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After watching round 3 of the NPS 4X at Chicksands a few weeks ago I got the impression my girlfriend fancied giving it a go. Now a couple of things struck me about the Women’s category in particular:

1)   It only had 4 people in it
2)   Suzanne Lacey was significantly quicker than the other riders

Now no criticism intended at all to the other riders! There was some tight racing between the other 3 (and they were out there actually racing while I was just spectating). A larger number of women racing would obviously be good for 4X in general but do you think this should come at the expense of the quality of riders (bear with me!)?

I’m significantly quicker on a bike than my girlfriend, and yet I don’t feel ready to race (soon though – maybe October at UK Bike Park) - but I think she could do okay due to the comparative strength of the different categories. So what would you rather (for both mens and womens categories): To see more riders, regardless of skill level; or more riders - but only if they were really quite quick? Do you think Novice should be just that – for novices – or just a feeder class where you do a couple of races then are on the pace in your proper category?

Would you be happy seeing people like my girlfriend race to up the numbers, even if they were 15 seconds slower down the course the average, or do you think it’d dilute the racing, and make it seem too grassroots? Obviously NPS 4X isn’t as established as NPS DH, so rather than requiring BC points to even qualify (like in DH) the 4X offers a Novice category – but who do you think this category is pitched at?

One key point that I'll chuck in to the cauldron for this one.

Most people will improve much quicker when put in a competitive situation.  So for example, if your girlfriend starts racing now, she'll be pushed a lot harder than she will just cruising around the woods.  So you might find that it's not long before she's having your pants down (on the track, obviously)

I'd say if she fancies a go, then it's a great idea!  It'll most likely encourage other female competitors to have a go as well, and she'll quickly get up to speed!

I'm up for seeing anyone racing no matter how slow they are initially, there's only one way to go and that's up.  And more participants = more events.

Rootes

That's true - and more sponsors, better prizes, more coverage, more courses, greater recognition, more spectators... all good things.

What you say about competitive situations is also very true. It works in the same way as training with people who are better than you are.

She's coming to Chicksands and UK Bike Park with me soon so I'll get her doing the 4X tracks and build up her confidence (and before I know it she'll have stolen my Charge and be at the gate in her first moto)

No one knows how fast they are until they get out there and try it.

If your girlfiend can do a few runs with Suzanne at Chicksands she will get an idea, but when Suzanne started racing she raced with the boys because there were no girls her age racing, we put girls down an age category when then race with the boys to make it bit easier but this has done Suzanne no harm and is now winning the girls class.

I got an e-mail from one of the girls at chicksands after race saying she was the happiest girl in Bedford after race which makes it all worth while that she had  such a good time.

Lets hope to see you girlfriend riding soon you never know after a few races she might be showing you how to do it

Haha, my girlfriend's not gonna be schooling me, I guarantee that! We've been having races on a sort of pump track (that isn't really a pump track because you have to pedal a small uphill to complete the lap). She sets off on my back wheel and I have to lap her as quickly as possible.

That's cool about the girl emailing you. I was chatting to my buddy Keith (who won Veterans) and one of the girls came up to him and said "I didn't come last, I got 3rd that time!" with a big grin and ran through her whole run with him. The fun element did seem to be there for a lot of people which is really cool.

As Rootes said, most people improve quicker in a competitive situation.  So if the numbers increase and the girls are having a close race that's brilliant, as they will all improve in speed and skill very quickly! And of course it's so much more fun battling all the way down the track!

It's a more difficult position to be in for suzanne, wanting to support the girls racing and keep the numbers up, but also needing a competitive race to improve herself at the same time.

Ratio wise 4x has a lot of women, there were 6 women racing Caersws at the weekend and over 200 men Chicksands had 5 women and probably 100 men. You just notice it more because they were on the course at the same time.

More riders is better no matter how quick they are, couple years ago I was one of the slowest juniors but I kept racing and now I'm a not so slow senior winning motos (b'tard quarters ;D). The more you race the quicker you get and the quicker you get the more you enjoy it.


The nps 4x novice catagory always causes debate mainly because it's the only real series and you need a licence for the proper cats so it's not so novice. Biggest problem is that if a first timer gets his ass creamed they will probably not do it again.

Maybe instead of 12-16 and 17+ there could be novice and open, make a final in the novice and you move to open. No points, basic prizes.

