Riding the wave

Surfing may be an individual sport but when faced with overwhelming inequality, a band of renegade female champions put aside any rivalry to fight for their rights. They share their stories of battling discrimination, bigotry and even violence with Beverley Hadgraft.

- Beverley Hadgraft

In 2018, a photograph of two junior surfing champions, proudly holding their winners’ cheques went viral. The female winner, Zoe Steyn, had won $400; the first-placed male, Rio Waida, twice that.

Facebook erupted. Did the girls surf an easier ocean we don’t know about? What are we teaching our girls through this archaic discrimination? Do I get 50 per cent discount from (sponsor) Billabong because I’m only worth half as much?

The World Surf League (WSL) rolled out its excuses but suddenly there was a tsunami of stories detailing decades of the inequality and bigotry suffered by female competitors. Shortly after came an announcement: From 2019, women would receive the same prize money as men.

For a group of tough, talented, renegade women it was the victory they’d been fighting for since surfing turned professional in the 1980s. “I started crying when I heard it on the radio. I was so happy,” recalls 1983 world title holder Pauline Menczer. She’s one of the pioneer female athletes sharing their wit, grit and vintage video and photos in a new film documenting that fight, Girls Can’t Surf.

Pauline is the epitome of the Aussie battler. One of four children raised by her widowed mum after her dad was murdered, she learned to surf on half a board after her brother snapped his in two. She collected cans or sold towels she found on Sydney’s Bondi beach to buy her own board so was used to living on the breadline.

Even so she was shocked by the lack of funds for women on the professional circuit compared to men. During 20 years of competition, she was a constant presence on the world’s podiums yet reveals, “I worked out if I’d been a checkout chick instead, I’d have earned more.”