Australian surf great honoured with Hall of Fame award
Melissa Woods |
From her own days sleeping in a board bag to seeing Molly Picklum become the sport’s biggest earner, Layne Beachley takes great satisfaction in the rise and rise of women’s surfing.
Beachley’s battles in and out of the water paved the way for the likes of Picklum, and contributed to the seven-time world champion being honoured with The Dawn award at the Sport Australia Hall of Fame ceremony in Melbourne on Monday night.
Named for swimming legend Dawn Fraser, The Dawn honours an individual or a team for their “bravery, courage and capacity to change sport for the betterment of others”.
Despite a lifelong involvement in the sport, through junior pathways and serving as Surfing Australia chair for almost a decade, Beachley said she was “surprised and very humbled” when told she was this year’s recipient.
The award has previously been won by athletes including Lauren Jackson, the late Peter Norman and Evonne Goolagong Cawley.
“I’m surprised I’m being recognised and celebrated for a career that ended so long ago, so I feel a bit of impostor syndrome despite investing back in the sport as heavily as I do,” the 53-year-old told AAP.
“I do it because I love it, I don’t do it to be recognised or celebrated for it, so these kinds of awards stop me in my tracks a little bit.”
Beachley won six successive world crowns from 1998 to 2003 before returning from serious neck and knee injuries to claim a seventh in 2006.
She has told of the challenges which included sleeping in her board bag at event sites because she couldn’t afford accommodation.
Beachley pocketed $A840,000 in prize money in 19 years on tour.
In contrast, Picklum won more than $A750,000 en route to this year’s world title alone, eclipsing men’s world champion, Brazil’s Yago Dora, by almost $200,000.
“This award provides me a wonderful opportunity to reflect on not only my career, but the impact I had, because when I joined the pro tour in 1990 I wanted to leave the sport in a better place than how I found it, and I’m grateful to see women’s surfing thriving today,” Beachley said.
“I know that the pathway that I paved and the battles that I fought have resulted in achievement and success and prosperity for future generations.
“To see women’s surfing at the highest level with equal pay, equal opportunities, expanded fields, investment, encouragement, respect – all the things that I felt that my predecessors and our generation struggled and fought for for so long – it fills me with a sense of satisfaction.
“It also inspires me to keep pushing and to encourage that next generation to keep fighting for what is important to them and lifting up others along the way, to ensure that the next generation don’t have to do it as tough.”
Beachley, who still competes with Sydney’s Freshwater Boardriders club, says it’s “heart-warming” to watch the current crop of top female surfers, including 22-year-old Picklum, who she first met as a grommet.
“The way that the girls are surfing today is mind-blowing, and I’m so impressed and proud of the way in which they hold themselves, the role model status, the leadership that they show, but also the joy that they have with it,” she said.
“I first met Molly in 2017 she was identified by Surfing NSW as a potential champion surfer and Molly tells a story where I signed an autograph and got a photo with her when she was about 10.
“There’s always been these multiple little touch points along the way, which reminds me of just how important it is to leave a lasting legacy and a positive impression.”
AAP
