Sitting in the back of the bus.

[vachelle72]

I was just checking out the Olympia website , to see how much it might cost to enjoy the festivities for a weekend , and was shocked to find that the cost to see the Mr.Olympia is upwards off $200.00, but to to see Ms.Olympia , it is free with the cost of admission ...$10.00 WTF

Do they feel that these women , who have trained just as long and in some respects harder than the men , deserve to be relegated to a "side show" , It's like they are the "background" action while your picking up your free protein samples !

That is just wrong , I do not know how these women can afford to support themselves with the lack of prize money that is exasperated by the fact there are no proceeds from ticket sales!!!

Just thought I would vent...LOL

 

[Daisy_Girl]

People don't pay to see FBB. If they charged as much for the FBB show, they would get basically NO takers. There is no draw. It isn't a "slam" against the women - it is purely marketing and money driven. FBB is NOT a strong draw.

In all honesty - I have no desire to see it either. I know how hard they work, and I have all the respect in the world for their drive and dedication. But I have never been interested in FBB. But that is just me.

Most female pros - in fitness, figure and BB - cannot support themselves on prize money. Most of them have a "real job" - usually training or competition camps/prep. Or their income is supplemented by sponsors - supplement companies usually. They sometimes do not pay for tanning (in exchange, do free promotions there), gym memberships (again, free promotions), or even tanning products (sponsorship). There are hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars they still have to spend. Especailly when you consider the drugs they use and have to pay for ......

Even the men - unless you are in the top 10 or so - don't make that much money. Yes, the top placers DO make some cash - but how hard is it to break into the top 10? Pretty damn tough, especially considering politics. And imagine how mush $$ the men spend on grugs ... GH ain't cheap!

Of course it seems unfair - but hey, we all make our choices. Nobody forces them to enter and compete. If they find it that unfair, then don't play the game.

 

[vachelle72]

This is true..in all sports only the very few make "real" money. But even putting ticket prices aside , they are not even letting them compete in the same arena as the men.

In order to get sponsorship , you have to be seen , and how will that happen when you are placed in the background.

But like you said ,their not obligated to play...just thought the IFBB wasn't playing fair.

 

[Daisy_Girl]

they are not even letting them compete in the same arena as the men.

In order to get sponsorship , you have to be seen , and how will that happen when you are placed in the background.

But like you said ,their not obligated to play...just thought the IFBB wasn't playing fair.

It boils down to MONEY MONEY MONEY. There is no money in FBB - not for the competitors, not for the IFBB. People don't pay to see FBB. The IFBB is like any business - they aren't going to throw money into something that doesn't MAKE them money. Just one of those cold, hard facts.

 

[Sassy69]

Yep, there's been huge amounts of discussion on the many muscle boards. It is a real slam to the women, but like Daisy said. women's BB is dying. As is fitness. The barriers to entry are much lower in Figure, the look is less radical and the financial value & career opp is much higher. It really sucks, but with the extremeness of where FBB has gone since the days of Cory Everson, there's a huge backlash and the perpetual problem in almost all women's sports of trying to maintain the "feminine" aspect of it. I think the women are not concerned about it as much as they are trying to be athletes in their chosen sport, but the viewing public, the sponsors, the judges or whatever is the competitve criteria is forever skewed by this ideal of whatever is "feminine". That's just the way it is. It sucks but its just the way it is.

There are some places on the web with petitions posted to get FBB back on the main stage. Unfortunately I can't find them right now. But yes I feel your pain. It sucks the big one. The sport has pushed itself to that extreme and there's no clear path to what it "should" be. I also am not really thrilled with where it has gone and have myself "sold out" to move into the Figure arena because I have no interest in building up the mass that would be required to compete at a national level. I am currently qualified to compete at nationals at the Masters' level in BB, but have no desire to go there.