(07-26-2022, 03:40 AM)Thryleon date Wrote:Call me a cynic if you like, but the realist in me states that they wouldnt throw money away for no gain.Apparently in the EU there are aspects of this that are part of law now, if you don't provide the resources equally you risk getting fined, taxed or lose the license to hold the event.
I understand the market forces, but I don't see the growth opportunity for the isolated event in something like cycling. There has been no barrier to female cyclists in the past, and at Olympic level they are just as high in profile as the men.
I feel if there is to be female professional sport on equal financial terms then it has to be supported by proportionally representative crowds. This is the part I do not get, because no crowd basically means no market.
Another example of this, when I was last in the UK for a few weeks a couple of years ago, I went to watch an EPL Women's game on a Saturday afternoon, it was on within walking distance of where I was staying and I saw it starting on TV in the pub I was having lunch at. When I got there the setup was basically orchestrated to provide a crowd for TV, all the spectators restricted to one side of the ground opposite cameras, like going to a VFL game and only being allowed to use 1/4 of the available stands. I felt cheated. From what I had seen on the broadcast I was expecting a stadium with a crowd, and when I got there it was basically a lie. The bar staff had actually hinted a warning to me, I didn't take note. The game wasn't a bad game, the girls are good in their own way and I was open to accepting a different type of event, but the false expectation basically ruined the experience.
"Ruck, ruck, ruck, ruck ....... Ruck, ruck, ruck, ruck"