Latest News
BLOG: Fan Backed Women's Team
by Mark Tearle
A recent Social Media campaign for a Fan Backed Women’s Team has highlighted something interesting to me; sports funding and in particular funding for professional cycling and more to the point the lack of funding and support for women in professional cycling.
(Image: Simon Wicks Of Surbiton)
I don’t know whether I hadn’t thought about it before, or that it just simply hadn’t registered properly but the fact is that women's sport, cycling in particular, does not attract the same level of funding as the men's sport – a terrible oversight and a rather embarrassing admission on my part perhaps – maybe I am naive or just too ‘right on’ for my own good, but why?
Rationally thinking about this, women’s cycle racing lacks the history of the men’s sport but you know there’s likely to be many social and political reasons behind this, given the fact that it wasn’t until The Representation of the People Act 1928 that voting rights were extended to all women over the age of 21 (in the UK), granting women the vote on the same terms as men and from the 1960’s and into the 1980’s and 1990's women were still fighting for various equality rights and liberation – arguably we still have a very long way to go, in terms of attitudes and opportunities, especially in sport, but bloody hell it is the 21st Century!
(Image: Larry Hickmott, VeloUK)
Momentum is gathering behind an original proposal developed by Stefan Wyman (Directeur Sportif for Matrix Fitness – Prendas, Women’s professional cycling team) who sparked off several ideas for the future of funding and support for women’s cycling in an article for Cyclismas.com on the Role of Fans in Women’s Cycling. One of these ideas, a Fan Backed Women’s Team, was taken a stage further by Dave Smith (former Olympic Coach and sports performance advisor known as @ffflow on Twitter) who expanded on the theme and created a social media buzz by suggesting that individuals could pledge £100 and hoping to attract at least 500 supporters willing to offer the funds – further reading is available here.
Stefan Wyman has further clarified the thinking behind the social media campaign #fanbackedwomensteam, in a piece for Onthedrops.cc - and for those that do not have the available means to pledge £100 the campaign is accepting any skills, time and resources which may support the current movement. The simplest thing to do, if you support the idea, is to offer your basic support by Tweeting the message ‘I support #fanbackedwomensteam’ or placing something on your Facebook page or similar.
(Image: Simon Wicks Of Surbiton)
This is a small drop in the ocean of course – sustainable funding and an increase in awareness in Women’s cycling will only continue if this momentum is harnessed by the fans and those, like me, suddenly becoming more aware of the issues, and by the introduction of professional backers and industry bods realising there is a return available to them in women’s cycling and opening up their cheque books. It matters too that women’s cycling needs more exposure on television and in other media sources offering the same time in the schedules and column inches as the men’s sport.
I have heard positive notes recently emanating from Team Sky as reported in the Telegraph and Wyndy Milla (a message from Wyndy Milla’s Twitter account requesting support for the idea), considering the idea of a ‘development model’ and a women’s team respectively. Although the news reported in the cycling press in August that the Dutch AA Drink/Leontien.nl Cycling Team have recently lost their backing for 2013, leaving Britain’s Emma Pooley, Sharon Laws and Lizzie Armitstead somewhat high and dry (though we hope not for long) shows that there is still a very long way to go.
(Image: Simon Wicks Of Surbiton)
For my part I will make my position quite clear. I have two young daughters, Phoebe (8) and Beaux (7) – this summer they both learnt to ride their bicycles and suddenly as a family we have become considerably more mobile with many wonderful options available to us for cycling adventures – I cycle with them both to school most mornings and collect them in the afternoons when I can.
My point is that if the playing field has been levelled and the opportunities are there for my children’s generation by the time they mature then the acorns planted now will have bloomed into mighty oaks, with solid roots – we will have this current crop of recent Olympic talent, professional women cyclists and their supporters, including the likes of Stefan Wyman and Dave Smith and 100’s of other like minded fans to thank for their hard work and perseverance preparing the soil and planting the seeds now – they deserve our attention and the inequality mustn’t be allowed to continue.
I support #fanbackedwomensteam.
You May Also Like...
2 Comments
Hi Simon W of Surbiton
Thanks for the comment and the use of your fantastic pics - http://www.flickr.com/photos/thefixedfactor/sets/72157630450998050/with/7507999530/!
I agree wholeheartedly with what you say, though I believe that Stefan Wyman makes it quite clear that this money would be used as a "seedling fund" 1. to help promote and support Matrix Fitness - Prendas (not as part of the main budget) and 2. to provide promotional money to support women's cycling as a whole.
As a first step to show potential backers that there is support for women's cycling, to raise awareness and that the community of fans are well behind it I personally think this is a great idea.
Leave A Comment
Please login to leave a comment
Thanks for drawing attention to this issue, Mark (and for using my pics!). Like you, I find the disparity in funding between men's and women's sport depressing. This is the 21st century. after all. However, I can't agree that a fans backed women's team is the answer. It's a nice idea, but even if the campaigners get their 500 supporters pledging £100, that's going to get them two top riders and their bikes and kit at best. For a single year. To run a women's team that does justice to riders of Emma Pooley's calibre will cost considerably more than £50,000 - and we're about to lose Pooley to the sport, even though she's probably our most versatile and consistently exciting rider, male or female. Why on earth would a highly intelligent 29-year-old with the prospect of a reasonably well-paid career as a scientist stay in a sport where she's paid peanuts (minimum wage basically) and has to find a new employer every year? In my opinion, the answer actually lies with the media: the more women's sport they show, the more visible and popular it becomes and the more sponsors it will attract. Unfortunately, chauvinism is as ingrained in the media as it is in sport and business. You wouldn't think women make up half the population, would you?