NZsnowboard.com

26th August 2008

By: Hannah Tatton

In the past, snowboarding has been a male dominated sport, leaving the better halves in the dust and deeming them 'naturally' weaker riders. Yet the rise and rise of the female snowboarder is occurring as more women join the professional realms and more girls are hitting the slopes with attitude and are gaining recognition.

Perhaps these modern times has seen a bit of respectful male pride swallowing and a bit of shoving over to give the girls some room because it seems the natural progression of snowboarding is undergoing a bit of a balancing act and is now a more unisex sport.
 
More likely though its the fact that regardless of whether the big boys have politely stood aside, the girls have slowly but surely punched through and made their mark - acceptance granted or not.
 
In the very early days it was not uncommon for such stories to be heard of women entering snowboarding events but having to race the women skiers simply because there just weren't enough female snowboard competitors. Of course, they didn't get to race their male counterparts as that would breach some literal rule.
 

However, times have changed and now girls are getting their piece of the limelight with more numbers killing it on the slopes thanks to female specific contests, training camps, outerwear and snowboard lines and a slowly increasing amount of media coverage alongside the boys.
 
Snowpark NZ marketing manager Claire Jackson has seen a definite increase in female participation. She puts this down to the rise of female professionals proudly taking their stance in the national and international snowboard scene and opening the gate for the female community.
 
"NZ role models such as Julianne Bray, Callie Conaghan, Shelly Gotlieb and Abby Lockhart are frequently riding, competing and hanging out at the resort which inspires many girls to keep at it.  Having top international female riders such as Jenny Jones and Jamie Anderson visit the Snow Park each winter also helps to increase the profile of female riding in NZ at the same time as encouraging kiwi riders to ride to a higher standard," she said.

 
Ohakune bred shredder and Snow Girls NZ coach Shelly Gotlieb is one of New Zealand's prominent riders in the female ring and also sees the change.
 
"The whole snowboarding industry in NZ is growing and the female aspect is too. Times have a changed! Its not the boy only dominated sport it may of been in the past, girls have paid there dues and killed it enough to get some recognition. Girls are out there pushing the boundaries just as much as the boys do and it is accepted," she said.

And the opportunities are out there for those girls willing to stomp the crap out of their boards.  Gotlieb sees the incentives for tapping into the event scene saying that with a bit of competition savvyness, there is room to make a wee stamp for yourself in the New Zealand snowboard picture which in turn can lead to further career opportunities.

"Media coverage, sponsorship, prize money and recognition are main incentives.  Women specific events such as 'Freestyle for Funds' and 'Snow Girls NZ Jam' help to boost event participation with fun, low-key events that anyone can join in and it is for a good cause," backed Jackson.   

Yet to much debate from both sides, the incentives for men and women to compete in events can vary hugely, with most debate being centralized on prize money.  It's a topic that Gotlieb describes as touchy, lengthy and something a lot of people have an opinion on. This is because, as Jackson points out, more often than not women's prize pools at snowboard events are lower than their male counterparts which can in itself seem unfair.
The prize pool for the Mountain Dew Night Sessions held at Snowpark NZ differ for females and males, with females walking away with either just under or over half the amount of the males cash prize. The recent Burton NZ Open however, kept the prize money equal.

Many event organizers believe this is fair practice due to having fewer females in the field and relatively less competition. And while this could be viewed as meaning that the men have to worker harder for their money, most would argue that it is all relative.

"Personally I would like to see equality," says Jackson.

However, she does point out that to encourage more women to participate at a semi-professional level there needs to be more support and funding for NZ female riders to train and participate in events in NZ and overseas.
 
Women specific snowboard camps are also springing up worldwide in order to create spaces where women can come together to learn in an environment free from objectification or devaluation. The support of other women means confidence is developed and old previous inhibitions fade fast.
 
"The likes of promotional 'Girls day out' and girls freestyle camps are just the things that females can utilize so they can see they are welcomed and wanted in one of the funnest sports we have at our leisure in NZ," said Gotlieb.
 
Locally brewed camp Snow Girls NZ is a 6 year old programme for girls designed by girls with some of New Zealand's top female riders coaching and participating in the camps.
 
"It's a concept designed to introduce female snowboarders and skiers to the excitement and fun of riding freestyle terrain", said Jackson.
 
Three 2-day freestyle riding camps are on offer including four hours of coaching per day, meals and on-hill accommodation. New Terrain Specific Clinics focusing on either jumps, jibs or pipe are also available to get that pocket of tricks looking gold.
Kirsten Anderson, author of The Construction of Gender in the Emerging Sport of Snowboarding argues that this creation of women specific snowboard camps challenges the masculine image of the sport and undoubtedly adds towards validating female riders identities as snowboarders.

Interestingly, but perhaps not surprisingly, Anderson also puts the difference in skill between women and men down to a weaker body structure and mental attitude of women compared to the aggressiveness, skillfulness and general willingness to take risks that males bring to the sport. Undoubtedly, in almost every other sport, men have achieved faster, bigger and better times and feats than women.

And credit must be given where credit is due, the males do have the right attitude when it comes to riding. Many of the worlds best female riders such as Hannah Teter are trained by their brothers, fathers or male friends and it is pretty common to see one female rider shredding with a bigger pack of guys.

Anderson similarly points out that many women want to ride with others that can handle the pain and difficulty of learning and who actually want to master it; few want to ride with a sissy.

Sissyness or no sissyness, Gotlieb willingly dishes out some advice and reassurance saying "Snowboarding is a uni sex sport and the more girls and guys we have in NZ killing it the better, so don't worry if you're the only girls wanting to go in the terrain park, head on in, ask for some advice, watch some of the boys hit the features then have a go. Don't be scared."
 
So while the pages of your favorite snowboard magazines are still largely male dominated, the ascendance of the female rider is in no way to be underestimated. Girls are pushing the boundaries and showing anyone up all over the hill and with more determination than ever.And its in everyone's best interests to show their support.
 
"There is a good bunch of kiwi chicks coming up the ranks in snowboarding and its all our responsibility to get behind them and help them continue to push riding for NZ and work towards a goal of being able to do it for a living. So how about Netball, Hockey, Tennis AND Snowboarding?"
 
Consider that a challenge laid down.





- by. Hannah Tatton