Men per woman in competition

Mr.Toad

Regular
Joined
Jul 26, 2009
Messages
82
Some stats from the WCA database

Results from the WCA database export (2011/03/07).

Men per woman:
Code:
+----------------------+-------+------+-----------+
| country              | women | men  | men/women |
+----------------------+-------+------+-----------+
| Aruba                |     1 |    0 | 0.00      |
| Jordan               |     1 |    0 | 0.00      |
| Turkey               |     3 |    2 | 0.67      |
| United Arab Emirates |     3 |    2 | 0.67      |
| El Salvador          |     2 |    2 | 1.00      |
| Luxembourg           |     1 |    1 | 1.00      |
| Macau                |     3 |    8 | 2.67      |
| South Africa         |     1 |    3 | 3.00      |
| Czech Republic       |     3 |   10 | 3.33      |
| Colombia             |     1 |    4 | 4.00      |
| Ireland              |     1 |    4 | 4.00      |
| Greece               |     3 |   14 | 4.67      |
| Norway               |    14 |   70 | 5.00      |
| Croatia              |     1 |    5 | 5.00      |
| Netherlands          |    24 |  122 | 5.08      |
| Brazil               |    33 |  176 | 5.33      |
| Belgium              |     7 |   39 | 5.57      |
| China                |   275 | 1610 | 5.85      |
| Sweden               |    31 |  186 | 6.00      |
| Slovenia             |     3 |   18 | 6.00      |
| Serbia               |     1 |    6 | 6.00      |
| United Kingdom       |    17 |  106 | 6.24      |
| New Zealand          |     9 |   61 | 6.78      |
| Germany              |    63 |  451 | 7.16      |
| USA                  |   305 | 2346 | 7.69      |
| Chile                |    16 |  125 | 7.81      |
| Japan                |    57 |  463 | 8.12      |
| Spain                |    43 |  355 | 8.26      |
| Poland               |    35 |  293 | 8.37      |
| Australia            |     8 |   69 | 8.63      |
| Philippines          |    32 |  281 | 8.78      |
| Russia               |    12 |  108 | 9.00      |
| France               |    35 |  316 | 9.03      |
| Hungary              |    29 |  277 | 9.55      |
| India                |    44 |  431 | 9.80      |
| Portugal             |     2 |   20 | 10.00     |
| Thailand             |    23 |  243 | 10.57     |
| Israel               |     6 |   65 | 10.83     |
| Mexico               |     6 |   67 | 11.17     |
| Canada               |    35 |  392 | 11.20     |
| Denmark              |     8 |   90 | 11.25     |
| Italy                |    15 |  175 | 11.67     |
| Slovakia             |     1 |   12 | 12.00     |
| Taiwan               |    28 |  363 | 12.96     |
| Estonia              |     1 |   13 | 13.00     |
| Singapore            |     6 |   81 | 13.50     |
| Korea                |    22 |  307 | 13.95     |
| Romania              |     3 |   45 | 15.00     |
| Indonesia            |    36 |  580 | 16.11     |
| Malaysia             |    11 |  202 | 18.36     |
| Finland              |     3 |   58 | 19.33     |
| Switzerland          |     1 |   22 | 22.00     |
| Hong Kong            |     5 |  134 | 26.80     |
| Vietnam              |     4 |  120 | 30.00     |
| Austria              |     1 |   35 | 35.00     |
| Argentina            |     0 |   21 | No women  |
| Belarus              |     0 |    6 | No women  |
| Ukraine              |     0 |    5 | No women  |
| Peru                 |     0 |    4 | No women  |
| Iran                 |     0 |    3 | No women  |
| Puerto Rico          |     0 |    3 | No women  |
| Bulgaria             |     0 |    2 | No women  |
| Azerbaijan           |     0 |    1 | No women  |
| Belize               |     0 |    1 | No women  |
| Bolivia              |     0 |    1 | No women  |
| Cote d'Ivoire        |     0 |    1 | No women  |
| Cuba                 |     0 |    1 | No women  |
| Dominican Republic   |     0 |    1 | No women  |
| Egypt                |     0 |    1 | No women  |
| Iceland              |     0 |    1 | No women  |
| Kazakhstan           |     0 |    1 | No women  |
| Lebanon              |     0 |    1 | No women  |
| Lithuania            |     0 |    1 | No women  |
| Macedonia            |     0 |    1 | No women  |
| Mauritius            |     0 |    1 | No women  |
| Moldova              |     0 |    1 | No women  |
| Mongolia             |     0 |    1 | No women  |
| Morocco              |     0 |    1 | No women  |
| Nigeria              |     0 |    1 | No women  |
| Saudi Arabia         |     0 |    1 | No women  |
| Tunisia              |     0 |    1 | No women  |
| Yugoslavia           |     0 |    1 | No women  |
+----------------------+-------+------+-----------+

