Junior Pro winner donates crowdfunding money to charity

About R15 945 was raised by crowdfunders in Australia and SA who felt 2018 Billabong Junior Series winner Zoe Steyn (ZA) deserved prize money that equaled her male counterpart Rio Waida (Indonesia).

The Ballito Pro presented by Billabong was mired in controversy last month when internet users globally slammed the organisers for the discrepancy in prize money between the girls’ and boys’ division of the Billabong Junior Series.

After a picture of the winners was shared on social media, hundreds of people questioned the massive difference in prize money.

Rio received R8 000, while Zoe, received exactly half that amount, with many people accusing the competition of “archaic discrimination” and “blatant inequality”.

In response, the World Surf League (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.

Also read: Ballito Pro responds to gender discrimination accusations in viral photo

But many people took the situation to heart, opting to fund raise for the female surfer.

One such person was Lauren Jauncey from Tasmania, Australia, who started an ‘equal pay’ GoFundMe page on June 29.

“There is absolutely no reason why this young talented woman, Zoe Steyn, should receive a winners prize cheque that is less than her male counterpart,” Jauncey explained in her GoFundMe story.

“Let’s raise the AU$400 and send it to Zoe Steyn to make sure she feels just as worthy as her male peer.”

Adamant that Jauncey would raise more than the AU$400 (R4 000) goal, she agreed to donate any amount over that, to the Layne Beachley Foundation.

The foundation is committed to helping women succeed by providing financial and mentoring support.

Within just a few hours of launching the campaign she raised the AU$400. The fund now sits at AU$1 000 (R10 000).

Also read: The unstoppable Mulanovich clinches Ballito Women’s Pro title

In an update, Jauncey said she made contact with Zoe who was apparently grateful for the kind gesture but asked if her AU$400 could rather be donated to her local surf charity, focused on getting kids off the street and into surfing.

“Having shared this response with the Layne Beachley Foundation they suggested we split the money between charities evenly and donate AU$500 to Zoe’s chosen charity,” said Jauncey.

“I’m delighted to inform you that your very kind donation has not only helped us raise awareness about gender equality, you have also helped support two very worthy charities.”

Meanwhile in SA two Durban women formed the “Women Love Sport (WLS) campaign” in response to the prize money outcry.

Jess Basson and Shani van Straaten are raising money on their BackABuddy group to be used in the following ways:

1. To supplement the prize money of the female winners at the Ballito Pro.
2. Make a fund available to supplement women’s contest winnings in other local surfing contests.
3. To further existing work in women’s surfing development.

To date R 5 945.29 of their R70 000 goal has been raised.

“This is a community initiative showing SUPPORT for all existing investment in women’s surfing – from sponsors to event organisers –  and is an act of solidarity with female athletes who battle to voice their frustrations in their competitive fields,” the women wrote on BackABuddy.

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