While the 21-year-old fell to American Caitlin Simmers, 18, in the final, Picklum’s perfect score was nailed in what’s widely rated as one of the best-ever women’s heats on the Championship Tour against Hawaii-local Bettylou Sakura Johnson in a thrilling semifinal win. 

World No. 5 Picklum flew through the barrel on her backhand side to earn the only 10 in the women’s competition. 

“I feel like for me personally, there’s no more fitting place than Pipe to give me my first 10,” said the NSW surfer, who will also represent Australia at this year’s Olympics in Paris.  

“ I’m just so, so happy– 10 points, it’s hard to come by,” she said. 

“With the wave I needed a score and I know she’s capable of a 10, so I just took off and I just thought it’s got some draw to it and I may as well roll the dice and try.”

“But 10 points, I love it, I want more.”

In the end, Picklum finished with a score of 10.64,  behind Simmers’ 12.66 score. Nevertheless, even Simmers had praise to heap onto Picklum’s historic heat. 

“Molly’s a guru, she’s probably the best girl out here in my opinion,” said Simmers about Picklum. “One heat out here is like months of experience, and getting barrelled in a heat with your friend is the most fun thing in the world.”

Commenting on all of the “epic” performances of the day, Picklum wrote on Instagram after the event: “Wow what a day for women’s surfing. So inspired by the women before my time who charged and push the limits and of course my girls who are pushing it in todays generation.”

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“Pipeline is for the fucking girls!”

Despite this year’s epic performances from female surfers at Pipeline, women have only been allowed to surf the sport’s most challenging and dangerous wave since 2020.

Three years ago, Australia’s Tyler Wright claimed victory at the first women’s World Surfing League (WSL) tour event to be held at Pipeline. 

Before that, women surfed at a different Hawaiian location– Honolua Bay– for the findal event of the tour, while Pipeline was reserved for the men. Following a fatal shark attack during the 2020 Maui Pro, however, the women moved to Pipeline out of caution. 

Nevertheless, Picklum’s perfect 10 on the deadly wave seems to have cemented that “Pipeline is for the fucking girls,” as Simmers declared after her heat. 

“This wave is terrifying; I respect everyone who wants a part of it and everyone who doesn’t because it’s really scary out there,” said Simmers.

“It starts with all the girls that battled the guys and barely got any waves, and I hope that this event showed the girls can do it. We’re getting spat out all day, and it’s pretty cool to see. I’m really happy to be a part of it.”

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Gilmore, an eight-time world surfing champion, said she would take time away from the pro tour so she could spend time “free surfing” in places she otherwise wouldn’t get to surf. She will return to the tour in 2025.

“I am planning to take this time as a refresh for myself physically, mentally, and enjoy following swells and free surfing in new places,” Gilmore said in a statement announcing the break.

“I have some projects and trips I want to do, which haven’t been possible while traveling during the season. I am still passionate and dedicated to competing, and I have goals and dreams that I am still chasing – I’m excited for this year to activate those and I look forward to returning in 2025.”

WSL’s Chief of Sport Jessi Miley-Dyer said the surfing commmunity fully supported Gilmore’s decision to step back. The WSL has also confirmed Gilmore will receive the 2025 season wildcard to make her return.

“While we will miss Steph’s presence on the CT this season, we wholeheartedly support her decision to take this time for herself,” said Miley-Dyer.

“Steph’s influence on surfing and sport has been profound, inspiring countless people around the world. We eagerly await her return in 2025, where she will be welcomed back with the season wildcard, ready to continue her incredible legacy.”

Gilmore has been competing in the Championship Tour since 2007. In 2022, she won her eighth World Title, surpassing a record of 7 world titles previously held by Layne Beachley.

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Gilmore’s 12-month departure comes just days after US surfer and defending Olmypic gold medallist Carissa Moore announced she would step away from the World Surf League’s Championship Tour.

Announcing her decision to retire, Moore wrote in a love letter to surfing that “the most important lesson surfing has taught me is to commit, paddle hard, let go of the rails and enjoy the ride.”

“I know who I am, what I want and what is meaningful to me. I am multi-dimensional. I am a surfer, but I am also a wife, sister, daughter, friend,” she wrote. “I want to keep challenging myself in all areas of my life, explore the joy and most importantly, find ways to share more love.”