Haha don’t get me started on Novice 17+ :D

There’ve already been plenty of discussions about sandbagging, scrapping Novice prizes, winning race licences etc. but I had another thought: On the NPS 4X site they list the results for each category with Name, Number and Sponsor. From Rd 3 at Chicksands 4 of the top 8 in Novice 17+ have a sponsor listed! Lets face it, if you have a sponsor you’re not a novice, are you! A very simple change that could help this situation would be to remove the sponsor field from Novice categories – a simple, cost free way to encourage the sponsored riders have to enter their proper class

but then you would have to ban them from wearing sponsors race gear on the track and on the podium for it to actually make a difference

It's just one more incentive to move up, it's not a full solution. There are also very quick unsponsored riders who'd be better off out of Novice. Currently Novice seems more like a "i cant be bothered to buy a licence and winning prizes is easier in this category anyway" class so it seems funny to not discourage that in any way possible.

Not sure about that sponsorship suggestion Seb.  I'm sponsored for DH but have never raced 4x before.  I'll hopefully be entering a few 4x races once I get back up to speed on the bike just to see what the craic is.

So naturally I'd stick my sponsor in the box, out of habit and routine.  Should I not be allowed to do this?  Seems a bit odd to me.  I agree with the sandbagging thing, but I'd try it out in Novice 17+ for a race or two before I either decide it's not for me, or move to senior.

Rootes

well, being one of the 4 girls that raced chicksands last time out i can honestly say if your girlfriend wants to give it a go, seriously encourage her to do so! This is my first season racing, i was only going to do one or two but ive been hooked by the whole thing and plan to do as many as i can and carry on next year too. I found that in the 3 rounds ive done so far this year ive got faster and faster each time ive raced. Its going to take me a while to be as fast and as skilled as suzanne (if ever tbh!) but its not the point, as was said in the first post the racing between myself,sarah and bonnie was tight all day,esecially the final where me and sarah were bar to bar at one point! All the girls ive met are super friendly which makes it so much more fun,chris and his team are excellent,what can i say,yes we're not as fast as the lads (or the phenomenal suzanne) but we sure do enjoy ourselves and have a great day,so if your girlfriend want to give it a try get her down to a race, she wont regret it!

Well, if you think about it, your sponsor won't get masses of publicity from a Novice category anyway. People don't tend to think "I wonder what the Novices are using? I'll buy that!"

Secondly, if you give it a shot and decide it's not for you then chances are it didn't rock your world, and you didn't rock its world either, so again limited sponsorship value.

Thirdly, if your sponsored at DH I reckon you're pretty handy on a bike so should be able to make the jump to your proper category very quickly anyway - say one or two races in.

I know it's not an ideal situation for people like you - but it's just an idea of one more way to discourage sandbagging - as if your sponsors get their name at the top of the results sheet with minimal fuss, and the racers get a happy sponsor, a podium, and a prize, then there's not a lot to make them want to cough up £60 for a race license and have a much harder days racing.

But like I said, just an idea  :)

And when its put like that it makes sense :)

Rootes

Well said that man!

I raced that day and was chuffed that I'd come home with 2nd place, even thouh I was significantly slower than Suzanne, all along I knew it was more of a friendly race between Helen and myself, then Bonny joined in too and we all had fun, Suzanne too even though we all knew the contest was hers to win.

I race DH and 4X, have only just started this season and am really enjoying it, I'm not 'setting the world on fire', I never intended to, but I'm not doing badly either and I'm having a really good time which at the end of the day is what it's all about!

I know I'm improving as I go along, mainly because I have riders like Suzanne, Charlie and Joey to aspire to and try to catch, though I know it must be difficult for them if there is no contest, there's not much reason to push themselves as Joey has already said (hence why she was racing in Senior men at that particular race).

As for your girlfriend wanting a go, great idea! More women competing can only be for the good of the sport!
On a more personal level, I'm all for more women racing! The ladies I've raced with over the last 6 months have become really good friends of mine, we have a laugh and a chat and yet still maintain a competitive air and push each other to do better. That's a prize I never expected to win from racing!

well said SJ, couldnt have put it better myself (tried but ended up rambling as ever!!!)

Its true what SJ says though, we've all become real good friends, im getting faster and so are all the other lasses this season,its really helping us all improve, i cant wait for redhill (ok maybe not the second moto ;) ) and i hope to see plenty of other ladies there too :D

on a bit of a tangent, in sailing the novice series at club level (usualy posted a s rookies) is run on the basis that if you can only race in it if you have never completed a season.  i.e. you had to have raced less than 10 rookie races in a season (about 15 races, best 10 counted).

