Professional surfing has shattered conventional barriers. Initially, there were no governing bodies in the sport. How times have changed! At the World Surf League in its current form, gender equality, in particular, has become a high-priority item on their agenda. A progressive organization, the WSL wishes to inspire the next generation of women surfers, elevating them to the same status as their male counterparts.

Starting in 2019, the prize money for women was comparable to that of the men in WSL-owned and operated events. Then, there was that familiar disruption to the event calendar courtesy of the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting in 2021, there would be an equal number of Championship Tour events for men and women in another step forward.

Past difficulties faced by the de facto surfing organization

The WSL distributed the prize money based on a pay parity system in the past. That is the average prize money each participant gets from an event. The overall prize was proportionate to the number of athletes competing. For there to be pay equality, there would have to be more women competing at the elite level. In 2018, there were 36 men and 18 women competing on the Championship Tour. That is well and truly a thing of the past.

The WSL will not rest on its laurels. It wants to further increase viewership and fan engagement for the women’s tour. Each surfer was given his/her due in terms of prize money and recognition due to its efforts. Caroline Marks became the youngest surfer to qualify for the women’s Championship Tour. She finished ahead of Carissa Moore and Tyler Wright, to be indoctrinated into the new format of the WSL Finals.

A short history of the WSL

The first organization to govern professional surfing was formed in 1976. It was called the International Professional Surfers (IPS). That then subsequently evolved into the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) in 1983. Accompanying that evolution was the introduction of their guiding principle of “world’s best surfers, world’s best waves.” In 2015, the WSL stepped in to provide a more centralized and potent organization.

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While the WSL took steps to address the inequality in prize money, it remains to be seen if that same model can be appropriated by other governing bodies in professional sport. It might not prove to be as easy to bridge the pay gap in other sports. The waves provided a bit of a unique scenario, where the same challenge is faced by all athletes irrespective of gender.

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