The post ‘Refresh physically, mentally’: Stephanie Gilmore steps away from pro surfing for one year appeared first on Women's Agenda.

It all started when surfer Lucy Small was looking into the Kirra Longboard Klassic- a surfing competition held on the Gold Coast at the end of July- and noticed that there wasn’t a separate women’s division. There was only the Clearwater Pro Division– an open event– that had $5,500 prize money.

Small said organisers claimed this to be fair because “anyone can enter”, but in a video posted to her Instagram, she decided to explain why this was an issue. 

“When you have a mixed division like that, the chances of a man winning the money is a lot higher, so it’s not really fair,” said Small.

To try to resolve the issue, Small reached out to event organisers to see if they could have a women’s open event and split the prize money, which she noted would still be $2,750– a good amount of money to be won, but organisers refused. 

That didn’t stop Small, however, as she and a group of other women surfers all decided to enter the division and fill up the 16 participant slots– making their own “women’s division”. 

And to cover the $250 entry fee, women’s surf brand Soul Gypsy chose to support them all with some money to help cover the costs. 

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The group of women managed to fill 15 of the 16 slots before a man actually entered the competition as well. Luckily, once the women added the man into their group chat and explained what they were doing, he said he’d withdraw in support.

“We’ve done it,” Small said at the time in another video posted to her Instagram account. “What they originally tried to have as a division for prize money for men is now the Kirra Longboard Klassic Clearwater Pro women’s division.”

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But despite the women entering into the open division as “anyone can enter”, it seems event organisers didn’t like the idea of not having men at the competition as well.

Roughly five days later, Small posted another update video to her account, sharing that organisers agreed to have a dedicated women’s division with equal prize money. 

“I just had no idea that it would be controversial,” Small said. “It’s like, anyone can enter, so women all entered but then it was really controversial and it just went all over the news. Which is just so nuts that women entering a pro, open division would be controversial because those divisions are full of men all the time.”

Small went on to explain that a brand had heard about the controversy in the news surrounding the women filling up the open division and “agreed to support a women’s division.”

“So we’re actually getting a dedicated women’s pro division with equal prize money now, which is a pretty amazing outcome.”

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Ewing rang the famous Bells Beach bell on Tuesday, after he won the final against Ryan Callinan. Ewing’s mother, Helen Ewing (née Lambert), won the competition at age 18 in 1983. Ewing said he has had his mother’s trophy on his bedside table his entire life. 

She was a pioneer in the women’s surfing scene, and died of breast cancer when Ewing was six years old in 2005.

Ewing said winning the Bells Beach trophy and being able to follow in his mother’s footsteps had been his biggest career goal. 

“I’ve had the trophy next to my bed pretty much my whole life and looked at that and dreamt of it, and seeing her name on the stairs, and now having my name there is so, so special,” he said.

“All my heroes have won this – Joel [Parkinson], Mick [Fanning], Kelly [Slater], the girls – Steph [Gilmore], Carissa [Moore], and then my mum back in ‘83. It is an honour to compete here. To put my name up there with her – it’s really special.”

The moment marked the first time a mother and son have ever won the same World Surf League event.

 “I’ve been thinking about her since I’ve been on tour. I wanted to do her proud,” he said.

The 24-year-old has also worn his mother’s name on his back to mark every International Women’s Day surfing event.

In an emotional moment after the win, Ewing said:  “I just want to say to everyone out there, tell your Mum you love them, because you never know what life throws at you.”

“Every International Women’s Day, @ethan_ewing has worn “Helen” on his back in honor of his late mum – an athlete who inspires him. Well, Ethan just won Bells 40 years after she did in 1983. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the entire crowd today . Congrats to the whole Ewing and Lambert families ,” Jessi Miley Dyer wrote on Instagram.

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In the women’s event, Australian Tyler Wright took home the Rip Curl Pro trophy for the second year in a row, winning over fellow Australian Molly Picklum, who managed to retain her position as World No. 1.

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It was a major milestone in Beachley’s career, and helped chart her path to become a 7-time world champion.

Two weeks later, Beachely was diagnosed with her first bout of chronic fatigue syndrome.

“So my first bit of advice to my 21-year-old self would be to prioritise your health and wellbeing,” Beachley tells Women’s Agenda.

“We’ve all heard the classic phrase “health is wealth” but when you’re young, we tend to think we are bulletproof and invincible, and sabotage ourselves in really impactful ways that we’re unaware of.”

