| Subject: | Re: OBRA petition new version |
| Date: | 07/27/2000 12:15 AM |
| From: | Jon Walpole |
|
Candace, I have long supported women's racing, but I don't support your petition (a) because I think it is based on some false assumtions, and (b) because I think it imposes unnecessary restrictions on race promoters. Regarding the false assumptions part, the current situation is that all races are open to women. Hence women already have an equal racing opportunity. There are some races that are closed to men (women's races), but none that are closed to women. Furthermore, women have the option to ride their category or ride one category below in an open race. These existing rules mean that women currently have far greater racing opportunities than men. It is true that prize money varies from one event to another and from one category to another, but your current petition doesn't require equal prize money, and in any case, I don't think prize money is, or should be, a significant issue in any of the racing at the OBRA level. Regarding the restrictions on race promoters, this is a small sport in grave danger of going extinct due to lack of race promoters. These people are volunteers contributing their own time and money to make our sport happen. If someone wants to promote a race for a single category, whatever that might be, we should encourage and thank them. If they want to expand the number of categories thats all well and good, but please, lets support the people who make the sport happen rather than subject them to restrictive legislation. Finally, the best thing for women to do if they want to encourage race promoters to put on more women's only races with larger prize lists etc, is to turn up at the races. There are a lot of women's races on the calendar right now. If promoters saw large field sizes I'm sure many would supply races to match the demand. There is no barrier to this course of action, so lets see the big fields. -- Jon |