Maybe a similar system could be used, you can race a certai number of novice races then you have to move up.

But on the other hand you'd be a bit put off if you traveled form one end of the country to another knowing that you stood next to no chance of getting through the first round.



 

I was photographing at NPS4X at redhill at the weekend and all the girls were mixed in with the guys because theres not enough to make a series out of them. We need to get more girls/women involved with this sport and there are some good female riders at chicky iv seen them. Get your girlfriend down have a chat to Suzanne she would love the competition and some one to train with, she put up a great race against the boys and beat some of them .

Steve
www.englishbayphotography.co.uk

I was one of the ladies racing in the Youth mens category last weekend, I actually really enjoyed racing with the boys, it was nice to have some different competition even though I was nearly last.
I still maintain that I'd have done better with a fully working leg! ;)
The bottom line is, we really do need more girls racing 4X. DH has quite a few this year, I find it odd that there's only myself racing both disciplines!
If you're girlfriend(s) are interested, encourage them! It will do us all good to have more competition instead of showing up and racing the same 4 people each time!

seb,
 
Seeing as you live pretty close to me now (coincidence that we both moved from NE london to Surrey/Hants eh?) & i have a mini 4x track in my garden why dont you both start coming over & riding it, you'll love it and your girlfriend will gain experience on it so that when she does race she wont be in at the deep end!

Keith

Thanks Keith, we'll do that. Are Mondays still best for you?

I was at Andover BMX today and a couple of people knew you - it was a guy and his wife. He is a qualified coach and is on the committee, and she runs a bmx team? Their kid rides too (bubba?). She was saying how your kid is seriously amazingly good!

Ha, that'll be the Bennetts, Paul, Sheila & Bubba (Aarron), proper bmx family, used to race DH actually now just bmx & 4x. Paul is a quick rider!!

Travis (my son is 4 years old) & has loads of trophies for bmx already, amazes me some of the stuff he does!! when he rides in his school playground the whole school stops to watch!!

One of the reasons he is so good is that he can open the back door here & be on a great track within a hundred feet of the door!! Kinda cheating really i guess!!

Mondays are cool with me or any weekend we're not racing (not many of those!) a few sessions here & you're GF will be ready to rip it up at 4x for sure!

See you soon.......

You have a track in your garden??? Lucky you, that's awesome!

SJ, Come ride it dude!!!!

you're all riding this backyard track,am gonna have to seriously up it next year!!! more trips to chicky me think!!!

enjoy france SJ  ;D

Might just have to take you up on that offer seeing as I'm in Hampshire too!  ;D

My girfriend (Renée) rides the track all the time too so she'd enjoy you coming over, could get some gates going that'd be good practice for you both.
We're 5 mins from the A3 at Hindehead, 10 mins from Rogate.
Keith

Keith, don’t tell me you have a gate too? We could have a little Keith Wilson Gate Practice Masterclass  ;D

I’m giving my mum a little skills session this Friday (to try and boost her confidence after the broken neck ). We’ll also be working on the setup of her new bike (complete with pink Hopes! :P). I’ll try and drag Katie out for that too and get her a bit more confident for a trip to yours.

When is going to be best for you if we want to come round? Seriously pick a day and I’ll clear it with work (I have loads of leave to take) and see if Katie can get a half day at least.

seriously jealous!!!! i want a track with a gate in my yard!!! thats immense!!!

Yeah, we got a one man gate, just hand held up wooden one, still good practice though,
Mondays good for me. Let me know, maybe SJ will come along too!!

Well Yoof, my track def needs some digging/maintenance so grab some spades/shovels & some buddies & come down for a 'digging party' followed by a long riding session/barbecue, i'll set some timing poles up on the track so you can all record your times & see if you get quicker as the day goes on!!
Bit busy racing nearly every weekend at this time of year but when it quietens down at the end of the summer....  :)

I'm up for that. Got my two shovels too!

Monday Seb?

haha quality, sounds like a plan!!! get a 5 day weekend off work every 3 weeks so just let me know!!!

Excellent, my partners parents live in Northchapel so pretty close too! I'll PM you!

Can't do this Monday - but i'll check with the boss over the one after or any ones after that