2011 gender statistics.

Charts: Age, Gender, Geography, By wave: Birkie Freestyle, Birkie Classic, Korteloppet Freestyle, Korteloppet Classic, 2011 statistics index
Data: State data for all finishers, state "competitions", "Special data" search

Why are there more men than women who ski the Birkie? I don't know. For the Birkie, only about one in five racers, in both the skate and classic races, is female. Even in later waves, women don't make up more than a third of the skiers. For women, the cutoff for elite qualification is not long before the cutoff between the first and second waves; there were only 17 women in the first skate wave this year—it really is a boy's club with over 500 guys skiing to Hayward. Women make up some more of the later waves, but still have numbers far below men. Ladies, get your friends on skis!

More women, however, ski the shorter race. Again, I couldn't tell you why. But female numbers in the Korteloppet almost match men's numbers, with about 45% of the participation in each. Without an elite wave, there are more women in wave 1, where they comprise 20% of skiers, and the numbers only rise. By late waves of the Korte, half of the skiers are female, or more!

Is there a gender difference between skate and classic? Not really.

There is more information on gender on the Age page with gender by age.

Charts: Age, Gender, Geography, By wave: Birkie Freestyle, Birkie Classic, Korteloppet Freestyle, Korteloppet Classic, 2011 statistics index
Data: State data for all finishers, state "competitions", "Special data" search

© 2010-2011, Ari Ofsevit / birkieguide.com
This site is in no way affiliated with the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation, the Birkebeiner or the Birkie. But it is a huge Birkie fanboy.

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