Advocates

Keala Kennelly is one of the best female surfers in the world. She is a 41 year-old professional surfer who was born and raised in the Hawaiian Islands.  She is a homosexual Caucasian who is very involved in LGBT rights and equality in women’s sports and she is “arguably the best female big wave surfer on the planet” according to her CEWS member’s web page. Her career achievements include winning the first women’s big wave contest, opening the door for more female big wave surfing competitions in the future. Keala considers it a travesty to not have female opportunities in surfing at certain events like the Pipeline. Gender-based discrimination goes against the constitution and federal law. Title 9 legislation was passed into federal law 50 years ago which bans gender discrimination. Rather than wait around for others to do the right thing, Keala and CEWS decided it was time to remind elected officials about the law. Keala’s vision is to have female representation on the Mayor’s Surf advisory committee which has consisted solely of men since its beginning. Without female representation, women were excluded from many events. Keala stated in an interview conducted by Jason Lock that “If women were a part of this committee then there would be some resolution.” When asked what to do to help the sport of women’s surfing during an interview, Keala told viewers to consider watching women’s heats over webcasts to help boost their numbers.  She also stated that if you own a business, think about sponsoring women’s events.  She even suggested that if you see an event that does not include women, ask the organizer why women have been excluded.