New competitors per continent and year:
Code:
+---------------+------+--------+
| continent     | year | people |
+---------------+------+--------+
| Africa        | 2007 |      4 |
| Africa        | 2008 |      2 |
| Africa        | 2009 |      2 |
| Africa        | 2010 |      2 |
| Asia          | 1982 |      1 |
| Asia          | 2003 |      3 |
| Asia          | 2004 |      2 |
| Asia          | 2005 |     90 |
| Asia          | 2006 |    228 |
| Asia          | 2007 |    317 |
| Asia          | 2008 |    949 |
| Asia          | 2009 |   1734 |
| Asia          | 2010 |   2018 |
| Asia          | 2011 |    370 |
| Europe        | 1982 |     15 |
| Europe        | 2003 |     21 |
| Europe        | 2004 |     94 |
| Europe        | 2005 |    154 |
| Europe        | 2006 |    176 |
| Europe        | 2007 |    274 |
| Europe        | 2008 |    579 |
| Europe        | 2009 |    923 |
| Europe        | 2010 |    963 |
| Europe        | 2011 |    130 |
| North America | 1982 |      3 |
| North America | 2003 |     64 |
| North America | 2004 |     80 |
| North America | 2005 |    173 |
| North America | 2006 |    178 |
| North America | 2007 |    392 |
| North America | 2008 |    642 |
| North America | 2009 |    758 |
| North America | 2010 |    774 |
| North America | 2011 |    181 |
| Oceania       | 2003 |      1 |
| Oceania       | 2005 |      1 |
| Oceania       | 2007 |      2 |
| Oceania       | 2009 |     31 |
| Oceania       | 2010 |     93 |
| Oceania       | 2011 |     19 |
| South America | 1982 |      1 |
| South America | 2007 |     29 |
| South America | 2008 |      8 |
| South America | 2009 |    159 |
| South America | 2010 |    149 |
| South America | 2011 |     36 |
+---------------+------+--------+
New competitors per country and year:
Code:
+----------------------+------+--------+
| country              | year | people |
+----------------------+------+--------+
| Argentina            | 2008 |      1 |
| Argentina            | 2009 |      2 |
| Argentina            | 2011 |     18 |
| Aruba                | 2003 |      1 |
| Australia            | 2003 |      1 |
| Australia            | 2005 |      1 |
| Australia            | 2007 |      2 |
| Australia            | 2009 |      3 |
| Australia            | 2010 |     52 |
| Australia            | 2011 |     18 |
| Austria              | 1982 |      1 |
| Austria              | 2005 |      1 |
| Austria              | 2007 |      3 |
| Austria              | 2008 |      1 |
| Austria              | 2009 |      5 |
| Austria              | 2010 |     25 |
| Azerbaijan           | 2007 |      1 |
| Belarus              | 2009 |      4 |
| Belarus              | 2010 |      2 |
| Belgium              | 1982 |      1 |
| Belgium              | 2003 |      1 |
| Belgium              | 2004 |      1 |
| Belgium              | 2005 |      6 |
| Belgium              | 2006 |      8 |
| Belgium              | 2007 |      5 |
| Belgium              | 2008 |      5 |
| Belgium              | 2009 |     11 |
| Belgium              | 2010 |      7 |
| Belgium              | 2011 |      1 |
| Belize               | 2008 |      1 |
| Bolivia              | 2009 |      1 |
| Brazil               | 2007 |     29 |
| Brazil               | 2008 |      6 |
| Brazil               | 2009 |     89 |
| Brazil               | 2010 |     85 |
| Bulgaria             | 1982 |      1 |
| Bulgaria             | 2010 |      1 |
| Canada               | 1982 |      1 |
| Canada               | 2003 |     17 |
| Canada               | 2005 |      6 |
| Canada               | 2006 |      5 |
| Canada               | 2007 |     61 |
| Canada               | 2008 |     80 |
| Canada               | 2009 |    110 |
| Canada               | 2010 |    136 |
| Canada               | 2011 |     33 |
| Chile                | 2009 |     64 |
| Chile                | 2010 |     59 |
| Chile                | 2011 |     18 |
| China                | 2004 |      1 |
| China                | 2006 |      2 |
| China                | 2007 |    107 |
| China                | 2008 |    273 |
| China                | 2009 |    759 |
| China                | 2010 |    835 |
| China                | 2011 |     36 |
| Colombia             | 2008 |      1 |
| Colombia             | 2009 |      1 |
| Colombia             | 2010 |      4 |
| Cote d'Ivoire        | 2007 |      1 |
| Croatia              | 2009 |      1 |
| Croatia              | 2010 |      5 |
| Cuba                 | 2007 |      1 |
| Czech Republic       | 1982 |      1 |
| Czech Republic       | 2003 |      1 |
| Czech Republic       | 2004 |      1 |
| Czech Republic       | 2005 |      2 |
| Czech Republic       | 2006 |      5 |
| Czech Republic       | 2007 |      1 |
| Czech Republic       | 2009 |      2 |
| Denmark              | 2003 |      1 |
| Denmark              | 2006 |      2 |
| Denmark              | 2007 |      1 |
| Denmark              | 2008 |     15 |
| Denmark              | 2009 |     19 |
| Denmark              | 2010 |     50 |
| Denmark              | 2011 |     10 |
| Dominican Republic   | 2004 |      1 |
| Egypt                | 2009 |      1 |