For Beachley, that meant poor nutrition, unhealthy sleeping habits, and as she describes it, the physical abuse of her body.

“I just pushed it and pushed it and really didn’t allow my body to properly recover or heal from the intense physical training I put it through.”

One of the most important lessons she’s learnt over the subsequent 30 years, is that our bodies whisper before they scream, and an all-or-nothing approach won’t hear the whispers.

“If we have an all-or-nothing mentality, we won’t start taking action until our body is screaming at us,” Beachley says. “I’ve learned that over the course of my life that I’ve waited until my body was screaming, and even then I’ve ignored it.”

“I am now 50 years of age and in constant pain management because of how much I’ve used my body and chose to have an all-or-nothing mentality, which then resulted in a win-at-all-costs mentality that cost me a significant amount.”

Beachley’s learned to adopt an “all-or-something” mentality when it comes to her health, a message she’d like to advocate as an ambassador for AIA Vitality.

“I really want to continue reinforcing that prioritising your health and wellbeing is your greatest asset and if you have an all-or-something mentality, then you’ll find the time to do the little things that make the biggest difference,” she says. 

Beachley, who was a fierce advocate for gender equality throughout her surfing career,  is very aware of her position in Australian society as a role model. It’s a role she takes very seriously and something she works on everyday at the Awake Academy, a centre she co-created to help others with self-improvement, connection, growth and happiness. 

“When I started becoming more successful, more consistently successful, and becoming really close to becoming a world champion, all of a sudden people wanted to align themselves with me and I started to understand the gravitas of my voice and my reputation,” Beachley shares.

“So I’ve always taken my position as a role model very seriously and prided myself on being a very positive one and recognising that people may not always be watching or listening but still respect the position we hold as leaders, pioneers, and trailblazers.”

“I am a deep empath, so I feel that that really drives me to want to help people. That’s one of the reasons why Awake Academy was born and that’s also why I willingly accepted the role as an AIA Vitality Ambassador because they really are focused, and as passionate as I am, about helping people prioritise their health and well-being and live a healthier, happier longer life or a better life.”

As for the latest gender equality developments in surfing? Beachley said she was pumped to see women competing in The Eddie, an iconic big wave surfing event at Waimea in Hawaii last month, for the first time ever.

“I felt an immense amount of pride and satisfaction when I saw the women surfing at Waimea, because I started lobbying for acceptance into that event back in 1999,” Beachley says. “It’s disappointing that it’s taking so long and they call that progress. I feel that the women who embraced that opportunity did us very proud.”

Beachley says every time she sees women in professional surfing given the same opportunities as men, it shatters her own self-limiting beliefs.

“I have this underlying belief which stems from my childhood that male surfers don’t respect women,” Beachley says. “We are self-fulfilling prophecies and we continuously seek evidence of what we believe to be true. It’s called a confirmation bias. It’s very easy to find evidence to support that belief. But what I have to do is poke holes in my own bias to embrace and accept change. 

“So seeing the women being granted the opportunity to surf Waimea alongside the men, then seeing the women now on the WSL platform surfing in the same conditions as the men in the same locations and being paid the same, fills me with immense satisfaction. 

“It pokes very deep holes in a very deep fear-based belief that is currently being shattered. I’m very proud of that.”

The post The advice Layne Beachley would give to her 21-year-old self appeared first on Women's Agenda.

Gilmore has now overtaken fellow Australian Layne Beachley’s seven titles to become the most successful women’s champion in history. 

While the win proved truly phenomenal, Gilmore had to fight through her fair share of battles to achieve it. 

Heading into the Rip Curl WSL Finals, she was in fifth place at the Lower Trestles break in California but won five-straight heats for the chance to surf against the reigning champion from 2021 and 2019, Carissa Moore. 

Taking the opening heat 15.00 to 10.90 before winning the second 15.23 to 11.97, Gilmore won the best-of-three final to rewrite the record books. 

Gilmore has claimed world titles in 2007-2010, 2012, 2014, 2018 and now 2022. 

To take the 2022 world title, the Australian surfer won four matches leading up to it. She came from behind in two earlier matches, only narrowly beating Costa Rican Brisa Hennessy in the first and Brazilian, Tatiana Weston-Webb in the second. 

In her final match against Moore, Gilmore was able to pull ahead of the younger Hawaiian surfer to take the win.

