Over here the club fees etc are much higher, so they can put a bit more effort into promotion at a grass-roots level.  It's a double edged sword, however, since it raises the bar of how cheap it is to get started.  One could argue that the cost of a motorcycle and some way of transporting it still dwarfs the club fees.

Accurate reporting with good photos, rather than just putting out a spreadsheet of results, would be a big improvement in PR for most clubs in my opinion.

On 8/27/2022 at 2:32 AM, motorcycleemptyness said:

This has gone slightly off Topic . I was referring to the ' Reporting and therefore the Promoting of Ladies and Girls Trials ,not the numbers competing.  

 Well if you go to the Italian World round and the TDN you could report on A 17 year old from my club. The gal winning Expert is too busy in her internship to become a doctor, she has competed 3 times at the TDN. And our longest riding women finished the Scottish in the late seventies. Most women competing have interesting stories and our president of our club is of course a women. She does an outstanding job, besides her property is one of my favorite practice areas. Also her daughter has ridden the TDN and is currently in Washington D.C. as part of an internship to become a lawyer. Not bad from nowhere in New Mexico.

On 8/27/2022 at 9:06 AM, turbofurball said:

Over here the club fees etc are much higher, so they can put a bit more effort into promotion at a grass-roots level.  It's a double edged sword, however, since it raises the bar of how cheap it is to get started.  One could argue that the cost of a motorcycle and some way of transporting it still dwarfs the club fees.

Accurate reporting with good photos, rather than just putting out a spreadsheet of results, would be a big improvement in PR for most clubs in my opinion.

As a female rider, I think this is the biggest barrier to entry, the cost. My husband got into trials, got a bike, and I tried it out but didn't really care to keep going with it at the time. What really got me going was getting to borrow a bike from the shop I worked at, and getting to go riding WITH him instead of sharing one, and getting some real riding time in. Then I had to have my own, and I justified the expense because I really enjoyed it. I think it can be both expensive, and something you need time and someone to really get your feet wet so you know if it's worth that kind of $$. That's a tough one. 

As an aging mid grade male rider I enjoy the predominant trials media - the Trial GP, Bou, Raga, X-trial - but I actually learn much more from watching the top women.
Sadly there is just a tiny fraction of the coverage given to them.

I find the women ride just as skilfully, but without the pure strength and without the high level of risk. That's much more akin to what I might strive for rather than the antics of the top men!
I can actually learn useful technique from them.

So I think the sport is doing a big disservice not giving better, dedicated coverage to women. And that's not even considering the equity, growth opportunity etc.

It's similar in 125cc class too, I wish more people videod those classes - so much more relevant to most of us.

So if anyone knows of good women's trial media, please point us at it!

23 hours ago, bikerpet said:

As an aging mid grade male rider I enjoy the predominant trials media - the Trial GP, Bou, Raga, X-trial - but I actually learn much more from watching the top women.
Sadly there is just a tiny fraction of the coverage given to them.

I find the women ride just as skilfully, but without the pure strength and without the high level of risk. That's much more akin to what I might strive for rather than the antics of the top men!
I can actually learn useful technique from them.

So I think the sport is doing a big disservice not giving better, dedicated coverage to women. And that's not even considering the equity, growth opportunity etc.

It's similar in 125cc class too, I wish more people videod those classes - so much more relevant to most of us.

So if anyone knows of good women's trial media, please point us at it!

Absolutely that, I remember going to a round of the UK women's championships and taking photos ... I didn't enter because I figured it would be way above my level, but I did learn from watching and it was less aggressive than the mixed events so I could have got stuck in without being intimidated, or worrying about holding other riders up (which is how it felt at the non-club trials I did before)