For every woman athlete this weekend at Lake Compounce, there were at least a dozen men competing. In the only sport that allowed female competitors, only seven female in-line vert and park skaters were allowed to compete in each event alongside some 20 male competitors.

Brazilian in-line skater Angela Araujo, 19, said there should be no limitation for women in-line skaters, as is the case with the men.

"It's not even a competition," she said. "They should just have as many women as want to compete."

Another Brazilian, Fabiola da Silva, a top female in-line skater who earned first place at the X Trials vert and park competitions, agreed.

"They should have more girls," said da Silva.

Lindsey Vigue, a senior from Bristol Eastern High School who skateboards for fun, agreed with the professionals.

"It's kind of male dominated," Vigue said. "I think more girls should get into it."

While organizers say there are simply not enough women to have more competitors in the in-line events, the athletes say it is tough to attend the competitions without sponsorship from companies.

But without exposure from big, televised events like the X trials, women find it difficult to get sponsors.

The Aggressive Skaters Association -- which runs the X Trials in-line events -- limited the pool of women competitors to five places several years ago when they saw a drop in the number of female skaters. That cap was recently raised to seven women.

"Part of it reflects the participation base," said Todd Shays, executive director of the ASA. "For whatever reason, it is just a sport more guys get into."

Some blame the small pool of female competitors on the lack of businesses willing to sponsor female skaters.

"There are a lot of good girls out there, but it is hard for a girl to get sponsored," said Shawn Robertson, 21, an in-line skater from Texas.

Shays said companies sponsor athletes who are recognizable to fans.

"To sell shoes, they need heroes," Shays said.

Araujo said part of the reason why women have a hard time getting sponsors to send them to contests is because women are not televised as much as men.

"There are a lot of girls out there but we need a little more support," Araujo said, who currently has no sponsors and had to find her own way to Connecticut.

Although the X Trials could give women some much-needed exposure in in-line skating and skateboarding, Katie Moses, X Games spokesperson, said ESPN doesn't recruit women or turn them away.

Moses said it is up to the associations that run the events for ESPN -- World Cup Skateboarding and the ASA -- to pick who can come to the competitions.

Women not only compete with men for air time, the in-line skaters also share one contest at the X Trials. A co-ed preliminary event is the final run for the women, unless they place in the top 10. Any women who place among the top 10 competitors will go on to the men's final.

While Shays said the men and women compete together but not against each other, there is some dispute between whether the two sexes should be combined at all.

"They should definitely have their own events," said Robertson.

Araujo said skating with men makes her work harder.

"When you compete with the men, when they are better than you, you want to do better," Araujo said.

While it may be hard to become a female professional in any sport, athletes advise female in-line skaters or skateboarders to stick with it.

"Hopefully women have the confidence to skate here, to say I want to be here," said Robin Miller, a 27-year-old former in-line skater who was an announcer at the X Trials. "Just skate and have fun and it will happen."

"A girl just needs to come out and blow people's minds," said Robertson.