"I believe the standard of females in BMX needs to be raised up.For them to not even be that good and get hookups in my view is dissapointing for the female bmxers. The male bmxer population is out there busting they're ass's to try and be the best they can be to try and use bmx as a living and they still get nothing. I rarely see a chick do any big tricks.Probably the biggest trick ive ever seen was the backflip by cory. WOOPDEDOO!! It wasnt any harder for her to learn it then it is for a guy.I dont see girls doing walltaps outta 10ft quarters,I dont see girls doin huge wallrides outta minis or fufanus on huge sub box's.All i see them doing is double pegs and ONE girl is doing a backflip." - BmxDigger21

"There are lots of guys here in Milwaukee, and Chicago that deserve sponsers. They are not recognized. Just because a few girls get recognized cause they are girls blows me away. Yeah, its awesome that they are getting involved, but they should have the same standards as us guys." - Pork

"while im sure there is at least ONE decent girl out there, there are hundreds of amazing local guys out there that deserve the sponsor more than a girl". - LastDitch

"women either need to step it up a level or stick to douching" - muffdiver

I felt the best way to cover this topic, was to ask the people themselves why they are chooseing to help out the girl riders.

New Comment Added Jan 6th, 2003
      In response to those who think they"deserve" sponsors and feel threatened by the dedicated ladies who are getting them, you guys are WAY off the mark. What makes you think you "deserve" that sponsor more than a girl? Why do you think YOU should receive that support instead of her?
      To quote the statement made on here by "Pork": "There are lots of guys here in Milwaukee, and Chicago that deserve sponsors. They are not recognized. Just because a few girls get recognized cause they are girls blows me away................"  KEY WORD FOLKS!...."RECOGNIZED"!! It is true that these ladies have the recognition. What are YOU doing to gain recognition for yourself? Just because you can pull the hardest most outstanding trick on a bike does not mean you will get recognized. Recognition is something that you have to work for. It is also something that comes with a good personality....which all obviously all of you lack and need to improve upon. If you had good personalities, you wouldnt be posting such whining content on a website like this. Instead you would be out there riding and trying to contribite positively to the sport in whichever way you can, however small it may be. That is NOT what you are doing by writing this nonsense on here. You would also be smart enough to try to distinguish yourself from other riders so that potential sponsors will see you and may be attracted to you. THAT my friend is a big reason why the ladies have the sponsors; because they are different (ie: they are ladies), which means they are outstanding in a predominantly male sport. If I was a company interested in sponsoring an athlete or a rider, why would I want to sponsor someone that is just like all of the OTHER athletes out there? Furthur more, I wouldnt sponsor someone like you becasue you have the WRONG attitude about the entire sponsor/ sport thing alltogether. You have the type of attitude that whines and complains when things don't go your way. You know what that does? It turns people off, which in the long run would give people a bad feeling about anything you are directly associated with. READ:the company(s) that sponsor you (if you had one). This would end up hurting the company in the long run.
      The moral of the story is that you guys need to stop whining and change your attitude about riding. It's not about "what you can get", but rather "how much you love to ride", and "how much you love the sport". There is nothing wrong with wanting to make a living at riding, or doing what you love. it is a difficult, but noble aspiration. If you want the support of sponsors, you must ask yourself "how much of a positive, lasting impression can you leave with others"....which you are definitely NOT doing right now. Companies that sponsor do so for a variety of reasons. They have a need and if you want the support of that company you have to find out what that need is and fill it. I guarantee you that they will not be sponsoring any one with an attitude like yours anytime soon, so work on changing it. They are certainly not going to sponsor you because you can do quadruple, no handed, crossed up, one footer, 360, inverted backflips.
      Embrace the fact that the ladies are getting more and more involved in the sport. Support them and be happy for them. You will be much happier and better off in the long run. There's a saying that says "the toes you step on today might be connected to the ass you have to kiss tomorrow."
Werd from the Wise.
-- John Moorhouse, Coordinator and Rider, TeamTwentyFour