| El Salvador          | 2007 |      1 |
| El Salvador          | 2008 |      2 |
| El Salvador          | 2010 |      1 |
| Estonia              | 2008 |      1 |
| Estonia              | 2009 |     12 |
| Estonia              | 2010 |      2 |
| Finland              | 1982 |      1 |
| Finland              | 2005 |      2 |
| Finland              | 2007 |     14 |
| Finland              | 2008 |     10 |
| Finland              | 2009 |     15 |
| Finland              | 2010 |     12 |
| Finland              | 2011 |      7 |
| France               | 1982 |      1 |
| France               | 2003 |      2 |
| France               | 2004 |     31 |
| France               | 2005 |     12 |
| France               | 2006 |     27 |
| France               | 2007 |     31 |
| France               | 2008 |     95 |
| France               | 2009 |     78 |
| France               | 2010 |     66 |
| France               | 2011 |     10 |
| Germany              | 1982 |      1 |
| Germany              | 2003 |      1 |
| Germany              | 2004 |      6 |
| Germany              | 2005 |     12 |
| Germany              | 2006 |     20 |
| Germany              | 2007 |     23 |
| Germany              | 2008 |     38 |
| Germany              | 2009 |    141 |
| Germany              | 2010 |    213 |
| Germany              | 2011 |     64 |
| Greece               | 2007 |      2 |
| Greece               | 2008 |      1 |
| Greece               | 2009 |      2 |
| Greece               | 2010 |     12 |
| Hong Kong            | 2004 |      1 |
| Hong Kong            | 2005 |      4 |
| Hong Kong            | 2006 |      1 |
| Hong Kong            | 2007 |      4 |
| Hong Kong            | 2008 |     80 |
| Hong Kong            | 2009 |     39 |
| Hong Kong            | 2010 |     12 |
| Hungary              | 1982 |      1 |
| Hungary              | 2004 |      1 |
| Hungary              | 2005 |     32 |
| Hungary              | 2006 |      8 |
| Hungary              | 2007 |     51 |
| Hungary              | 2008 |     93 |
| Hungary              | 2009 |     89 |
| Hungary              | 2010 |     31 |
| Iceland              | 2009 |      1 |
| Iceland              | 2011 |      1 |
| India                | 2005 |      1 |
| India                | 2006 |      2 |
| India                | 2008 |     90 |
| India                | 2009 |    154 |
| India                | 2010 |    196 |
| India                | 2011 |     62 |
| Indonesia            | 2006 |      1 |
| Indonesia            | 2007 |      1 |
| Indonesia            | 2009 |     75 |
| Indonesia            | 2010 |    376 |
| Indonesia            | 2011 |    212 |
| Iran                 | 2007 |      1 |
| Iran                 | 2009 |      1 |
| Iran                 | 2010 |      1 |
| Ireland              | 2007 |      1 |
| Ireland              | 2009 |      3 |
| Ireland              | 2010 |      1 |
| Israel               | 2003 |      1 |
| Israel               | 2006 |      1 |
| Israel               | 2009 |      1 |
| Israel               | 2010 |     68 |
| Italy                | 1982 |      1 |
| Italy                | 2004 |      1 |
| Italy                | 2006 |      7 |
| Italy                | 2007 |      7 |
| Italy                | 2008 |     22 |
| Italy                | 2009 |    100 |
| Italy                | 2010 |     50 |
| Italy                | 2011 |      5 |
| Japan                | 1982 |      1 |
| Japan                | 2003 |      3 |
| Japan                | 2005 |     81 |
| Japan                | 2006 |    131 |
| Japan                | 2007 |     58 |
| Japan                | 2008 |     94 |
| Japan                | 2009 |     60 |
| Japan                | 2010 |     94 |
| Japan                | 2011 |      4 |
| Jordan               | 2009 |      1 |
| Kazakhstan           | 2009 |      1 |
| Korea                | 2005 |      2 |
| Korea                | 2006 |     51 |
| Korea                | 2007 |     90 |
| Korea                | 2008 |    140 |
| Korea                | 2009 |      7 |
| Korea                | 2010 |     43 |
| Korea                | 2011 |      1 |
| Lebanon              | 2007 |      1 |
| Lithuania            | 2007 |      1 |
| Luxembourg           | 2009 |      2 |
| Macau                | 2007 |      1 |
| Macau                | 2008 |      2 |
| Macau                | 2009 |      8 |
| Macedonia            | 2009 |      1 |
| Malaysia             | 2007 |      1 |
| Malaysia             | 2009 |    150 |
| Malaysia             | 2010 |    101 |
| Malaysia             | 2011 |      4 |
| Mauritius            | 2010 |      1 |
| Mexico               | 2004 |      1 |
| Mexico               | 2007 |      3 |
| Mexico               | 2008 |     29 |
| Mexico               | 2009 |      4 |
| Mexico               | 2010 |     37 |
| Moldova              | 2010 |      1 |
| Mongolia             | 2010 |      1 |
| Morocco              | 2008 |      1 |
| Netherlands          | 1982 |      1 |
| Netherlands          | 2003 |      6 |
| Netherlands          | 2004 |     13 |
| Netherlands          | 2005 |     13 |
