Post by ck4829 on Jul 23, 2017 9:45:29 GMT
Cascade Cycling Classic Fixes Massive Disparity in Women's Prize Money
Earlier this week, social media controversy spiraled around the Cascade Cycling Classic, one of Oregon's most well-known cycling events, over a massive disparity in the men's and women's prize purses. Payouts came to $23,979 in total prize money for men, with only $8,025 at stake for women.
In the past six years, the Cascade Cycling Classic (CCC) has distributed equal prize money for both the men’s and women’s elite winners. The difference this year is that the CCC became a UCI race, which means it had to adhere to strict standards for payouts. Unfortunately, the UCI standards haven't been updated to require equitable payouts for men and women.
Race director Chad Sperry waded into Facebook comments surrounding the controversy to explain his side of the story. With the UCI payout requirements and the high cost of running a UCI event, Sperry explained that there simply wasn't money to make the payout equal.
“The men’s and the women’s minimum are two different numbers,” John Schiemer, MBSEF Executive Director, explained in a press release. “We had actually increased the women’s over the minimum but only to what we could do at that time.”
Racers and spectators took different sides: some were understanding, some were outraged, and many wondered what could be done to remedy the situation. Thankfully, the proactive voices won out. A GoFundMe campaign was launched and prize parity was quickly restored, despite the UCI policy. At the time of writing, the page had amassed nearly $6,000 for the women's prize purse. It is still active, for those who still want to get involved.
www.bicycling.com/racing/equal-prize-purses-cascade-cycling-classic
Earlier this week, social media controversy spiraled around the Cascade Cycling Classic, one of Oregon's most well-known cycling events, over a massive disparity in the men's and women's prize purses. Payouts came to $23,979 in total prize money for men, with only $8,025 at stake for women.
In the past six years, the Cascade Cycling Classic (CCC) has distributed equal prize money for both the men’s and women’s elite winners. The difference this year is that the CCC became a UCI race, which means it had to adhere to strict standards for payouts. Unfortunately, the UCI standards haven't been updated to require equitable payouts for men and women.
Race director Chad Sperry waded into Facebook comments surrounding the controversy to explain his side of the story. With the UCI payout requirements and the high cost of running a UCI event, Sperry explained that there simply wasn't money to make the payout equal.
“The men’s and the women’s minimum are two different numbers,” John Schiemer, MBSEF Executive Director, explained in a press release. “We had actually increased the women’s over the minimum but only to what we could do at that time.”
Racers and spectators took different sides: some were understanding, some were outraged, and many wondered what could be done to remedy the situation. Thankfully, the proactive voices won out. A GoFundMe campaign was launched and prize parity was quickly restored, despite the UCI policy. At the time of writing, the page had amassed nearly $6,000 for the women's prize purse. It is still active, for those who still want to get involved.
www.bicycling.com/racing/equal-prize-purses-cascade-cycling-classic