DOES SHE LOOK LIKE SHE’S UNHAPPY?
Kristie is a ring girl and she’s trained in martial arts. She also firmly believes women should be allowed to make their own choices
ARING girl who is also a fulltime athlete has branded the controversial practice of female hosting at sports events “empowering”.
In the wake of Formula One announcing grid girls will no longer be used before races – following on from darts – talented Kristie Raby said being a ring girl at sporting events was “exciting and fun”.
The former professional cheerleader, who has been working as a ring girl and promotional model for the past five years, added: “Not once have I been put in a position where I have been groped or felt like a piece of meat.
“I don’t find it demeaning at all. If I thought it was demeaning I wouldn’t do it.”
The grid girl announcement, made by Formula One’s new owners Liberty Media, marks the end of the decades-old practice of employing women for promotional tasks like holding driver name boards before each race.
The announcement, which was made because the tradition is “at odds with modern day societal norms”, came after the Professional Darts Corporation also ended the longestablished practice of women escorting male players to the stage.
The decision has sparked a fierce debate, with leading campaigners for gender equality calling on other sports to follow suit.
The Women’s Sport Trust said its issue with the use of models in sport as “walk-on girls, grid girls and ring girls” was that women were being positioned as an embellishment to a sport rather than having the opportunity to enjoy the same level of funding and media exposure as men.
“Sporting viewers are expected to admire the successful, talented, strong men taking part in competition, with the role of women purely based on their physical appearance,” they said in a statement.
But Kristie, from Ton Pentre in the Rhondda, denied that was the case.
The 26-year-old – who’s also a qualified sports massage therapist – has worked at hundreds of shows across the country including Cage Warriors, Adrenaline, Ultra White Collar Boxing and Budo Wales.
But her interest in the sport doesn’t stop there.
As well as working outside the ring Kristie also spends a lot of time inside it, training in a variety of different martial arts as a full-time, sponsored athlete.
Training six or seven days a week, she often fights with the same men and women she helps to promote as a ring girl at weekends.
“People don’t see it like I do. I see both sides – in the ring and outside the ring,” Kristie said.
“The fact that these critics think that we are only there to ‘cheer the men on that do the sport’, while I’m there to support the guys that I also train with six days a week – well that just proves them wrong.
“I’m passionate about fighting all round.
“Some people only see what they see on the night of the fight but I see behind the scenes.
“I know what it’s like being a competitor myself – the commitment and the physical and mental strength it takes to even get into the ring or the cage.
“That’s why I respect anyone that does it, whether that’s for jiu-jitsu, boxing, mixed martial arts, or even as a ring girl.”
Kristie has been a ring girl for the past five years after she started a women- only MMA fitness class in the Rhondda. “It all started when I attended a couple of women’s MMA fit classes. I asked the instructor about being a ring girl and it went from there. “I have been lucky enough to work on so many shows and I’ve worked alongside some amazing promoters. “I’ve built up a great relationship with loads of people and made some great friends along the way. “It’s a buzz. It’s exciting and fun and I absolutely love doing it. “I think it’s empowering. It gives women an inner confidence. “For some women it’s even a way of expressing themselves or a way of being involved in the sport, even if they don’t actually do the sport themselves.” Kristie says working as a ring girl has also opened doors to a number of other opportunities within the sport, including working as a timekeeper, scorekeeper and even hosting a show as an MC.
She’s also supported a number of different charities in her role as a ring girl by collecting money through raffles, auctions and with collection buckets.
But the biggest opportunity of all has been the chance to participate in the sport.
“I had been working as a ring girl for about two years and met a couple of athletes involved in MMA.
“They invited me along to a jiu-jitsu class. I tried it once and I’ve been grappling ever since.”
Kristie is now a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and has competed across the globe, taking part in the European Championships in Rome, as well as events across the UK. She also won the American National Championships which were held in Las Vegas in 2016.
As well as jiu-jitsu Kristie also trains in wrestling, judo, Muay Thai and does pad work.
“For me it’s just amazing to be a part of the sport working as a ring girl as well as being an athlete competing within it.
“I can be a ring girl on the Saturday and for the rest of the week I’m in the gym and on the mats with the same guys, training and helping them prepare for their next fight.
“I definitely think I bust the stereotypes open. I do both, so how is that demeaning?
“My advice to women would always be if you want to do something, just go and do it,
“Whether it’s being a ring girl, fighting, or doing any other type of sport or job.
“The world is hard enough as it is without people judging you and what you decide to do.
“Just go and do it, I say.”
HE’S trained with some of the greatest athletes, fought in Canada, Brazil, Glasgow and Ireland, and spent more than a decade serving in conflict zones with the British Army – but there’s nothing quite like home for this rising UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) star.
From scrapping on the streets of South Wales to the dizzying heights of worldwide stardom, mixed martial arts ( MMA) fighter Jack Marshman says he is lucky enough to “live a life a lot of people would love”.
But his hometown of Abertillery remains firmly in his heart.
Marshman will join fellow Welshman John Phillips at UFC London when he takes on Brazilian Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos in his fifth UFC fight at London’s O2 Arena in March.
And the 28-year-old will look to draw on his childhood, growing up in the “rough and ready” valleys of Blaenau Gwent which, he says, prepared him for the career which would eventually change his life.
“The areas we all grew up in – they shape us,” said Marshman, who served as a paratrooper with the 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment.
“There are not that many areas in the Valleys that aren’t that rough. That’s just the way we’re brought up.
“We’re all rough and ready from the Valleys. I used to get into a lot of trouble when I was younger, fighting on the streets, but as soon as I started MMA I just stopped all that.
“I went training once and just fell in love with it.
“I did a year of fighting and competing. That kept me out of trouble and that’s what spurred me on to join the Army, which eventually gave me even more discipline.”
Since making his debut, beating Sweden’s Magnus Cedenbled at the SSE Arena in Belfast in 2016, Marshman has rotated wins and losses throughout his UFC run, with the last fight being a first-round submission loss to Antonio Carlos Jr at UFC Fight Night Sao Paulo.
“Since joining the UFC my life has completely changed,” Marshman said.
“A couple of years ago I was in Colchester in Essex and a full-time soldier in the Army. I’ve gone from that to being a full-time, professional athlete.
“I live a life a lot of people would love.
“You do get luxuries. You win some good fights and earn some good money – you can have what you want, really. But I also live a life where I train all day. And I know we punch each other in the face but I train with some of my best friends every day.
“Some people have got to work and slave away all day in a factory for 12 hours and I get to go to the gym and train with my friends.
“I ’m s u r - rounded by people who love doing t h e same thing . “That’s what I class as a luxury.” Marshman has also recently become a dad for the first time. Daughter Molly was welcomed to the world last November – a year after he made his UFC debut. “She was born a year to the day after my UFC debut,” he said. “I’m not going to do this for ever. I mean, by the time she’s old enough to know what’s going on – I don’t want her to see me coming home with black eyes. “You want to give your kid everything you can. You want to provide everything for them. “I don’t care what I’m getting for myself. I just want to make sure she has everything she ever wants.” The Welshman says that when he eventually settles down, it will be in his home town. “It’s crazy. Obviously, I spent years away with the Army and a lot of time away training and fighting and stuff. “People ask me ‘Why would you want to move back?’ And I say ‘Well, I love the place’. “When I’m done with everything I’ll still live in Abertillery. “I’m already looking now. We’re looking for our ‘forever home’.” Jack Marshman (22-7 MMA, 2-2 UFC) meets Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (18-5 MMA, 4-1 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 127 at the O2 in London on March 17. Tickets on sale via AXS and Ticketmaster.