| Netherlands          | 2006 |     22 |
| Netherlands          | 2007 |     16 |
| Netherlands          | 2008 |     35 |
| Netherlands          | 2009 |     22 |
| Netherlands          | 2010 |     18 |
| New Zealand          | 2009 |     28 |
| New Zealand          | 2010 |     41 |
| New Zealand          | 2011 |      1 |
| Nigeria              | 2008 |      1 |
| Norway               | 2004 |      2 |
| Norway               | 2005 |      2 |
| Norway               | 2008 |     15 |
| Norway               | 2009 |     18 |
| Norway               | 2010 |     32 |
| Norway               | 2011 |     18 |
| Peru                 | 1982 |      1 |
| Peru                 | 2009 |      2 |
| Peru                 | 2010 |      1 |
| Philippines          | 2007 |     26 |
| Philippines          | 2008 |    192 |
| Philippines          | 2009 |     71 |
| Philippines          | 2010 |     27 |
| Poland               | 1982 |      1 |
| Poland               | 2003 |      2 |
| Poland               | 2004 |      2 |
| Poland               | 2005 |     33 |
| Poland               | 2006 |     41 |
| Poland               | 2007 |     31 |
| Poland               | 2008 |     79 |
| Poland               | 2009 |     60 |
| Poland               | 2010 |     70 |
| Poland               | 2011 |      9 |
| Portugal             | 1982 |      1 |
| Portugal             | 2006 |      1 |
| Portugal             | 2008 |     10 |
| Portugal             | 2009 |     10 |
| Puerto Rico          | 2004 |      1 |
| Puerto Rico          | 2007 |      2 |
| Romania              | 2006 |      1 |
| Romania              | 2008 |      1 |
| Romania              | 2009 |      4 |
| Romania              | 2010 |     42 |
| Romania              | 2011 |      1 |
| Russia               | 2008 |      2 |
| Russia               | 2009 |     49 |
| Russia               | 2010 |     69 |
| Saudi Arabia         | 2009 |      1 |
| Serbia               | 2007 |      1 |
| Serbia               | 2008 |      2 |
| Serbia               | 2009 |      2 |
| Serbia               | 2010 |      2 |
| Singapore            | 2009 |     67 |
| Singapore            | 2010 |     12 |
| Singapore            | 2011 |     10 |
| Slovakia             | 2005 |      1 |
| Slovakia             | 2008 |      3 |
| Slovakia             | 2009 |      9 |
| Slovenia             | 2009 |      2 |
| Slovenia             | 2010 |     19 |
| South Africa         | 2007 |      3 |
| South Africa         | 2010 |      1 |
| Spain                | 2004 |     20 |
| Spain                | 2005 |     16 |
| Spain                | 2006 |      8 |
| Spain                | 2007 |     43 |
| Spain                | 2008 |     93 |
| Spain                | 2009 |    134 |
| Spain                | 2010 |     90 |
| Sri Lanka            | 2007 |      1 |
| Sweden               | 1982 |      1 |
| Sweden               | 2003 |      3 |
| Sweden               | 2004 |     12 |
| Sweden               | 2005 |     21 |
| Sweden               | 2006 |     17 |
| Sweden               | 2007 |     23 |
| Sweden               | 2008 |     27 |
| Sweden               | 2009 |     76 |
| Sweden               | 2010 |     37 |
| Switzerland          | 2003 |      1 |
| Switzerland          | 2006 |      2 |
| Switzerland          | 2008 |      4 |
| Switzerland          | 2009 |      4 |
| Switzerland          | 2010 |     10 |
| Switzerland          | 2011 |      2 |
| Taiwan               | 2005 |      2 |
| Taiwan               | 2006 |     40 |
| Taiwan               | 2007 |     26 |
| Taiwan               | 2008 |     77 |
| Taiwan               | 2009 |    160 |
| Taiwan               | 2010 |    111 |
| Taiwan               | 2011 |     26 |
| Thailand             | 2008 |      1 |
| Thailand             | 2009 |    172 |
| Thailand             | 2010 |     80 |
| Thailand             | 2011 |     15 |
| Tunisia              | 2009 |      1 |
| Turkey               | 2008 |      1 |
| Turkey               | 2009 |      1 |
| Turkey               | 2010 |      3 |
| Ukraine              | 2009 |      4 |
| Ukraine              | 2010 |      1 |
| United Arab Emirates | 2009 |      5 |
| United Kingdom       | 1982 |      1 |
| United Kingdom       | 2003 |      2 |
| United Kingdom       | 2004 |      4 |
| United Kingdom       | 2005 |      1 |
| United Kingdom       | 2006 |      6 |
| United Kingdom       | 2007 |     19 |
| United Kingdom       | 2008 |     26 |
| United Kingdom       | 2009 |     41 |
| United Kingdom       | 2010 |     24 |
| United Kingdom       | 2011 |      2 |
| USA                  | 1982 |      2 |
| USA                  | 2003 |     46 |
| USA                  | 2004 |     77 |
| USA                  | 2005 |    167 |
| USA                  | 2006 |    173 |
| USA                  | 2007 |    324 |
| USA                  | 2008 |    530 |
| USA                  | 2009 |    644 |
| USA                  | 2010 |    600 |
| USA                  | 2011 |    148 |
| Vietnam              | 2009 |      3 |
| Vietnam              | 2010 |    129 |
| Yugoslavia           | 1982 |      1 |
+----------------------+------+--------+
 
