Surf’s up for WSL’s equal prize money ruling
"The girls train just as hard, if not harder, than the men and they have to do the same amount of travelling so it seems fair for them to earn the same in contest winnings,"_ Sarah Maritz.
BRINGING smiles to the faces of many local wave riders, the World Surf League (WSL) last week 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 one of the first global sports leagues internationally to achieve prize money equality.
This follows an outcry about the prize purse disparity at the Ballito Pro in June, after a photo published of the junior male and female winners drew scorn for the blatant inequality.
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Male champion Rio Waida from Indonesia earned R8,000 his his win, while female winner, South Africa’s Zoe Steyn received exactly half of that amount.
The contest was accused of showing ‘archaic discrimination’ and ‘blatant inequality’ and the organisers issued a short statement which included that the event was governed and sanctioned by the World Surf League which determines all prize money and rankings.
In response, WSL said prize money was determined by the number of competitors and that there had simply been double the number of men competing than women.
WSL made the big announcement of the turnaround in its policy on Wednesday, 5 September, which drew a positive reaction from across the globe.
Read what some of the local surfers have to say about this in this week’s issue of the South Coast Sun, or read the online zmags:
Six-time surfing world champion Stephanie Gilmore commented that the announcement was incredible, and that many surfers around the globe are going to be thrilled. “The prize money is fantastic, but the message means even more,” she said.
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.”
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Former local surfer and woman surf rider inspiration, Sarah Maritz (Johnson) commented that it’s excellent to see the professional women receiving equal prize money to the men.
“The girls train just as hard, if not harder, than the men and they have to do the same amount of travelling so it seems fair for them to earn the same in contest winnings,” she said. “It’s a step in the right direction to inspire more girls to become professional athletes. When you work hard, the results and profits will follow.”
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