An Instagram story posted by athlete Viviana Silva this week raised questions about ticket pricing for WCT7 Worlds. Silva compared the cost of the full women’s tournament (€19) to a single open division group stage session (€24), captioning: « Full tournament, final included… still cheaper than one qualifier. So what exactly is being valued here? »

The post prompted us to look at the numbers and ask: how does Chase Tag® compare to other sports in supporting women’s competition, and what could the sport do next?

The Pricing Context

Silva’s comparison omitted context.

The women’s division at WCT7 Worlds features six teams and ten matches. The open division features twelve teams and thirty-four matches. Ticket pricing reflects match volume: €40 for ten women’s matches works out to €4 per match. The full open division (€133-145 for thirty-four matches) works out to €3.90-4.26 per match.

The per-match pricing is essentially identical.

« Ticket pricing has always been based on event duration and match volume, not on how we value either division, » WCT said. « We welcome feedback from athletes. Our door is open, and we’re always happy to discuss concerns directly. »

Silva acknowledged she discovered the pricing « purely by chance » and had not reached out to WCT before posting. She plans to speak with the organisation at Worlds.

What WCT Has Done

Chase Tag® is ten years old. The organisation operates with limited staff and resources. Despite this, WCT has built a women’s division from scratch, something many emerging sports haven’t attempted until much later.

Jess Chan, captain of Kunoichi and one of the architects of the women’s division, shared how it came together.

« A lot of this started with our coach, Kozy, who was a board member on USPK and had served as Head Referee when WCT came to the Americas in 2020, » she said. « At the time, there was only one woman who had competed. Kozy asked the Devaux brothers why there weren’t more women playing. They said it had always been open to women, but they’d had a couple key women drop out of prior competitions. »

Kozy explained that leaving the door open isn’t enough. You have to make a welcoming space.

« The Devaux brothers were receptive to a women’s division, but most worried about political correctness or doing a disservice to women, » Chan said. « Kozy asked if they’d be open to meeting with female parkour athletes on a video call to discuss what women actually wanted to see in the sport. They said yes. »

That meeting took place in April 2021 with around 30 women from parkour. After the call, the Devaux brothers approved a women’s exhibition match during WCT5 Worlds in London. By US Nationals 2022, a full women’s division was trialled with four teams.

« When we submitted our team, that’s when we were told they were ready to trial a women’s division, » Chan said. « We were asked to create an extra women’s team each to have a total of four teams. From the ashes of Victorious Secret grew the team you now know as Anarchy. And the rest is history. »

Since the beginning, WCT has maintained equal prize money per match played across both divisions. Same production quality. Same broadcast standards. Same referees. Same Quad™.

« They were very on board about making it as equal as possible and suggested paying equal prize money based on matches played, » Chan said. « In an era where women’s US pro soccer athletes are still making a fraction of their male counterparts despite bringing home consecutive gold medals and World Cup finishes, the talk of equal pay this early in a sport is relatively unprecedented. »

In 2023, WCT EMEA hosted an all-women Chase-Off™ in France with four full teams. In 2024, the first women’s division at Worlds took place. When some broadcast partners initially showed less interest in the women’s division, WCT negotiated to include all content regardless.

Women have worked across the sport beyond competing: gym owners, commentators, analysts, photographers, videographers, and senior staff managing athletes and backstage operations.

Amy Baldwin, two-time US women’s champion and Rotterdam Chase-Off™ standout, has experienced the community’s support first-hand.

« I personally have always found the Chase Tag® community to be very supportive and encouraging, » she said. « From Elijah offering to run interactions with me my first time on the Quad™, to the whole stadium at WCT6 Texas chanting my name, to Ky saying ‘it’d be sick’ when I suggested I chase Orlando and then Richard, his own teammate, cheering his head off when I tagged him. »

« I think there have definitely been efforts made, and things have improved a lot compared to the beginning, » said Maïlys Blasco, who captained Nano to the WCT6 World Championship and now competes for Volt.

But there is always room to grow.

How Other Sports Built Women’s Divisions

The question of how to grow women’s participation is not unique to Chase Tag®. Other sports have faced the same challenge, and their experiences offer useful lessons.

UFC

In 2011, UFC President Dana White said women would « never » fight in the organisation. One year later, he reversed course.

What changed? Ronda Rousey. She built her profile through Strikeforce with dominant first-round finishes and a compelling media presence. By 2012, her profile was so valuable that UFC bought the entire Strikeforce promotion to acquire her contract. It didn’t come from the organisation. It came from the athlete.

Today, UFC fields four women’s weight classes, and women’s fights regularly headline cards. (Source: UFC, February 2023)

The 1999 Women’s World Cup

FIFA envisioned « a fairly small low-key event. » The US Soccer Federation pushed for large stadiums. The audience proved them right.

The Rose Bowl final drew 90,185 fans, the largest crowd ever for a women’s sporting event. 40 million Americans watched on TV, higher ratings than the NBA and NHL finals that year.