Last edited:
I added some more stats (I didn't want to create a new thread), would be possible to change the thread title? Thanks.

Oh, and take a look at the evolution of Asia, it's amazing compared to North America or Europe.
 
Results from the WCA database export (2011/03/07).


New competitors per country and year:
Code:
+----------------------+------+--------+
| country              | year | people |
+----------------------+------+--------+
| Australia            | 2003 |      1 |
| Australia            | 2005 |      1 |
| Australia            | 2007 |      2 |
| Australia            | 2009 |      3 |[B]
| Australia            | 2010 |     52 |
| Australia            | 2011 |     18 |[/B]
[/quote]
Should we call this the Faz effect?
 
Remember, we're only 2 and a half months into the year. :p

I wasn't really paying attention to 2011. I was just noticing that everywhere but Asia (and Oceania :)), we didn't increase substantially from 2009 to 2010. But we did increase greatly in previous years. Asia is a notable exception, but even there, the rate of increase isn't as big as it has been in the past. So it just seems like we may have peaked.
 
China in particular exploded in the last few years. Given the size of their population, I don't know if they've peaked yet.
 
Low turnout of women
The percentage of women at competitions in Australia will probably remain at less than 20% this year but the turnout at meetings is increasing. What do you think needs to be done to encourage participation at both meetings and competitions?

