Surf contests on Calif. public land will have to include females

Former Encinitas city councilwoman, Tasha Boerner Horvath, has held her 76th District Assembly seat for just ten weeks. Usually freshmen legislators take up to six months to start legislating. However, on February 14, Boerner Horvath (D-Encinitas) announced her first bill.

Assembly Bill 467 will require equality in prize payouts in male and female sports contests held on state controlled lands and waterways, and require the inclusion of females in such permitted contests.

The genesis for the bill came from California’s official sport – surfing. Organizers of the annual Mavericks Challenge in Northern California’s Half Moon Bay did not have a category for female surfers since the contest began in 1999. In 2018, permitting for the event by the California Coastal Commission and the State Lands Commission required a women’s category and equitable prize compensation, and the 2019 contest will include female surfers.

“I do not want my daughter, or my son for that matter, growing up in a world where we value the contributions of one gender more than the other,” said Boerner Horvath. “That does not represent California’s values, and we have an opportunity to craft a brighter, more equal future with this bill.”

Assembly members and leaders of female sports organizations say AB 467 is aimed at addressing long-standing gender pay disparities in competitive sports.

“These incredible athletes are competing on the same level as men – they deserve equity in their prize winnings on our public lands,” said co-author Assemblyperson Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego).

The bill was formally announced on February 14, at Cardiff State Beach. Known as the “Equal Pay for Equal Play” measure, the bill will begin the committee hearing process next month in the state legislature, and if passed by both houses, on Governor Newsom’s desk by October.