The demand existed before the investment. FIFA and sponsors followed after seeing proof. (Source: Wikipedia)

FIFA & UEFA

FIFA has invested over $70 million specifically in women’s football development programmes. (Source: FIFA Annual Report 2022) The number of women and girls playing organised football increased 24% between 2019 and 2023 (4 years, about 40% of WCT’s entire existence). (Source: FIFA Survey Report 2023) UEFA committed €1 billion over six years to grow women’s football in Europe. (Source: Deloitte, January 2025)

Red Bull

In the 1990s, Red Bull invested in BASE jumping, cliff diving, and BMX before these disciplines had mainstream recognition. They created their own events and built entire sports categories from grassroots level. Traditional sports bodies followed Red Bull’s lead, not the reverse. (Source: Wikipedia)

Growth can come from organisations, athletes, audiences, or sponsors. At Quadside, we urge all athletes to grow their online presence, their fanbase and their image for this reason exactly (read more here and here.)

What Chase Tag® Could Do Next

1. More Teams, More Competition

The women’s division has 17 teams registered worldwide, though four no longer exist and at least three have been inactive for some time. Around ten remain active, with six competing at WCT7 Worlds. Compare this to 184 open division teams and 18 Academy teams. (Source: Squared)

The gap creates structural challenges: fewer matches, less storyline depth, scheduling compressed into single sessions.

More active women’s teams is the single most impactful change but retention matters too: nearly half of registered women’s teams have dissolved or gone inactive.

This cannot fall on WCT alone. The organisation operates on very limited funds, currently able(ish) to run roughly one World Championship every two years. Gyms can recruit women and create welcoming environments. Event hosts can prioritise women’s competition at Chase-Off™ events. Women’s teams can reach out, invite friends, build rosters.

Some of this is happening. Fakaw’s youth pipeline is developing female talent. Academy divisions are creating pathways. Rooftop Queens emerged from training alongside Rooftop Kings.

Baldwin pointed to Fakaw as the model.

« I think what we need more of is teams like Fakaw, » she said. « It’s amazing how they have both an open and women’s team who train together and support each other as friends and teammates. From the outside it seems like Yohann [Bassez] has built an amazing community that’s going to keep creating amazing Chase Tag® players. »

At the gym level, events like the recent Women’s Jam at Dexterity Depot offer a template: dedicated sessions to encourage women to train together and attract newcomers.

« It is frustrating that the women’s league don’t get to play as many games as the open, but that’s nothing against WCT as an organisation, » Baldwin said. « There just isn’t as many teams, therefore you play less games. »

The barriers are real. Chan described the pressure she felt as an early competitor.

« If a guy performs badly in a sport then the attitude is ‘oh he must be new’ or ‘maybe he’s not cut out for this sport’; they get a lot more grace, » she said. « But for women, they often get judged for the entire sex. You always see the YouTube comments saying ‘women suck at this sport’ or ‘they can’t keep up with the guys’ instead of it being about the individual. It’s a lot of pressure for women who are beginners. »

Chan outlined the growth cycle: « More representation of women online plus more Quads leads to higher participation of women, which leads to a higher level of competition within the women’s league, which leads to more respect of women in the sport, which leads to more representation and participation. It’s an upward spiral. »

2. Scheduling: A No-Win Situation?

Silva raised concerns about the women’s division being scheduled in a single block, arguing it reduces time for analysis and recovery between matches.

At WCT6, the criticism was the opposite: women’s matches were scattered throughout the event, and the trophy ceremony felt rushed. When WCT released women’s matches first on YouTube, the complaint was that this didn’t provide maximum exposure. When they released them last, the complaint was that women weren’t shown first. When TV broadcasters aired women’s episodes between open division episodes, it was viewed as break time.

Some criticism arrives with a pre-existing conclusion that women are undervalued. Any decision, regardless of intent, gets interpreted through that lens.

« A dedicated women’s block allows us to build storylines across the session, » WCT said. « Fans who come to watch their favourite team can see them compete multiple times over three hours instead of catching a single ten-minute match before the next team takes over. We want the women’s division to feel like its own event, not scattered segments between open matches. »

No scheduling approach satisfies everyone. But assuming bad intent makes constructive dialogue harder.

3. Storytelling That Builds Stars

The UFC’s women’s division took off because of Ronda Rousey’s profile. The 1999 World Cup succeeded because Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain, and their teammates became household names.

Chase Tag® has compelling athletes in the women’s division. Eva Yamani’s transcontinental transfer. Maïlys Blasco’s comeback and Flying Dutchwoman. Kunoichi’s remarkable consistency. Amy Baldwin’s back-to-back US titles and Baron of Bolt award at WCT7 US.

When asked about Kunoichi’s secret (reaching the finals of every event they’ve entered), Chan pointed to preparation over raw athleticism.