Speaking with Strider Wasilewski after the competition, Gilmore said, “Oh my God, I’ve visualised it so much and I was just like: ‘Let’s do this,’ I have a chance, let’s just prove this whole system wrong.”

“You can come from the bottom, come from fifth and win a world title. That’s freaking cool. But Carissa is really the world champ to me this year. She’s had the best season ever. I’m so honoured to surf against her in this final. I’m so spent. It’s been a wild day.”

The two women, Gilmore and Moore hold respect for each other’s achievements and showed a classy display of sportsmanship at the competition. Immediately after the final, Moore swam over to Gilmore and the two shared an emotional embrace in the water to celebrate Gilmore’s victorious efforts. 

After claiming the title, Gilmore spoke to Moore’s abilities saying, “She had such a stellar year, so many wonderful performances and I’m so inspired by what she does.”

“I was out there thinking if this happens, it’s freaking cool but if it doesn’t, I won’t be bummed because it’s against Carissa and she really is the greatest of all time in my opinion.”

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Every Championship Tour (CT) surfer competing in Portugal has personally selected a woman they want to celebrate, ranging from female athletes to other global icons.

Some of the names chosen by surfers include women like Billie Jean King, Cathy Freeman, Ronda Rousey, Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka, as well as current CT surfers, Carissa Moore and Stephanie Gilmore.

“Equality and inclusion are at the core of everything we do at the WSL,” said WSL SVP of Tours and Head of Competition, Jessi Miley-Dyer.

 “It’s really important to our athletes and the WSL to use our voices to celebrate the values that make our league unique in the world of sport. Taking this moment to celebrate the leaders in sport who paved the way is important, and I’m thrilled that our athletes have embraced the opportunity.”

Here is the list of women chosen by each WSL surfer:

Carissa Moore (HAW): Rell Sunn
Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA): Michelle Kwan
Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS): Emma McKeon
Johanne Defay (FRA): Florence Arthaud
Stephanie Gilmore (AUS): Phyllis O’Donnell
Lakey Peterson (USA): Billie Jean King
Tyler Wright (AUS): Sue Bird
Isabella Nichols (AUS): Ash Barty
Courtney Conlogue (USA): Lisa Andersen
Gabriela Bryan (HAW): Shelby Longley
Brisa Hennessy (CRI): Andrea Vargas
Bettylou Sakura Johnson (HAW): Ronda Rousey
India Robinson (AUS): Ronda Rousey
Luana Silva (HAW): Sky Brown
Molly Picklum (AUS): Ash Barty
Malia Manuel (HAW): Bethany Hamilton
Bronte Macaulay (AUS): Ash Barty
Tia Blanco (HAW): Lindsey Jacobellis
Filipe Toledo (BRA): Maria Esther Bueno
Ítalo Ferreira (BRA): Ana Marcela Cunha
Conner Coffin (USA): Bethany Hamilton
Morgan Cibilic (AUS): Cathy Freeman
Griffin Colapinto (USA): Bethany Hamilton
Jordy Smith (ZAF): Caster Semenya
Kanoa Igarashi (JPN): Naomi Osaka
Frederico Morais (PRT): Jéssica Silva
John John Florence (HAW): Alex Florence
Jack Robinson (AUS): Rose Namajunas
Kolohe Andino (USA): Carissa Moore
Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA): Federica Pellegrini
Deivid Silva (BRA): Malu Mendes
Ryan Callinan (AUS): Stephanie Gilmore
Ethan Ewing (AUS): Helen Ewing
Kelly Slater (USA): Lisa Andersen
Jadson Andre (BRA): Jessi Miley-Dyer
Miguel Pupo (BRA): Maria Esther Bueno
Seth Moniz (HAW): Rell Sunn
Ezekiel Lau (HAW): Natasha Kai
Connor O’Leary (AUS): Akemi Karasawa
Jake Marshall (USA): Serena Williams
Callum Robson (AUS): Chloe Kim
Samuel Pupo (BRA): Naomi Osaka
Nat Young (USA): Rose Namajunas
Imaikalani deVault (HAW): Chloe Kim
Lucca Mesinas (PER): Sofía Mulánovich
Joao Chianca (BRA): Silvana Lima
Jackson Baker (AUS): Tyler Wright
Owen Wright (AUS): Bethany Hamilton
Matthew McGillivray (ZAF): Bianca Buitendag
Vasco Ribeiro (PRT): Serena Williams
Barron Mamiya (HAW): Rose Namajunas
Caio Ibelli (BRA): Chelsea Hedges
Alfonso Antunes (PRT): Stephanie Gilmore
Justin Becret (PRT): Camille Muffat

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“Thank you to the sponsors for the money they’ve put into the event, but I would say It’s a bittersweet victory knowing that our surfing is worth half as much as the men’s prize money,” Small said in her acceptance speech, after winning the women’s competition at the North Curl Curl long board event.

