Voila une très bonne nouvelle pour tout le monde et particulierement les rideuses. A l’image des circuits de surf ou encore de Stand up et bien d’autres, la PWA vient d’annoncer par voie de communiqué l’instauration de l’égalité de prize money entre les filles et les garçons sur les étapes PWA! Les féminines qui peinaient à suivre le tour faute de moyens et sponsors, où la plupart d’entre elles doivent travailler à coté au lieu de s’entrainer et progresser vont pouvoir avoir dans les années à venir profiter d’une bouffée d’air financière, ce qui devrait, qui plus est, tirer le sport féminin vers le haut.
Pour se faire la PWA a décidé que chez les hommes les prize money seront attribués aux 16 premiers (20 ou 24 selon la taille de la flotte). Chez les femmes, les prize money seront décernés aux 8 meilleures pour une flotte de 12 rideuses ou plus et aux 6 meilleures pour les flottes de 8 à 12 concurrentes. Dans chaque cas, les montants attribués pour chaque place seront les mêmes pour les hommes et les femmes.
Quelques réactions :
Jimmy Diaz, PWA President
“We are very happy to finally be able to make these changes, but it would be wrong to say I am proud of them as such, as equality should be a fundamental right, not a privilege. The PWA strives to ensure equal opportunities for anyone, regardless of race or gender, based purely on merit and ability, and with these changes, we are able to make that claim more fully.”
Sarah-Quita Offringa – 2019 Wave World Champion, Multiple Freestyle and Slalom World Champion
“Its amazing that we get this news and that this is how the year is going to start for us, it’s a big step for women in windsurfing, I thinks it’s awesome that PWA has moved in this direction as well. I want to thank Daida and Iballa Moreno who kicked this off in the Canary Islands a couple of years ago at the Pozo event and its about time this happened. I think that for the next generation its huge that they can step into competing in the PWA and know that they are equal, because we put the same effort into the sport, we do the same amount of hours, travel the same, take the same risks, so in the end I think it’s very important that we made this step. I’m really looking forward to how this is going to help get more women into the sport”
Iballa Moreno – Multiple Wave World Champion
“I’m pretty stoked to see the PWA making new rules concerning the prize money for the women, it’s a really good step forward, and I’m really happy to be able to live this moment because its something we’ve been fighting for for many years, we’ve been doing it in Gran Canaria now for the last 3 years, and I am happy to see that the whole tour now will have something equal too.”
Delphine Cousin-Questel – 2019 Foil World Champion, Multiple Slalom World Champion
“I have an amazing feeling because we are fighting for years for more equality in our sport, and now it’s a big step forwards for the women. Now we just have to continue to work, especially with the industry, to arrive with full equality. It will for sure bring more women on the tour and help a lot of girls to become more professional. I’m really, really happy about that. For 2021, I cannot wait to be on the starting line again!”