yea she was.. id only rarther see femina to be used in the world rounds.. i ride inter in my local comps.. it dose give you and possibley the guys in my case a more "oh gotta beat the girl" kind of thinkin lol like you said i dont think it would change if femina wasn't there.. probley just felt sorry for us because we always lost haha! the sponsorship thing.. its possibly abit of both..... and i think your right.. companys may just want girls on ther team to show of in away, but in some cases not in trials but in other sports like snowboarding the girls that ride deserve it!!, me personly dont think im good enough to be on cb.. if that answers your question..