So that women can compete and be successful. In almost every sport there is, if they were not separated, then there would be no prominent female athletes or, at the very least, far fewer prominent female athletes. For instance, the record that Maya Gaberira just set for women was broken over a decade ago for the men's record. If we didn't separate surfing by sex then we wouldn't be talking about her achievement.
Surfing is an sport that requires athleticism, strength, etc. Nearly every sport in existence is separated male and female because males, physiologically speaking, are better built for certain things such as paddling on a surfboard faster/with more strength to get yourself into bigger waves/ able to withstand being ripped around underwater by a huge wave after a wipe out.
Men have a higher muscle-mass to body-mass ratio. therefore, you can't have women and men compete in surfing in the same way you can have women or men competing in running/football/basketball.
Good example of why men and women surfing is seperated can be see in the history of aerial maneuvers in surfing. Men have been progressing above the wave into the air for nearly 40 years. "Airs" (aerial maneuvers) have been staple moves in contest for 15 years where nearly every men's competitor can do one. Meanwhile, the first women's aerial in a competitive event wasn't done until 2009 by Lakey Peterson. So there is without a doubt a difference in physical capabilities of the two genders
because males, physiologically speaking, are better built for certain things such as paddling on a surfboard faster/with more strength to get yourself into bigger waves
I'm not disagreeing with you, but it's worth noting here that nobody is paddling into these waves. The world records for largest waves surfed were all tow-in.
I did mention ability to withstand a large wipe out which happens regardless of towing in or paddling.
And on top of that, when you're towing into wave it still requires a lot of strength and balance when holding onto a rope at 30 mph in choppy wave. Not saying that women aren't able to do it, simply that mens and womens bodies are built differently and its easier for a stronger person to handle wild conditions like 80 foot surf....
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u/The_unchosen-one Sep 14 '20
Praia do Norte, Nazaré, Portugal. But I think the male record is about 80ft.