“It took the same amount to drive here, flights were the same cost to fly here, accommodation cost the same and our surfing is worth half as much, so maybe we could think about that for next time.”

Small had just accepted a $1500 cheque for winning the long board surfing competition on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. Her male counterpart received $4000 – more than twice as much.

Small posted a video of her acceptance speech to Instagram and has received a flood of media attention for calling out the inequality.

At the time, Curl Curl Longboarders Club secretary Phil Nicol defended the gap in the prize money and said it was more of a “moral issue”.

“Did we do anything illegal? No. This is a more, this is a moral issue…we’ve done nothing illegal,” he told The Sydney Morning Herald.

The club has since taken on board the wave of feedback following Small’s comments about the prize money and said next year’s event will offer equal prize money to all participants, including those of varying age groups.

“We asked the question why aren’t the over-50 men jumping up and down because they didn’t get the same money as the men?” Nicol said.

“That’s ageism, the ageism card could have been pulled out.”

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“We just have to keep going, bit by bit by bit, until we eventually create meaningful change,” Small wrote in a post on Instagram. “We want equal recognition of women as legitimate athletes at all levels of competitive surfing.”

Small said she didn’t realise the female competitors at the Curly Maljam would receive less prize many than the men, and prior to the event she had just assumed the competition would fall into line with most other surfing events, where women now receive the same money as men. The World Surf League introduced equal prize money for women in 2019, but this event was not affiliated with the World Surf League.

Sydney-based surf retailer Global Surf Industries thinks so too and decided to step in to rectify the unequal prize money received by women at the event. The company donated $4850 to the Curl Curl Longboarders in order to cover the gap in prize money received by all the women’s prizes at the event.

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Review: Girls Can’t Surf, directed by Christopher Nelius

The documentary Girls Can’t Surf spans the 1980s and early 1990s as women surfers battled in and out of the ocean. It has the predictable surf movie elements — a countercultural vibe and lots of fluoro fashion — but its power comes from the untold stories of brave, tenacious and funny women who fought to be taken seriously in their sport.

In the 1980s, a fierce international group of determined women surfers decided enough was enough in the battle against sexism and unequal pay. The film highlights the fight on and off the waves that contributed to women surfers’ eventual 2019 equal pay deal with the World Surf League.

Christopher Nelius (director, writer and producer) and Julie Anne De Ruvo (co-writer) have sourced an unbelievable series of clips, likely dug out of garages the world over, combining previously unseen footage with brutally honest interviews.

The women interviewed include Australians Jodie Cooper, Pam Burridge and Layne Beachley; South African Wendy Botha and Americans Frieda Zamba, Lisa Andersen and Jorga and Jolene Smith. They speak frankly of the fight for equality in a chauvinistic time, their struggles in the surf and their own coming of age.

In the early years of competitive surfing, the sentiment of these women could be summarised as we will succeed despite. As the film tells, pioneering women surfers earned a tenth of the prize money and were at times relegated to holding contests during the men’s lunch breaks.

Inferior waves

The film highlights how much of the sport’s early focus was on how women looked. Speaking of women surfers in the 1980s, Damien Hardman, former surfing world champion, said, “I think they just need to look like women. Look feminine, attractive and dress well.”

Pam Burridge, the world champion in 1990, observes: “I got some flack that you girls need to lose weight or else the whole sport would fail.”

It was hard for competing women to get the chance to even surf proper waves. Jorja Smith, former pro surfer and rookie of the year in 1985-86, describes men surfing the best waves while women were left with “this shitty, hell-hole, scum pit [part] of the ocean” with onshore winds.

The surf conditions provided to these women were part of the bigger picture of respect and equality, or lack of it at the time. Although pay is the most visible topic in discussions of sports equality, broader respect for women’s competitions and the provision of support services are just as important.

