Sometimes you just gotta pick bottles
Motocross has been a part of my family for over ten years. Many, including other family relatives, thought we were crazy for continuing with the sport after my accident in 2013 that left me with a permanent disability. Well, you might say disability, but I don’t believe I have a disability until you place me in front of a barrier, whether that be a physical barrier or an attitudinal barrier that you have created. I have the ability to do just as much as anyone else, if not more. The sport of motocross has taught myself and my family so much about ourselves that it just isn’t something you can let go of. It is part of our lives. I also believe that everything happens for a reason and if it was a car accident that left me with a spinal cord injury, you wouldn’t be telling myself and my family that I should never get into a vehicle again. I haven’t just faced these barriers since I’ve been in a wheelchair, unfortunately, but I have also faced these growing up as a female.
I am not sure if it is a coincidence, but right before my accident I wrote an essay on the inequality we still see today for women in sports; I actually found it a few days ago. The introduction went like this, “Why is it that even after the fight towards women’s rights, I still see the inequality today? Judging from each individual’s past, every perspective is different on this controversy. This topic, however, has been quite the ordeal in my life of sports. I am witnessing many sports where women are beginning to be part of competitions, sports women never used to be allowed to play in before. Sports like boxing in the Olympics, women fighting in the UFC, and even hockey players fighting for the continuation of women’s teams. Sports have been the main focus in my life, thus far. I truly believe that sports have taught me how to work hard and to never give up. I live by the quote “Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life a champion.” I have experienced that something outstanding will always come out of strong efforts. I also have learned, in the world of motocross, boys are the ‘real deal.’ Girls are a nonentity.”
The sad part about this piece was that I was in grade ten and I was already realizing and experiencing the inequality that women still face today. To many it might not seem as evident anymore, but as I stated in my grade ten essay, as soon as you are in the athletics world you see it all the time.
I think some people forget that at the end of the 2011 CMRC Canadian Women’s Motocross Nationals in Calgary, many of us girls, including myself, sat down with CMRC reps to discuss the devastating news that the series would not continue into 2012. The series just didn’t have enough girls to line up at the gate to make any kind of money.
Thank you to Camille and Denaye for all of their hard work.
Mark Stallybrass gave us the option to rebuild the series on the amateur day if we collected all the sponsors. To many, this was heartbreaking, as most girls didn’t think it would be possible to run anymore. Many didn’t think this was “fair” either, but to be honest, results on paper just weren’t showing. However, as we all know, Camille Bunko and Denaye Arnett took it upon themselves to rebuild from the ground up. It turned into a huge success, and now I am grateful that I can continue to allow women in Canada to pursue their dreams in a sport that I believe is the best out there. If anything, the fall out in 2011 was the best thing that could have ever happened for the series.
It is important for women (both in the east and the west) who are competing this year at the Nationals to understand that we almost didn’t have a series a few years ago. Just because the series has grown into something bigger, it still isn’t at the level where you can expect it to get all figured out on its own. There are many volunteers that are putting in countless hours to make this sport rewarding for women in Canada. I mean, it is ten o’clock on a Sunday that I am writing this and I am still trying to get some little details done for the series before I head off to another busy week at work. Over on the west here, I can’t thank Summer Knowles enough for all the side jobs she has helped me with. I apologize in advance to anyone who gets harassed by her to help out the series. I probably sent her, so I am sorry! The girl has heart, though, and it is evident that she is doing it for the same reasons I am. Another thank you goes out to Sara King, as she is another one I have delegated many side jobs to, specifically social media related. More girls like Danika White, Dominique Daffe, Kate Lees, Brittany Danyluk, Kennedy Lutz, Rachel Springman, Madison and Carmen Welch, Zoey Shamley, Kourtney Lloyd, etc, etc. have supported Kristi Moore and I in getting many little things done that we just don’t have time for. (I apologize now for anyone that I miss, there are a lot of you!) Of course Denaye and Camille are also helping with a few things to make sure the transition of handing Kristi and I the duties goes smoothly. I guess the point I am trying to get across here is that it isn’t a one man job or a two man job. It has been a group contribution that I can confidently say is going to make this year even better than previous, which I didn’t think would be possible after how successful Denaye and Camille have been. With a few small new ideas Kristi and I pitched, I think it is going to be a year no girl is going to want to miss.
