WATCH: World Surf League to pay equal prize money to men and women

The World Surf League (WSL) has officially announced that it will award equal prize money to male and female athletes for every WSL-controlled event in the 2019 season and beyond.

WSL is now the first and only US based global sports league, and among the first internationally, to achieve prize money equality.

This comes after internet users globally slammed the organisers of The Ballito Pro presented by Billabong for the discrepancy in prize money between the girls’ and boys’ division of the Billabong Junior Series.

After a picture of the 2018 Billabong Junior Series winners was shared on the Ballito Pro Facebook page in June, negative reactions poured in, with people accusing the competition of “archaic discrimination” and “blatant inequality”.

Rio Waida from Indonesia received R8 000, while the female winner South Africa’s own Zoe Steyn received exactly half that amount.

Also read: Junior Pro winner donates crowdfunding money to charity

In response, WSL, which determines the prize money and rankings, said the prize money was determined by the number of competitors and that there had simply been double the amount of males competing than females.

WSL made the big announcement of the turnaround on their policy on Wednesday, September 5, which has been positively received across the globe.

“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,” said WSL CEO Sophie Goldschmidt.

“This is the latest in a series of actions the League has undertaken to showcase our female athletes, from competing on the same quality waves as the men, to better locations, and increased investment and support.”

Equal by Nature. From 2019, female and male athletes will receive equal prize money across all WSL controlled events. #CatchThisWave pic.twitter.com/oG7vVAru8J

— World Surf League (@wsl) September 5, 2018

Stephanie Gilmore, six-time World Champion, said, “This is incredible, and I am thrilled. The prize money is fantastic, but the message means even more.”

Kelly Slater, holder of 11 World Championships and 55 Championship tour event victories, said, “The women on the tour deserve this change. I’m so proud that surfing is choosing to lead sports in equality and fairness.

Social media users shared their excitement online.

Some news that got me pretty damn excited today – surfing has just become the first US-based sport to achieve gender pay equality. There's still a lot of work to do, but kudos to the @wsl for getting us one step closer! https://t.co/Hv4PJJ4GBp

— Charlize Theron (@CharlizeAfrica) September 6, 2018

#surf wsl: RT RealOwenWright: Thanks to the wsl for recognising that there shouldn’t be any pay gap or gender discrimination. tylerwright and I now get equal prize money. Time for other sports to #catchthiswave and make the change pic.twitter.com/vULUg1b0Vb

— Surf News (@SurfNews365) September 6, 2018

It’s an honor to take part supporting the wsl in announcing prize money pay equality for men and women in surfing. It’s awesome that they’ve taken it upon themselves to step up and make… https://t.co/oEYwYkS7DA

— Kelly Slater (@kellyslater) September 5, 2018

The @wsl will award equal prize money to male and female surfers starting in 2019.@Steph_gilmore and @kellyslater react to the historic announcement. https://t.co/QEfwr056wy via @playerstribune

— Stephanie Gilmore (@Steph_gilmore) September 5, 2018

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