Surfers are riding the wave of gender equality.
The World Surf League has announced that beginning in the 2019 season, men and women will be awarded equal prize money.
The move marks the first time a US-based global sports league has implemented a pay parity policy.
“This is a huge step forward in our long-planned strategy to elevate women’s surfing and we are thrilled to make this commitment as we reveal our new 2019 schedule,” Sophie Goldschmidt, WSL’s CEO, said in a statement.
However, the decision will only affect events where WSL has control over the prize money, which includes the World Championship Tour, World Junior Championship Tour, Longboard Tour and its Big Wave Tour.
But WSL Commissioner Kieren Perrow has vowed to work with partners and qualifying events to achieve “equality as soon as possible.”
“Today is a very proud day for me,” Stephanie Gilmore, a six-time world champion from Australia, wrote in an op-ed for The Players’ Tribune. “And I really hope this decision can be the start of a much bigger movement not only in sport but eventually, in society.”
Gilmore added that, in the past, women were “basically just a sideshow.”
The WSL – previously known as the Association of Professional Surfers – was once notorious for giving priority to men. Male surfers were given more events, better waves and prize money that didn’t compare to what the women were awarded. Women also struggled to score endorsements or sponsorship deals — regardless of their performance athletic ability — unless they were considered attractive.
Courtney Conlogue, a two-time runner-up to the World Title, recalled to Forbes how, back in 2009, she won a surfing competition and was awarded $10,000, while the male winner was awarded $100,000.
And in June, the WSL received criticism after the female winner of the Ballito Pro under-18’s women competition received half of the prize money of her male counterpart.
In 2014, the WSL announced an organization-wide rebrand in 2014 and added more events to women’s tours while also implementing pay parity for average prize money for the men’s and women’s championship tours. In 2017, Goldschmidt became WSL’s first female CEO.
“I’m so proud that surfing is choosing to lead sports in equality and fairness,” eleven-times men’s champion Kelly Slater wrote in a statement.
“We would like to thank the many advocates who have worked for decades to help advance women’s surfing,” Goldschmidt said. “We want to be at the forefront of pushing for equality in all walks of life, starting on the waves.”
