Surf League moves to equal pay on tour events

For years, women’s surfing has been on the rise.

With the likes of six-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore leading the way, the women on the World Surf League Championship Tour have been campaigning for equal pay to that of the men.

World Surf League yesterday granted their wish.

The organisation became the first American-based global sporting league to offer equal pay to the men’s and women’s competitions. From 2019, prize money will be the same for men and women on the CT, Big Wave Tour, World Junior Championship and the World Longboard Championship.

Kiwi CT athlete Paige Hareb told the Herald equal pay was something the women had wanted for a while.

“It’s been on the cards for years now, at least among the girls.

“I thought it would be eventually, but I didn’t expect it to be done so quickly.”

From 2019, a woman who wins an event on the CT will receive $100,000 in prize money, an increase of $35,000. Although the women’s tour were getting equal pay, the number of full-time CT athletes would remain at 17 for the foreseeable future, rather than increasing toward the 34-athlete quota of the men’s tour.

Equal pay isn’t something new for some surfers closer to home, with Gisborne Boardriders hosting an equal pay competition last year, but on the worldwide scale the change is a big step forward for WSL.

With the top tours set for equal pay from next year, WSL were now turning their attention to getting the same deal on the qualifying series.

However, a WSL representative said it was a little more complicated at the QS level.

“For the QS events, this will depend as we license those events out, and thus do not control the prize money. We are working to institute prize pay equality on the QS in the future. Ultimately we want every event we are involved in to have equal prize money.”

If the organisation can secure equal prize money on the QS as well in the future, it will greatly help the athletes trying to qualify for the CT.

Former world junior champion Ella Williams said it would be a gamechanger if equal pay was able to be established at the QS level.