and then doing my first half. That was kinda intimidating too. Same rap with IM. I think the intimidation factor is part of the sport (and most endurance sports), and one’s mastery of that intimidation is as relevant to tri as successfully executing a nutrition plan, open water navigation, gear selection and fit, etc. It isn’t just about the distances.
But I’m not an insensitive guy, and I always think the Dannon series and similiar races are a great thing and I’m always happy to hear them do well.
And the more that I think about super sprints distances the more I think that they should be designated for kids under 16. I think there would be some level of participation at sprint only races to have a super sprint kids wave after the sprint finishes. As an example my daughter would love to do sprint races with me, but I don’t allow it due to saftey concerns of her being on the road with grown ups. I don’t see the point of super sprints for adults. If you aren’t fit enough to finish a standard sprint (and I think nearly everyone is), then you need to train and prepare more.
my first tri was a women’s only event in ohio (put on, i think, by HFP racing). it was great–i wish every first-timer could have such a terrific experience.
one of the big draws for me at the time (in addition to the promised low key environment) was the swim course, which was billed as “chest deep water from start to finish” (in other words, if you freak out, just stand up!). almost everyone i spoke with pre-race mentioned that this figured prominently in their race choice.
i agree that the bike course needs to be as non-technical as possible, for the reasons another poster mentioned.
you might draw the same people and more if you hosted a first-timers only event with both male and female competitors. i think it’s more the ‘no-hyper-competitive athletes’ atmosphere that draws women to the women-only events…not the ‘no male athletes’ element.
and if the timing is right, i do think people would go from a first-timers event to an open registration event. i know after my first race i couldn’t wait to try another.
For a woman new to triathlons, it is a lot less intimidating knowing that you are not swimming with men who are likely to swim over you.
This is almost funny to me. By far, more women than men have aggressively clubbed/swam over me during tri swims.
I prefer to not think of it as clobbering. Instead, I am gently nudging you back in the direction of the correct buoy so you do go 15 yards off course. See how considerate I am! (and just coincidentally I get myself some open water in front of me in the process)
