Surfing by numbers

I read this some months ago now, but have been thinking about it again lately...

From an ASP press release from 10th October 2009

Prize money at the ASP World Tour and ASP Women’s World Tour level is set for a substantial increase in 2010. Base prize money for the ASP World Tour events will increase from the current US$340,000 to US$400,000 in 2010, taking the total prize pool on 10 events from $3,400,000 to $4,000,000 per annum. On the ASP Women’s World Tour, total prize pool will increase from US$630,000 to $800,000 in 2010.

Along with the increase in event prize purse, an additional US$100,000 bonus will be awarded to the year-end ASP World Champion, as well as an additional US$30,000 bonus to the year-end ASP Women’s World Champion.

I realise that there are differences in the numbers of surfers allowed on each tour, but nonetheless, the disparities in the rewards on offer seem overly significant.

Comments

  1. peterbowes3:46 PM

    fair enough bec, but the size of the money is closely related to the marketing success of industry - apparel in particular - and it seems that there are more idiot males wearing branded gear that females - so looking at it your way could b a good thing

    pete

    ReplyDelete
  2. Growling Gecko9:32 PM

    Translation of TeshaNaquin's comment is
    "How can you over a sea of blue and forget it"

    ReplyDelete
  3. Rebecca Olive12:34 PM

    Pete, I don't know. I reckon that there are a LOT of women buying surf brand clothes. But the men's brands use (and promote) their sponsored surfers as models, whereas, mostly, the women's brands use professional models or model/surfers (as I've seen them described). It scares me to think that is what they have decided girls and women to prefer to look at and aspire to.

    Maybe?

    But from my own eavesdropping activities, my feeling is that it's still because "the girls don't surf as well as the guys". That they aren't as deserving. For example...

    - They don't surf good waves in comps (Because they don't get allocated them, the guys do).
    - The media isn't interested because no-one engages with it (But it's rarely promoted or given space within the media).
    - They aren't as powerful and strong as the men (Because they surf differently, which isn't worse, but is simply different).

    But of course, financial disparities and issues like these aren't specific to surfing either...

    You can look at it any way you want, but in the end, it's just wrong. I understand it's all linked into marketing and branding and commercial interests, but it's still wrong.

    (P.S. Thanks for the translation Ramsnake, but that site was DODGY and just promoting some kind of unsavoury link, so I deleted it!!)

    ReplyDelete

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