My mother asked me why there was no women in Formula 1. I replied that motor-sport was not gender specific & only the best make it. Is this the only sport where this applies?

Alicethelion · 2012-09-12T09:34:36+00:00

There have been women in Formula One, just not currently. there are more women in other forms of Motorsport, such as NASCAR and Indycar. interestingly there have been more women than black people in Formula One.

also horse related events are not gender specific.

memymineown · 2012-09-12T05:53:15+00:00

Juggling.

pinkycatcher · 2012-09-12T09:15:10+00:00

Shooting Tournaments, the top level of competition is open to everyone but generally only the men make up the elite. For example in USPSA there are no female Grand Masters and only a handful of Female Master level shooters. (Rankings go D,C,B,A,M,GM low to high)

bikemaul · 2012-09-12T04:42:56+00:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_female_Formula_One_drivers

What percentage of fighter pilots are female?

Females drivers are rare because it costs so much for the team and the car. Skill is king. They could start a female league, like the WNBA, but the funding would not be on the same level.

FahQ57 · 2012-09-12T09:37:08+00:00

Well, when you're a man you won't be able to participate to a balance beam contest because it's only performed by female gymnasts.

imbecile · 2012-09-12T07:33:42+00:00

Snooker

The pro tournaments are not gender specific at all. Apart from the top 8/16/32 players (depending on tounament) anyone who applies and gets through the qualifying rounds gets in.

There are special women's tournaments though, and the one woman who won virtually every tournament there for years never was able to qualify in a pro tournament.

Equa1 · 2012-09-12T11:22:44+00:00

To be technical, male and female brains are biologically different; men are better at tasks related to navigation (spatial/math) due to having more grey matter, while women are better at communication (language/emotional recognition) because they have a larger corpus collosum and more white matter.

I've never really watched F1, but I do love WRC, which has no female drives that I've seen. Watching motor sport, it is very obvious that spatial relations are paramount among the skills required; if men on average are more adept, they will rise to the top.

Also, no one's mentioned it, and I'm assuming you're not American, but the NFL is all men. I don't know if there's anything about gender in the rules, but the physical requirements prevent it, as with the NHL. I sort of assume rugby is the same, and baseball is another example.

The X-Games is based on talent alone, and while women do make it, I believe their numbers are actually dropping; and realistically, it's the championship for quite a few sports.

Note: The hilarious thing about this post is that WRC is the ONLY sport I follow, and I have little to no interest in any others. EDIT: And I'm like a year behind... >.>

drinkthebleach · 2012-09-12T08:57:20+00:00

Starcraft? I'm really reaching here.

RedditBlueit · 2012-09-12T19:13:42+00:00

There's a theory that (some) women's bodies are better adapted for ultrarunning, but that women are less likely to take up the sport. Look up Pam Reed:

In 2002 Reed was the first woman to become the overall winner of the Badwater Ultramarathon. She subsequently repeated as overall winner of the race in 2003. In 2002, her win also set the women's course record.

The Badwater Ultramarathon describes itself as "the world's toughest foot race". It is a 135-mile (217 km) course starting at 282 feet (86 m)[1] below sea level in the Badwater Basin, in California's Death Valley, and ending at an elevation of 8360 feet (2548 m) at Whitney Portal, the trailhead to Mount Whitney. It takes place annually in mid-July, when the weather conditions are most extreme and temperatures over 120 °F (49 °C), even in the shade, are not uncommon. Consequently, very few people—even among ultramarathoners—are capable of finishing this grueling race.

In 2005, she completed a 300-mile run without sleep. She completed the run in slightly less than eighty hours.

C0CKPUNCHER · 2012-09-12T08:34:44+00:00

Off the top of my head, chess?

2012-09-12T11:48:11+00:00

College football, I remember recently reading an article about a female QB. I think they can play together, women just never ever ever make the team though.

glassuser · 2012-09-12T04:56:32+00:00

Paintball is another.

namae_nanka · 2012-09-12T10:47:51+00:00

wasn't there a woman driver who got into an accident recently?

here:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2168068/Maria-De-Villota-Female-Formula-One-driver-loses-eye-suffering-horrific-injuries-crash.html

nwz123 · 2012-09-12T15:57:23+00:00

If women started joining and dying in horrible, horrific crashes..I don't think there'd be much left of such a sport.

remotemaster · 2012-09-12T12:30:15+00:00

drag racing - shirley "cha cha" muldowney

daulm · 2012-09-12T12:30:25+00:00

I think most team sports don't have rules preventing females from participating. There is a female pitcher in baseball's minor leagues and I think there have been female kickers in american college football.

ZimbaZumba · 2012-09-12T17:18:35+00:00

Equestrian Events are gender blind eg, Show jumping, 3 Day eventing, Polo & Dressage. Men and Women compete in the same events at the Olympics for instance

McIanAvelli · 2012-09-12T18:08:58+00:00

Bicycling and races such as Tour de France

rightsbot · 2012-09-12T04:26:17+00:00

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buster2209 · 2012-09-12T12:39:41+00:00

There is a female in Formula 1 but she crashed into a stationary truck during practice;

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/07/04/sport/motorsport/de-villota-f1-marussia-motorsport/index.html

So yeah, only the best make it...

Demonspawn · 2012-09-12T15:24:50+00:00

Women cannot compete with men on a level playing field, which is why you will only find "top level women athletes" in sports which have a women's division.

wavegeek · 2012-09-12T08:41:24+00:00

Most sports, if not all of them.

Arguably the women's events should be moved from the Olympics to the Special Olympics.

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