It's a very slow process - two steps forward, one step back - but I'm inching in the right direction. - Rob Reiner

August 18, 2011

Gender Check?

My first ever Olympic Distance Triathlon is just a little over two weeks away!  Yikes, I'm starting to get very nervous.  Yesterday I received the following e-mail - my first communication from the race.


Good morning,

My registration program has an automatic gender check and your name was flagged because my computer thinks your first name doesn’t match the coinciding gender.  I have you marked as a female.  Please let me know if this is incorrect.

Thanks!!

I guess I can't complain really with a name like Michael, but I thought it was kind of funny.  This will be my 7th triathlon, but my first "gender check".  



23 comments:

  1. This is so funny. I love the picture of Pat!!!!

    (I have a gender-neutral name too.)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nice to see that they're on the ball.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi, I found your blog in the Coy's blog and I like it.
    I will do my first Olympic Triathlon this year too, it’ll be the 16th of October and I’m very excited about it.
    So, with your permission I’ll follow your blog, to learn from your experience.

    ReplyDelete
  4. OMG, thats hilarious! i bet the person writing that email spend forever trying to figure out how to write that without sounding like an idiot, but finally he gave up and said "screw it, just ask if michael is really a dude" at least your appearance is not ambiguous like Pat's. i cant wait to read your race recap. i need some encouragement to sign up for the oly i want to do in october!

    ReplyDelete
  5. That is really funny! Way to go confusing the computer!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Well, that is something I havent heard before in triathlons.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Michael, you and I have something much in common. As you know, my name turns lots of heads as well. Last night at our Bluegrass Cycling Club everyone has to introduce themselves and each week someone new says "Coy? Did you say Coy?". Why yes I did. "My father named me and YES, that's my name."

    I'm so excited to hear about your first Olympic distance tri. I'm doing one in 2 weeks called Tri For Sight and it's the biggest one in our area here. It's VERY close to being Olympic distance. The swim is 800, bike 19 and run 4.1. I still need to go out and get a tri suit. Last year I pretty much swam, biked and ran in my swimsuit. Yep!

    I'm glad you mentioned that 70.3 in Wisconsin to me on my blog. I'm gonna Google it today! I would much rather come and do one where I knew someone (although, uh, we've never met :) than go someplace and know no one.

    Are you really considering it!!? Do it!

    ReplyDelete
  8. That is funny! Looking forward to your race recap!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Funny! At last the gender check only involved an email. HA HA. Good luck on your OLY! so excited for you :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. My daughter's name is Mason. And she is Chinese. Imagine that interview when they expect a caucasian male to walk in the door! As a friend of mine said--Girls with boys' names rock, boys with girls' names don't. (Just think of the Stacys, Tracys and Jodys we know.)

    Jackie in Des Moines

    ReplyDelete
  11. Clearly you're a man hoping to dominate the womens' field! Unfortunately, recent research shows men hold less of an edge in endurance sports than in other athletic endeavors.

    Question to ponder: Why even have a gender check program if they're just going to take the athlete's word for it in an email? Hmmmm.

    I have the ultimate name by the way. As Christopher it is clearly masculine. As Chris it is gender neutral. When said with my middle initial (Chris T.) it becomes feminine.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Too funny. I absolutely adore your name!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Funny :) I'm surprised this is the first time! I get called "sir" a lot at races. Even when I'm wearing a sports bra tank! Hello, these are boobs!!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. That is pretty funny! I am glad they got it all straightened out. :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. How is the training coming along? The Hy-Vee Tri is coming up quickly are you ready!? Maybe we'll see you there, I will be wearing the employee team colors! Good luck Michael!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Well, better a gender check now than awkward public explanation later....my 14 year old son who did his first sprint tri last month was called out as the winner of the female 14-16 year old category. When he went up to explain he was a boy (without an ambigious name!), they just stood around checking lists and looking confused! He was mortified!....luckily he still won the boys category too! ;D

    ReplyDelete
  17. Very funny. I worked with a woman named Glenn and she got lots of comments too.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I get that too. And the question about what country I'm from, and whether or not my parents were hippies.

    ReplyDelete
  19. ha. I get Michael all the time even though it's Michel. I was ecstatic at the Wisconsin half marathon when they called my name over the PA system correctly!!! joy!

    ReplyDelete
  20. That is so funny, I think your name is cool : )

    ReplyDelete
  21. I actually went to elementary school with a girl named Michael and I remember being confused because that is my dad's name. It's good they checked, I guess! In college, the two Jamies got put in a room together because housing was too embarrassed to ask their gender. Too bad one was a boy and one was a girl!

    ReplyDelete