      every kid on a bike deserves a chance to be recognized, be it girl or boy, young or old, black or white, or even albinos. It doesn't matter how good you are, it just matters that you have love for what you are doing. There aren't enough people out there hooking up deserving riders so I'm trying to make a dent in things as best I can and give stuff to deserving kids. Everybody can use a little encouragement to keep going back out there everyday and practicing their bike manuevers and stunts and something simple like a free shirt or some stickers can make somebody feel like they've really accomplished something with all the time they've spent trying those maneuvers.
      When it comes to girls in particular, I think that it's harder for them to get respect from male riders and they can get easily discouraged. They often give up or don't try as hard to do too much with their bikes because they don't have the same amount of help and support that most male riders have from their friends. Everybody gets intimidated to ride in front of other riders that are better than them, especially when they are first learning to do tricks, and without enough encouragement, kids might just think that it's too hard or too much trouble to keep riding. They eventually let their bike riding fade away and their interests go toward other things. It's sad that they never really get to experience all that riding has to offer. The girls that have toughed it out and stuck with it are blazing a trail for all girls that pick up a bike in the future. They are starting to get more respect and more recognition but it doesn't come easy. So when I meet girls like these I feel that if I can help them along somehow by giving them some shirts or a sticker or whatnot, then I do what I can do and hope that I am making the world a better place.
-- Jason Suchan from Infantry Clothing

      let's look at it at an interest point from the business's which choose to sponsor someone or something.
      let's look at it by value and return.
      women riding is a hard market period. kim, you worked hard for it. your approach was totally on and professional. WOF promotes itself right, getting sponsorship is your return to your value. it's not just a girl thing. it's all approach and presentation.
      we need to help each other ride better, and not socially disect it.
anyone can do it, shit if a martian landed and represented properly it would have stickers all over it's rocket disc.
      well, let me get back on track. what i want to say is this.
      to all those men, women and aliens thinkin sponsorship is out there in the air to grab....AHHHHHHHH!!! i don't think so, you have to work it right.
      get organized, find someone to represent the whole lot of you. this gives you time to ride. make a list of companies. anyone try to get money from ibprofen? with as many bang ups that happen, i can't imagine why not. work out the results you are lookin for, money, products etc. make sure of the plan you have to offer those you seek for sponsorships.
      well, that's it.
      it's all about the ride, not the hype.
-- el marko from diatech

      The method in which a sponcer chooses his/ her riders differs as much as the many styles and forms of riding. Here at Dirt Bros we pick a rider by thier personallity, and if the brothers like the person, as well as their ability to ride a bike.
      We have retired riders from our brotherhood simply because they did not get along , and the other riders were not having as much fun riding because of them.
      I am sure that Haro, W.T.P , SnM and every other team out there has their own way of picking a rider to sponcer . Because of this, I myself think that nobody has the right judge a teams selection of a new member, whether by age, sex, style, or ability. Dont whine about who is and is not getting sponcered, GO RIDE YOUR BIKE!!!
      At Dirt Bros We ride because its FUN!!!
-- Jim from DBI

      I just got done reading the the little thing on how the women out there need to step it up..... After reading what some of the guys had to say, I am not even sure where to begin... Maybe they need to read there own letters again and try to figure out why they are not sponsored. Earlier this year, Marzocchi BMX decided to co-sponsor Arielle Martin. Besides the fact that she is a very talented rider, she also knows how to represent her sponsors better than 90% of the guys I have talked to regarding sponsorship. The latter can be worth more than results sometimes. I have also known Cory Coffee for several years from when she started out racing and has since kept pushing her limits well beyond what they were at the BMX tracks. I can honestly say that all the people who are helping her would have a hard time finding a rider with a more positive attitude and a person that will constantly represent them 100%. Congrats and major props to Air, Cory, and all the other Women of Freestyle, (or should I say riding in general?) who are out there riding for the right reason. BECAUSE THEY ENJOY IT!!! Ride on !!!!!
-- Brian Peterson from Marzocchi USA