You can’t help but cringe as the film flashes back to 1989, when organisers of the Huntington Beach OP Pro in California decided to drop the women’s event to provide more prize money to the top 30 male surfers. (But, of course, keep the bikini contest). After an outcry led by the Smith twins, the OP relented, reinstating the women’s event.

‘Lacking permission’ but the tides will change

An oft-stated argument at the time was that women surfers didn’t bring in the money through sponsorships from companies such as clothing brands — they didn’t sell bikinis the way male surfers sold board shorts.

But in 1993, Quicksilver discovered there was a shortage of the smallest size of boardshorts — because women were buying and wearing the men’s gear. It started a dedicated women’s surf wear brand called Roxy, which turned over US$600 million in just four years.

This film shows how women in surfing faced sexism and social backlash as they advocated for their rights, better pay, visibility and sponsorship deals.

As surf writer Nick Carroll observes:

The girls who got into pro-surfing in the early 1980s were pretty much exactly the same as the boys. They had the same dreams, the same visions but they didn’t have the permission of the surf culture.

Girls Can’t Surf cements the idea that sport is a microcosm for society. The 1980s was a time of stark contrast: of bikini contests on the beach versus the “power suit”. For women surfers, the swimsuit was at the centre of their battle.

The skimpy bikinis they were required to wear in contests tended to go awry while competing, ending in “an enema so bad, I thought I was going to die”, in the unforgettable words of Jodie Cooper, an ex pro-surfer from West Australia, known for her ability to surf big waves. (Sadly, big waves were in short supply for women competing at that time).

Girls Can’t Surf has an ebb and flow, like the ocean’s tides. There is, at times, a sense of two steps forward, one step back. In 1999, for instance, at Jeffrey’s Bay in South Africa, women surfers were sent out to compete in a heat when there were no waves. They refused to paddle out — instead, collectively sitting at the water’s edge. This moment was regarded as a turning point.

Yet as these women show, a few passionate and dedicated people can be the start of a movement that changes history. At this year’s Tokyo Olympics, surfing events for both men and women will make their debut.

Girls Can’t Surf will premiere at the Perth Festival on January 11, at Sydney Film Festival on January 17 and be released in Australian cinemas nationally in March, 2021. The Sydney screening screening will be attended by special guests Layne Beachley, Jodie Cooper, Pam Burridge, Pauline Menczer, and Christopher Nelius.

Sophia Nimphius, Professor of Human Performance, Edith Cowan University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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At the Maui Pro in Hawaii on Monday, Wright made a statement as she became the first professional surfer to compete with the Progress Pride flag on her jersey.

In a post to Instagram, Wright said: “Today for me feels like another step in my realisation of my true and authentic self. As a proud bisexual woman of the LGBTQ+ community as well as an Australian, I’m delighted to be able to represent both this year on my competition jersey.”

“The number change to 23 represents, to me, a new phase of my career and my growth as a human. The Progress pride flag represents a love that opened my eyes more to who I really am,” she said.

“After a decade and two world titles, I’ve been evaluating what I do with my life and surfing career but more importantly, WHY I do it.”

While professional surfers usually wear the flag of the country they are representing on the shoulders of their jerseys, Wright has opted to compete with the Progress Pride flag, a more inclusive version of the traditional Pride flag. It features black and brown stripes to represent LGBTQ+ communities of colour, and pink, light blue and white, which are the colours of the Transgender Pride Flag.

“I have an opportunity to show up and be exactly who I am,” Wright told USA Today. “This is how I want to show up in my surfing. I want to show up with my humanity first and foremost and with my values. My values are equality and inclusion, that’s what I want to represent.”

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Wright breezed through her heats, and went on to score a perfect 10 to defeat seven-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore in the quarterfinals. Gilmore was leading with less than 10 minutes remaining before Wright managed to pull off an impressive barrel ride to score the 10-point wave and take the win.

“The way it set up on the reef, I was like, ‘Oh, this is one of those ones that if you put yourself in the right spot it can work out really good’,” Wright said afterwards.

“There hadn’t been one of those all day. Once I saw it, I just went with the feeling, and then I celebrated a few times along the way.”

And the first Perfect 10 of the 2021 Season goes to… @tylerGwright. pic.twitter.com/rBwN5ZjUjG

— World Surf League (@wsl) December 8, 2020

As Wright shared on social media, she wants to remain at the top of the surfing world so she can continue to use her platform to have conversations about identity, and help others to feel safe expressing who they are.

