Roar

Making Waves

As the most decorated female surfer of all time, with seven world titles under her belt, Layne Beachley is a force in the industry both in and out of the water. After recently producing the Beachley Classic—the highest-paying women’s surfing event in the history of the sport—Layne is going to all lengths to give women’s surfing the respect and the prize money that it deserves. Here she shares her thoughts on both the struggles and the achievements of women’s surfing today.

As the female representative on the board of the Association of Surfing Professionals [ASP], I have been requesting a prize money increase for years with very little success. Considering that the men have 12 events, get a $300,000 prize purse, are the major focus of all the brands and the ASP, and have umbrella sponsorship and worldwide TV distribution, I feel that it is time some of that focus is shifted onto the women’s tour to ensure similar success. Our prize purse has just been increased to $80,000 (in events other than the Beachley Classic), and we have also just secured Fuel TV to produce the women’s programs, which is certainly a step in the right direction.

The motivation behind the Beachley Classic was to provide an event just for the girls that enables them to make money, be exposed to the biggest corporate market in Australia, and ultimately put the “Big 3” (Billabong, Roxy, and Rip Curl) on notice by staging this event without any support from the surf industry. I hope the rest of the events eventually follow suit and match my $100,000 prize purse, but in the meantime I am proud to stage and have my name associated with the most generous event in women’s surfing history.

Due to the enormous amount of PR that was generated during the event, I believe that the industry had no choice but to take notice and realize that if they aren’t willing to support women’s surfing as strongly as they support the men, there is nothing stopping me or any one of the other female athletes from going out there and generating the support we so rightly deserve.

I believe it is just a matter of time before the industry begins to change its mind-set and focus on attracting the female consumer’s surf dollar. We are the fastest-growing element of the surfing world, yet the companies still spend the majority of their budgets on men’s advertising, promotions, and endorsements. The male-focused mentality is beginning to change, and women’s surfing is starting to be embraced and recognized as a viable and ethical profession, but it has been a slow and arduous process that will continue for as long as we are willing to push the system and its beliefs.

The inclusion of the women in the X Games in August is an enormous opportunity to promote and expose women’s surfing to a new and diverse audience. The only competition inaccessible to surfers is the Olympics, so being included in the X Games is a great compromise. Considering they are being held in such a challenging location as Puerto Escondido, Mexico, is really going to enhance the way we are currently perceived. Everyone loves to see athletes challenge themselves, and this isn’t lost on women charging into 8- to 10-foot heaving barrels. It is going to be incredibly exciting, and I am looking forward to being a part of this historical event.

Back when I started in 1990, there wasn’t a surf industry for women. Things have certainly improved dramatically since then. Currently, we are witnessing the development of some of the most amazing talent I have ever seen. It is a very exciting time to be part of this movement, and it is impossible to predict the heights to which these girls are going to take our sport. I do feel that the industry and the surfing world are beginning to take much more notice of the women, and the incredible crop of fresh young talent can go unnoticed for only so long before it becomes impossible to ignore them. I’m just glad I am toward the twilight years of my career because these girls are going to kick some serious ass!

As for me, I’m just having fun, as there is nothing left for me to prove: 18 years on tour, seven world titles, and 29 World Championship Tour victories are all records that I am very proud of. Everyone knows I play to win, but now I’m focusing more on having fun and surfing for the pure love and joy of it as opposed to expecting myself to win. Obviously, I would love to be able to match Kelly Slater and win eight world titles, but there is a long year ahead and some very stiff and hungry competitors who are doing all they can to cement themselves in the history books and keep me out of them, so I have several challenges ahead of me. I plan to run my event for many years to come, and no matter when I decide to retire, I will always maintain a proactive role in representing, promoting, and supporting women's surfing.
As told to Bryn Fox