So what's the reason?
I guess having a balance at meetings might encourage more women to attend, much like restricting attendance at a night clubs to avoid a sausage fest, but quite frankly I don't think we've enough participation overall to consider doing that. Do women feel excluded simply by the amount of guys showing up to meetings and competitions or is it the social interaction with these guys that discourages attendance? (e.g. "Oh, you're a girl. What are you doing here?" or "Niiiiiiice ^_^")

Closing the gap
I'm not sure that the sum of competitors showing up to WCA competitions is a good indicator of the size of a cubing community (sure, from a WCA perspective it is). For example: There have been around 200 cubers around Australia in the past year that were active in attending meetings and other events but only around 60 of them competed at WCA competitions. I'm not knocking the WCA competitor count at all. It's just that other lists can be maintained to see where prospective competitors are coming from so that the gap can be closed to encourage them to compete.

Other than meetups, competitions and chatting online, what other things do you do that encourage others to participate in the community? Is it pretty much left up to the individual in your area to be proactive about participating?

Tim.
 
I have a dozen or so cubing spawn walking around; ~25% are female.

I have a daughter in high school, so I've interacted with lots of kids as well as adults over the years, and I can tell you pretty definitively what the problem is: Fear. We joke about how cliche it is for a non-cuber to exclaim "I could never do that!" but that's exactly it. What we do seems impossible to the uninitiated.

Cubing needs to be marketed as "easy to learn, difficult to master." With emphasis on the easy to learn. I once tricked my neighbor into learning to cube by telling her that there WAS indeed a "trick" to it. It just happened that the "trick" was a beginner method for LBL hehe...it's all in the packaging.

There is also too much emphasis on speed. Compare with people that do cool skateboarding tricks--not about speed, very watchable, much more so than a mere "race." I have sort of made fingertricks my thing, and I envision something I call "the most beautiful solve in the world." Something that could actually be watchable enough to go viral. I love watching Feliks, but to non-cubers I am sure it's just a meaningless blur, see?
 
Low turnout of women
The percentage of women at competitions in Australia will probably remain at less than 20% this year but the turnout at meetings is increasing. What do you think needs to be done to encourage participation at both meetings and competitions?

So what's the reason?
I guess having a balance at meetings might encourage more women to attend, much like restricting attendance at a night clubs to avoid a sausage fest, but quite frankly I don't think we've enough participation overall to consider doing that. Do women feel excluded simply by the amount of guys showing up to meetings and competitions or is it the social interaction with these guys that discourages attendance? (e.g. "Oh, you're a girl. What are you doing here?" or "Niiiiiiice ^_^")

Closing the gap
I'm not sure that the sum of competitors showing up to WCA competitions is a good indicator of the size of a cubing community (sure, from a WCA perspective it is). For example: There have been around 200 cubers around Australia in the past year that were active in attending meetings and other events but only around 60 of them competed at WCA competitions. I'm not knocking the WCA competitor count at all. It's just that other lists can be maintained to see where prospective competitors are coming from so that the gap can be closed to encourage them to compete.

Other than meetups, competitions and chatting online, what other things do you do that encourage others to participate in the community? Is it pretty much left up to the individual in your area to be proactive about participating?

Tim.

Just throwing this out there but you could always try discounts for two or more new competitors that sign up together. I'm not sure if this would even work, but things are always a little less scary if you're with a buddy.
 
Just throwing this out there but you could always try discounts for two or more new competitors that sign up together. I'm not sure if this would even work, but things are always a little less scary if you're with a buddy.

I don't think it is the price of the competitions themselves that is stopping people from going to competitions. Usually it would be the travel or that people are to shy/think they are not fast enough to go to them.
 
I don't think it is the price of the competitions themselves that is stopping people from going to competitions. Usually it would be the travel or that people are to shy/think they are not fast enough to go to them.

But why would they show up to the meets and not the actual competitions?
 
Last edited:
There are fewer women in cubing (and fewer *fast* women) for the same reason there are fewer women in plenty of other non-athletic endeavors. You see the same thing in minesweeper, competitive gaming, chess, even engineering/math. And yet, there's no obvious reason women should statistically be worse at these things; there's nothing stopping a female cuber from getting (say) a sub-1:20 5x5 average, if she wants to and practices properly. As far as I can tell, fewer women are motivated and competitive enough to put in the amount of practice and effort that you need to learn something like this. I don't know whether it's due to fear, or different interests, or a focus on comparisons to friends rather than to the world, or a belief that if you aren't good at something you shouldn't keep trying, or something else entirely, but that effect is definitely there - and it's not something you're going to change easily.
 
Other than meetups, competitions and chatting online, what other things do you do that encourage others to participate in the community?

Mike Hughey and I actually have the same strategy! Marry one, impregnate her a few times, and then make everyone go to competitions.
 
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