« When you don’t have a regular Quad™ to train on you have to get creative, » she said. « From the beginning our team placed a lot of emphasis on visualisation, strategy, and knowing the players we’re going against. If we could visualise how to beat our opponents ahead of time, those micro decisions you’re making in fractions of a second start to pay off. »

The stories exist. Telling them more prominently would help audiences connect with the women’s division the way they connect with the open division’s rivalries.

4. Media Can Do More Too

This one is on us.

When asked what « being valued equally » looks like in practice, Blasco said: « Talking about both divisions equally in posts. No difference. Just athletes, passionate about the same sport. »

We currently organise content by topic: transfers, events, teams, rankings. We didn’t have a dedicated Women’s Division section. That was a gap.

We’re considering adding this (actually we’ve just done it ❤️). If the goal is more visibility for women’s Chase Tag®, media platforms have a role to play alongside organisations, gyms, and athletes.

5. Data and Transparency

Silva’s Instagram story gained traction partly because the numbers were easy to misread without context. WCT could pre-empt this by publishing clear breakdowns: ticket pricing per match, prize money per match, broadcast minutes by division.

Transparency builds trust. When the numbers are fair, showing them openly removes the space for speculation.

6. Incentivise Top Women to Compete in the Open Division

The open division is exactly that: open. Mixed. Available to athletes of any gender.

Long term, the open division will likely remain the main card event. It will eventually feature the best athletes regardless of gender competing together. This raises a question: will the women’s division retain top talent, or will the strongest women move to where the visibility and competition are highest?

This was Chan’s original vision.

« My personal vision for myself was to play in the open league alongside other women as I love playing with everyone to bring in more play-styles and challenges to overcome, » she said. « The creation of the women’s league showed me a greater purpose than my own goals by giving me the opportunity to support other women in the space. »

Women are already capable of competing at this level. Amy Baldwin proved it at the Rotterdam Chase-Off™, tagging Orlando Devaux twice. Orlando is a former Worlds MVP (Knight of Flight) and considered one of the best in the game. She also tagged Sam Van Rijn from UGEN in sudden death, before her brother Ky evaded Haroon Hanafi to seal the win. She wasn’t a token athlete filling a roster spot. She carried her weight in critical moments against some of the best male athletes on the planet.

Yet Baldwin herself isn’t pursuing that path.

« Truthfully no, I don’t see myself committing that time, » she said. « Living in Australia I am nowhere near any Quads™. I will definitely keep competing in the open division at local comps and will never say never, but it certainly isn’t a goal I’m striving towards. »

For women who do want to make the jump: « Chase Tag® is a very strategy-driven game. To be competitive against the men you don’t necessarily need to be as fast and as strong as them. But you need to know how to use your strengths to your advantage. »

Women competing in the open division gain significantly more exposure. They face the sport’s best athletes. They appear on the main broadcast. Seeing women compete at the highest level alongside men could do more for the sport’s image than a separate division ever could.

This doesn’t mean abandoning the women’s division. It serves a purpose: providing a competitive pathway for women who are developing, creating space for women-only teams, building a community. But the end goal might not be parity between two divisions. It might be integration at the top, with the women’s division serving as a pathway rather than a ceiling.

Integration needs to be real.

« Mixed formats where women can actually be included in teams, which isn’t always the case, » Blasco said. « For example, teams with two men and two women instead of five men and one woman who only plays once because the men don’t want to let her play. »

If women join open division rosters but rarely see the Quad™, the visibility benefit disappears.

7. Athlete Input Channels

Silva mentioned that raising concerns publicly risks « making enemies » or being seen as attacking the organisation. Other athletes may share concerns but stay silent for the same reasons.

« A feedback loop of communication where women in the sport can provide feedback that can be implemented into future decision-making feels like a simple yet effective way for the sport to keep including women as it evolves, » Chan said. « Having women in leadership roles in any capacity can also be helpful. Either on the production team or when eventually a Chase Tag® federation is created, ensuring that there is representation there too. »

Formal feedback channels give athletes a way to raise issues without going public first. Athletes feel heard. The organisation gets early warning of problems before they become Instagram stories.

The Bigger Picture

Chase Tag® is a ten-year-old sport doing what established sports took decades to achieve. Equal prize money from day one. Broadcast parity. A dedicated women’s division built before demand required it.

Is there more to do? Always. More teams, more events, more exposure, more investment. The women’s division is young, and growth takes time.

Silva’s post opened a conversation worth having. The facts show WCT has built strong foundations. The question is how to build on them.

The door is open. Athletes, organisers, and the community all have roles to play.

On our end: Quadside is open to community members who want to help tell the stories of Chase Tag®. If you want to write articles, create content, or contribute in other ways, reach out. We’d love to expand our team with more women.

Chan’s advice for women who want to start a team: « Audacity. Have the audacity to go for the things you dream of. As women we are taught to be careful and small which means that we may not create as many opportunities for ourselves. If it doesn’t exist yet, why couldn’t you be the one to create it? »

As Blasco put it: « Just go for it. Life is too short not to take risks. There’s so much to build and discover. »