# Men per woman in competition



## Mr.Toad (Mar 7, 2011)

*Some stats from the WCA database*

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

*Men per woman:*

```
+----------------------+-------+------+-----------+
| 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:*

```
+---------------+------+--------+
| 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:*

```
+----------------------+------+--------+
| 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 |
+----------------------+------+--------+
```


----------



## Mr.Toad (Mar 8, 2011)

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.


----------



## Mike Hughey (Mar 8, 2011)

The new competitors per year is interesting. So have we peaked?


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## qqwref (Mar 8, 2011)

South America's competitors/year thing is entertaining.


----------



## krnballerzzz (Mar 8, 2011)

Mike Hughey said:


> The new competitors per year is interesting. So have we peaked?


 
I think the USA and Japan have peaked. Looks like China is still growing though.


----------



## Hodari (Mar 9, 2011)

Mr.Toad said:


> Results from the WCA database export (2011/03/07).
> 
> 
> *New competitors per country and year:*
> ...


----------



## Kenneth (Mar 9, 2011)

Mike Hughey said:


> The new competitors per year is interesting. So have we peaked?



It is much dependant on how many comps there are and where they are held.


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## Faz (Mar 9, 2011)

Hodari said:


> Should we call this the Faz effect?


 
No, it's just that the first competition held in Australia was last year.



Mike Hughey said:


> The new competitors per year is interesting. So have we peaked?



Remember, we're only 2 and a half months into the year.


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## Mike Hughey (Mar 9, 2011)

fazrulz said:


> Remember, we're only 2 and a half months into the year.


 
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.


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## shelley (Mar 9, 2011)

China in particular exploded in the last few years. Given the size of their population, I don't know if they've peaked yet.


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## TimMc (Mar 9, 2011)

*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.


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## teller (Mar 9, 2011)

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?


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## Tortin (Mar 9, 2011)

TimMc said:


> *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?*
> ...


 
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.


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## antoineccantin (Mar 9, 2011)

Tortin said:


> 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.


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## keyan (Mar 10, 2011)

shelley said:


> China in particular exploded in the last few years. Given the size of their population, I don't know if they've peaked yet.


 
No, not yet.


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## Tortin (Mar 10, 2011)

antoineccantin said:


> 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?


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## qqwref (Mar 10, 2011)

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.


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## Bryan (Mar 10, 2011)

TimMc said:


> 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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## qqwref (Mar 10, 2011)

Bryan said:


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


Don't forget the key: have daughters.


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## Rune (Mar 10, 2011)

Selective abortions?


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## TimMc (Mar 10, 2011)

teller said:


> Fear.


 
We've been successful with convincing people that it's easy to learn but the fear of failure (being slow) is really putting people off competing.



Tortin said:


> 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.


 
It's free to attend meetups with Melbourne cubers and meetings for the RMIT Rubik's Cube Club.

Due to sponsorship it's been $10 for general competitors/$5 for RMIT students/Free for RUSU students to attend competitions in Melbourne. In Perth we just ran it at a loss for free to encourage people to come along. I'll be dropping the price down to $2 for general competitors/Free for RMIT and RUSU students at future competitions in Melbourne.



Bryan said:


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


 
Yeah, my gf can now solve one. 

Tim.


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## Kirjava (Mar 10, 2011)

I don't get why you're treating this as a problem.


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## Nestor (Mar 10, 2011)

We recently started holding meetings and only half the people in our "club" show to them. The general excuse is that "it is lame to spend 3 hours in meeting without girls", a mindset I agree with to some extent: social interaction is far more rewarding when people of both genders are involved and a fulfilling cubing experience is just not about technique.
If only we could get our gfs/wifes to show, but they think cubing is too silly a hobby (although they support us) to get involved with.


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## AvGalen (Mar 10, 2011)

I have taught WAY more girls than guys how to solve a cube. It is just a great way to pick up girls and spent time together.
But for most girls it was already enough to show others that they could solve it reasonably fast, so after reaching the 1 minute marker they stopped practising
For many guys I met the 60 second marker was also good enough, but for relative many others, it was "important" for them to beat me, so the 20 second marker was import for them.

(currently there are two girls that are REALLY determined to beat me and both are practising hard to get "sub-Arnaud". There motivation? They enjoy cubing and I promised them pizza if they would beat me. Since one of them is in Japan and the other in Belgium, it will be expensive pizza's)


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## abunickabhi (Jun 21, 2022)

I want to revisit this topic.

My question is that, what is your guesstimate for a time where there will be equal proportion of male and female competitors in a major Rubik's speedcubing championship?


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## Timona (Jun 21, 2022)

abunickabhi said:


> I want to revisit this topic.
> 
> My question is that, what is your guesstimate for a time where there will be equal proportion of male and female competitors in a major Rubik's speedcubing championship?


I dont think that will ever happen.


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## Filipe Teixeira (Jun 21, 2022)

abunickabhi said:


> I want to revisit this topic.
> 
> My question is that, what is your guesstimate for a time where there will be equal proportion of male and female competitors in a major Rubik's speedcubing championship?


if that guys keeps promising pizza, anytime soon


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## Eli Apperson (Jun 21, 2022)

abunickabhi said:


> I want to revisit this topic.
> 
> My question is that, what is your guesstimate for a time where there will be equal proportion of male and female competitors in a major Rubik's speedcubing championship?


I also doubt this will ever happen. Don't know why, but I guess some hobbies just appeal more to guys then girls and vice versa.


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## UncleFrank (Jun 21, 2022)

Looking at the Mega Survey that Reddit did last year, over 1500 responses, 88% responded as male and 10% female.
Looking at the WCA database export, there are over 160,000 registered competitors, over 143k or 89% listed as male and a little over 16k or 10% listed as female.


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## qwr (Jun 21, 2022)

Eli Apperson said:


> I also doubt this will ever happen. Don't know why, but I guess some hobbies just appeal more to guys then girls and vice versa.


It's the same if you visit any linux or lego convention. Just boy interests


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