We had some miscommunication but now we have agreed to the following for 2008 GC Women! The GC apologizes for it's role in this miscommunication. Per our conference call today women have asked for the following and we will happily provide this for them.
7 Races beginning with Albany, Gainesville, Chattanooga, Athens, Cumming, LaGrange and Atlanta will be the women's series.
2 categories: Pro123 and CAT 34 - Separate events, jerseys, points, podiums, etc for those events.
There will be NO payouts for either division - instead the women want lower entry fees.
Early - $50 for stage
Regular - $60 for Stage
Late - $70 for stage
TT- $25 all the time
RR - $35 'race day'
Crit/circut - $35 'race day'
We are VERY excited and really look forward to a great womens series!!
Please call or email me with any questions.
4 comments:
James - Thanks for listening to the views of the southeastern women and their supporters. I sincerely appreciate you re-adding women's races to the Georgia Cup. Though it's possibly not ideal (haven't really thought it all out yet), I can see the benefit of having reduced entry fees in lieu of payout, but I am sure there will be some that disagree. At this point, however, I plan to be at the Georgia Cup races as often as I can in order to support women's racing. I hope to see many of the southeast women there as well. Simply put, I want to race my bike.
And you can be sure I plan to never stop offering suggestions and voicing opinions in hopes of having the best races available to women even if it means you want to strangle me.
Thanks for your quick response.
Kim Sawyer
I am excited that the GA Cup will continue to support and promote women's cycling.
With more selective races, cheaper entry fee's, and exciting new primes, the races should produce a bigger turnout.
I understand that having no payout will raise some eyebrows but keep in mind that having GA Cup races for women is just the first step.
Please show support of women's cycling by participating in the GA Cup and the SEW series.
Thank you
Cheryl
I applaud Lee, Cheryl, and those who have taken on the SEW series, and I fully support local women's races. However, I really don't understand the "either/or" solution to entry fees and prize money. Can someone please explain how this was decided?
Let's look at the numbers. The fact is, the average Pro women's field at any given NRC race is consistently about 67% less than a Pro men's field (150 guys vs. 50 girls). Do the promoters take away prize money from the women? No. The prize money doesn't go as deep in the field, but it's not taken away all together! Unless someone is chasing NRC points, the big teams will likely use their budget to race elsewhere.
I understand that putting on a race (let alone a series) is a huge undertaking, and that expenses need to be covered. However, I believe that this can be done with paying the same entry fee and keeping a payout. The quality of the field will draw women to race and keep them coming out, not the promise of discounted entry and a pat on the back. Why not just save your gas money and do a group ride in town? Sorry if you don't agree, but if prize money is taken away all together, this looks like a real step backward for women's racing in Georgia.
It's not anyone's responsibility to get women to race except themselves, so don't punish those girls who have consistently supported women's racing in Georgia. Provide a women's payout.
And just for reference, you can sign Georgia Gould's petition here: http://www.petitiononline.com/equalpay/petition.html.
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