Now, for the east – girls, Leah Clark NEEDS your help. As stated above, this isn’t a one man job anymore. We discussed and have written out everything that she needs support with, so please take a moment to read below.
Leah Clarke needs your help with the CMRC East Women’s Series.
Hi ladies, so we’re in need of help for the East side of things. In order to run the series you need to help! We need everyone to participate so please pick a job or there will only be a west series. Here is a list of suggestions for how everyone can help!
THINGS GIRLS CAN DO TO HELP OUT
-Bottle drives to raise money! Pick a place at each race and get people to drop their bottles off and then take them home. Ask family and friends. Take the bottles in and exchange them for money to be donated to the series.
– Selling Women’s Moto t-shirts to family and friends ($25, email lclar017@uottawa.ca)
– Asking personal sponsors if they would like to get involved
– Go Fund Me Account, share with family and friends – https://www.gofundme.com/zhtbhquk
– Ask local bike shops
– Trophy sponsors for a few awards
– Raising awareness of these listed things on social media
– Contact Leah Clarke @ lclar017@uottawa.ca if you have any ideas
THINGS THAT ARE NEEDED IN THE EAST
– Holeshot awards (ask local shops if they are interested, or personal sponsors)
– Purse Money (donations to go towards covering cost of series, and Most Improved Rider Award, Style Award, Hard Charger, payout, etc.)
– Trophies for overall top 3 riders
– Signage such as plaques, podium banner
– Prizes for draw table
NOTE: if a racer finds a $500+ sponsor, they will get their race fee free
Facebook: Canadian-Womens-Motocross-National-Series-Association
Website: cdnwmx.com
IG: @cdnwmx
Twitter: @cdnwmx
Contact: lclar017@uottawa.ca
It is sad to have to post this kind of press release, especially after having record breaking numbers at each round in the east last year, but it needs to be said. Many have worked way too hard to get the series where it is today. Leah and I don’t want to see 2011 happen again. This is your time to take action and to make a difference in this sport. Denaye and Camille are living proof that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. Yes, I know it isn’t fair that women have to put in all this effort to even have a series to attend, but life isn’t fair. We all have our struggles, though, and I know one thing is for sure… when we are all out at the track, nothing else matters, the struggles disappear. Honestly, achieving what we have done in the past few years is something we should all be proud of in a community filled with strong, independent women. Don’t let those achievements go, and please, use that to motivate you to make this series the best it can be. We have already built the ground work for you, you just have to make that first step in!
All of us want to see another table full of prizes and awards at the final round in Calgary this summer. Photo by James Lissimore
Many have asked me why it has been such a struggle to gain support this year. Well, with the economy the way it is, many bike shops and other motocross related businesses are on tight budgets. We have had to be flexible with our sponsorship packages but even that wasn’t going to cut it for us. Others tell me to look outside the box, outside the motocross industry, to gain support. However, everyone’s experiencing the recession, so again it wasn’t enough. Athletic brands such as Adidas or Sport Chek, just to list a few, have been approached, but in Canada, they aren’t able to give any kind of support to motorized sports. Other big franchise companies are not able to support us because they have to be able to receive a tax return from us at the end of the year. So, Kristi and I have been sorting that out to be able to do that in future years. We have taken all professional turns to try and go about gaining support this year, but even after all this searching, it wasn’t going to cut it. That was when I decided that we needed to hold riding schools to not only raise funds for the series, but to raise awareness about what our series is about. This has been a great way to raise money, however, it also has created a lot of work so most of my time has been spent organizing those. With all of this being said, we also decided that we were going to start collecting bottles at local races. Some have called this unprofessional, but honestly, we have ran out of options. It is easy money and another way to raise awareness to the motocross community. I mean, my soccer club raised $10,000 after my injury in just a few hours of doing a bottle drive for my family. Every little bit adds up. Until the economy gets better and our series gets bigger, we will be taking every measure to make it work, even if it means picking bottles. To me, you can’t get any more professional than that.
Women in motocross are a rare breed, women that will do anything to continue with the sport. After almost falling apart just a few years ago, I don’t think we’ll be seeing that happen again anytime soon. There is just too much drive, stubbornness, and estrogen still left in this community for that to happen.