Simpson and Mulanovich have seen the tour’s many faces. Photos: Left, Boardriders, right Red Bull CP
When the WSL announced that men and women would earn equal prize money starting with the 2019 season, it was an undeniably big step forward for women’s surfing. But the equal pay announcement simultaneously highlighted another lingering question: When would the men and women compete in equal numbers? The men’s tour had 34 surfers while the women’s had 17.
That question was partially addressed last week when the WSL announced an expansion of the women’s Championship Tour to 24 surfers starting with the 2026 season. Again, a step in the direction of progress, but it comes up short of a completely equal tour. The WSL didn’t mention if the goal was to eventually bring the women’s tour up to 34 as well, or, who knows, maybe bring the men’s tour down to 24?
To get expert insight into this development in surfing, I tapped into two universally respected voices in the sport: former tour surfer and U.S.A. Olympic Coach Brett Simpson, and three-time world champ Sofia Mulanovich.
Brett Simpson told me that the announcement didn’t come as a surprise because word had already been filtering through the grapevine, adding that the expansion is well-warranted after the increased talent seen in women’s surfing over the past few years.
“The talent pool is growing and I think 24 is a good number,” said Simpson. “But I don’t think (there needs to be) any more than that for now. There are still probably five to seven girls who are dominant. Beyond that, the talent is maybe not there yet, or just still a bit young.”
“For the women right now, I feel like the narrower field has pushed them because it’s so dense,” added Simpson. “Now you have the likes of Erin Brooks and you’re going to have, any moment now, Sierra Kerr. Caity (Simmers) is a great example. She qualified and took time off because she probably didn’t feel ready. Qualifying super young is challenging, but I think it has lifted the level there.”
Mulanovich told me that talks of expanding the women’s tour were also happening when she was winning world titles in the early 2000s. She can’t recall why the expansion didn’t happen then, but she remembers there was a decision made that probably had to do with the overall prize purse that was available for the women.
“All the girls are surfing so well now,” said Mulanovich. “I think a lot of good girls are going to come up and (there will be) more diversity, more girls from different countries.”
This leads us to the million-dollar question. What trajectory does this set the WSL on? If the goal is to one day be completely gender-equal, does the women’s tour increase or does the men’s tour decrease? Do they need to split the tour up into separate events again between genders to make room for more surfers?
“This is a good increase for the women, so I’d maybe try it for a few years to see how it goes,” said Mulanovich.
But at the same time, she acknowledged the conflict of running quality events with the increased field of competitors.
“If you want to have a good event, the best thing to do is to have good waves,” explained Mulanovich. “(As far as splitting the tour), it depends on the wave, if it’s consistent or not. Some places have consistent waves, but some places only have a couple of good days, and then it goes flat. That’s not fair for anyone.”
Simpson had a lot to say regarding the WSL’s next move. He’s adamant that the men’s tour should not shrink from its current size of 34. He said, if anything, it should grow.
“I hope the WSL doesn’t try (to cut) the men’s field,” said Simpson. “I almost feel like the men’s tour should still be 44 with how many good guys there are.”
“I get it from a WSL business perspective; the more surfers you add, the more days, the less quality surf, and maybe there’s less prize money involved,” Simpson added. “So I guess those are the cards that are weighed. There are so many quality surfers from all these regions that will never get a crack at it. Especially for young surfers who are striving to get there, it’s very challenging already. If that number decreases, not many people will have a chance to be a professional surfer.”
If the number of tour surfers keeps growing, Simpson can imagine what the WSL’s solution might be.
“I don’t have the perfect recipe,” said Simpson. “I’m a surf fan, so I like to see surfers beyond just the top 24 or 32. But I know something they’ve been weighing is, if they (add surfers), maybe they need to take away the opening non-losers round. Some guys really love the non-elimination round. When I was on tour, it was a great thing. But now as a spectator watching it, it’s like, ‘What are we watching this for? No one’s losing.’”
“I know surfing is a little different in this aspect because we like to see the performance, whether or not it’s a win or lose (heat),” added Simpson. “But I think we might have to cut out a bit of the fat there and go straight into (elimination rounds). The top 12 could have a seed into the second or third round, and the rest battle it out.”
The 2026 season will be telling to see which direction the WSL goes. If there is a notable decrease in wave quality due to the increased length of the events, maybe we’ll see measures taken in subsequent years. If no one notices a difference, maybe they’ll open the door for another ten women on the tour. Keep these thoughts on the back burner because we have a whole season of surfing ahead of us before the change takes effect.
