River Martin
Organizations
Committee for Equity in Women's Surfing (CEWS)
CEWS is heavily involved in fighting for women’s equality in surfing. CEWS was founded on September 5, 2016 by professional surfers Paige Alms, Keala Kennelly, Andrea Moller, Bianca Valenti along with San Mateo County Harbor Commissioner Sabrina Brennan and founding councilwoman Karen Tynan. The CEWS mission statement is, “We support equality, inclusion, equal access, and equal pay.” Their vision is, “Increasing the number of events and the number of awards for women, as well as offering equal prize money, is the only way to achieve meaningful equity in competitive surfing.” In less than three years, CEWS won their fight for inclusion, the fight for a multi-heat division and the fight for equal prize money across all World Surfing League (WSL) events. They successfully transitioned from simple protest to an actual movement which brought about real change through meetings with the California Coastal Commission staff, the WSL staff, and the Governor of California. On September 9, 2019, Assembly Bill 467 was signed into law by Governor Newsom granting equal prize money pay.
Brown Girl Surf
Brown Girl Surf partnered with CEWS to help push for equality in surfing. Brown Girl Surf was founded by Farhana Huq to help women enter a sport that has been dominated by men. Brown Girl Surf focuses on women of color in particular, to help them develop a love for surfing, the ocean and environmental responsibility. The mission of Brown Girl Surf is to help “build a more diverse, environmentally reverent, and joyful women’s surf culture by increasing access to surfing, cultivating community, amplifying the voices of women of color surfers, and taking care of the earth." The Brown Girl Surf organization has programs both in the water and out of the water to help build the the community of women surfers. Brown Girl Surf established summer camps that promote environmental education, surf activities and team-building exercises. They have partnered with other organizations supporting women in sports such as the all-girl basketball team led by Steph Curry.
Surfrider Foundation
The Surfrider Foundation “is dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s ocean, waves and beaches through a powerful activist network.” The committed teams of the Surfrider Foundation work locally, regionally and nationally. The Surfrider Foundation's “team of legal, policy and environmental experts work with federal agencies to affect change at a national level.” As part of the global surf network, they supported and endorsed the CEWS movement for the inclusion of a Women’s Division in Mavericks surf competitions. The Surfrider Foundation wrote a letter to the California Coastal Commission and stated that “the ocean does not discriminate based on gender, ethnicity or sexuality. Men and women alike risk their lives surfing big waves every day, and all deserve the chance to showcase their talent and hard work.” The Surfrider Foundation later agreed and supported the statement written by the Brown Girl Surf’s Executive Team. The Team wrote to the Commission about the unfortunate control of access to surfing and the implications this had on women surfers who sought access to competitive surfing. The Surfrider Foundation has had an incredible track record of campaigns, in which they've been victorious in 660 since 2006.