Discussion: Team size

I did my first ar this past April, the epic in va, with 3 other guys new to the sport so we were all ignorant of what the sport is about. I started lurking here recently and have since learned that the elite teams have 3 men and 1 woman. What is the reason? Also, what is the open division at nationals include as far as team size?

I have signed up for two ar in the fall down in ky. Both races I will be on a 2 man team. Seems difficult to find a woman wanting to race with me.

I think most of the world AR races require that teams have a minimum of one female per team which is why you see it from most of the elite. Can't speak to the open division at the nationals though.

You'll find that the rules on team configuration read 'co-ed,' it just happens that 3 men and 1 woman is the most common breakdown. It's likely a direct result of the ratio of men and women in the sport, and the sub-sports. Note 'co-ed' is the nature of the rule; neither gender should be treated as a requirement per se.

The team of four is a historic thing. At many smaller scale / local events teams of three (or whatever size) are allowed just because if the community is small it is hard to keep to the traditional team size of four people.

I don't have much experience with the larger events but I agree with Double that teams workout to 3 and 1 simply becuase I the ratio of men and women in the sport. That being said there are teams with more than 1 female. I see more and more female racers at the local events that I attend every year.

I somehow lucked out with a team of 3 females and me when I was racing. I think they kept me around so they could be co-ed

Used to be teams of 5 (Raid, Elf, Eco Challenge). EC went to 4 in '97 in Aus... I preferred 5 in B.C. ... the more the merrier. I was told that there was some miltary strategist (or the like) that wrote a book about travelling through remote areas (covertly I suppose) and that 5 was the ideal number for speed/safety/mission accomplishment... and that was where the 5 person team originated.. but then, I used to drink a lot more in those daze :-). I believe Gerard Fusil used to refer to the team as 7 person (although 5 raced) as the support crew (remember those) was viewed (correctly IMHO) as part of the team. The last 'Big Races' that I recall having 5 members were about 10-11 years ago.

The co-ed thing is an interesting topic but I think it boiled down to a belief (statement) that there is so much that goes into making a good adventure racer that sex is a non-factor.

>so much that goes into making a good adventure racer that sex is a non-factor.

and gender is a non-factor too. ;-)

I thought that there used to be races with teams of 5!

> and gender is a non-factor too. ;-)

:-)

Here is the link to the nationals website. They appear to be defining coed teams has being mixed gender teams. The open division is for all males or all females.


http://www.usaranationals.com/