“I want to win. I will win so I can continue to use this platform as a place to have conversations about identity, humanity and inclusivity,” she said.

“I’m blessed to able to have a platform in the @WSL, and I feel a responsibility to use it in a way to give voice and empower others. Hopefully, I can encourage others to embrace exactly who they are and to feel safe, expressing that in a way that is best for them.

“I’m looking forward to what I can accomplish this season and the conversations we can have as a community. I’m surfing with more intention than ever before.

“I have been truly loved and seen in this life, and it’s a sort of love that makes me feel like I can be exactly who I am. Forever humbled and always learning.

“Surfing is for everyone @wsl”

***

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The League announced that from next year onwards, female athletes will be paid the same prize money as their male counterparts across 180 global events. The decision will make the World Surf League the first and only US-based global sports league to take such a leap.

“The WSL is a progressive, forward-thinking organisation. I think this just re-underlines that,” said WSL CEO Sophie Goldschmidt.

“It is an important statement, and it is celebrating what is happening in society. It is a movement that has been needed and our female athletes deserve it.”

The World Surf League currently allocates prize money based on the number of competitors in any one event. Because there are still significantly more men competing professionally, women are at a persistent disadvantage.

This pay-system came up against sharp criticism early in the year when a viral photo of a Billabong Junior Surfing Event in South Africa showed a female surfer, Zoe Steyn, accepting a cheque with half the money of her male counterpart who stood beside her. 

Goldschmidt stresses however, that WSL’s decision to change the system is not a result of backlash from the photo.

“This is a natural next step for us. We always said it was a question of when and not if. It has always been a part of the conversation since the new ownership group took over in 2013,” she said.

“Since I came on board we’ve had a focus on all aspects of the business, and this has been one. But that is not where it ends. Prize money is an important step, but there are still other things that we want to continue to invest in.”

In correspondence with this decision, the WSL is also ramping up marketing activity highlighting the women’s tour and is focused on boosting viewership. The League will also be honouring female surf legends through its Pioneers Program. 

“We are rightly acknowledging and awarding these women for their amazing athletic achievements. For the next generation of surfers to feel that they are being fully compensated equally is inspiring,” says Goldschmidt.

“Hopefully it will inspire more girls of tomorrow to want to become professional and get into surfing.”

The post Same waves, same pay: World Surf League announces historic move to close gender pay gap appeared first on Women's Agenda.

Ladies, ladies, before you get yourself tied up in knots about this picture all over again, let me reassure you that the fury you’re feeling– the cold, fist-clenching injustice deep in your gut, is just a complete beat up!

These surfers would probably just tell you to “chill man”, the gender pay gap is all in your head, and there are some very explainable reasons why Zoe came away with half the prize money to her male equivalent, Rio.

Let’s see now:

1) They didn’t really surf the same waves

Okay, so you might have been told that Zoe surfed the same ocean as Rio yesterday and shredded just as hard, but really, in actual fact she surfed a nearby lake. And c’mon guys a lake isn’t nearly as impressive. Sure, if she’d actually surfed the same waves as Rio, it would be legit to assume she should be reimbursed equally, but it’s just not the case.

2) His penis gave her an advantage

Um, hello, he was literally encumbered by the extra weight!

3) She only  tried half as hard

Again, she surfed a lake.

Also, she just seemed a bit indifferent–we couldn’t see any visible fire in her belly and frankly that was a bit disappointing.

4) Billabong (the sponsor) charge half as much for women’s clothing

You might not be aware of this, but Rio and men across the world have to pay double what ladies pay for their surf and swim gear. It’s only fair that he gets compensated in other ways.

5) Zoe got an additional prize pack to the value of $4,000

It included an iron, pots and pans, cleaning products and a vacuum cleaner.

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In all seriousness though, the event organisers and Billabong as the principal sponsor have really had a stinker here. They could have nipped the backlash in the bud straight away apologising to Zoe and offering her the additional prize-money.

Instead they chose to dig their heels in, make excuses for the clear discrimination and weather a torrential storm of public wrath.

For a retailer who just last year released this tone deaf advertising campaign, we shouldn’t really be surprised now, should we?

The post 5 reasons why female surf pro Zoe Steyn clearly deserved less than her male equivalent appeared first on Women's Agenda.