W hen it comes to sponsored events there are usually two things that go hand-inhand . Firstly if its sponsored by a distributor their bikes get priority , and secondly , its mostly focused on the blokes . The inaugural Kawigirls Kings and Queens event , then , held at the Rotorua Motorcycle Club track on December 12 broke new ground and did plenty of good for our sport along the way . Event organiser , Nick Lang , knows the genderbiased issues of most motorsports well , being the dad of two competitive MX loving daughters and was the driving force behind putting it all together . “ Over lockdown , my daughter Penny and I were discussing ideas that could make motocross better for the girls and one concept we had was a raceday which had all the girls from beginner to senior race on one day ”, Lang explains . “ After floating the idea to those in the industry who we felt have been most supportive of women ’ s motocross we were encouraged by the positive feedback and Kawigirls were quick to offer their full support as main sponsor and , importantly , happy to share the event with other competing brands and products . This co-operative support of brands , dealerships and distributors in the industry allowed them to share in the day and give the girls support , which is a credit to them , the club also put in a lot of work and time to reverse the track and get it ready , which was a fantastic effort .” With top riders including Women ’ s World MX Champ Courtney Duncan in attendance , the was plenty of inspiration for the next generation of women riders in attendance . “ Since Kawigirls Kings & Queens we have had exclusively positive feedback , the racing was great but the most satisfying part was to see so many young ladies meet their hero and watch Courtney on the track ”, Lang says . “ People often ask me why I got my daughters into motocross , the answer I give is that they got me into it and there was a time when I thought motocross was a boys ’ sport - how wrong I was . Junior women ’ s motocross is an area of our sport which has seen growth in recent years and with the success of our women on the international stage it is likely to continue to grow .” “ We hope that with such a positive start we can grow in the event next year and make it even better .”