Not allowing transgender surfers would violate California’s Coastal Act, contest organizer learns

The California Coastal Commission has drawn a line in the sand: Allow transgender surfers to compete, or you’ll be in violation of the Coastal Act.

A two-day surf contest happening this weekend in Huntington Beach found itself at the center of a hotly debated topic: Whether trans athletes should be allowed to compete in the gender division they identify with or the gender they were born as – a question many sports organizers are facing as equality and fairness are argued among both sides.

A few weeks ago, Australian transgender surfer Sasha Jane Lowerson said she approached the organizer of this weekend’s inaugural Huntington Beach Longboard Pro about entering the women’s competition, but told surf website Inertia she never heard back, even after submitting the entry form and fees.

Todd Messick, founder of the newly formed American Longboard Association and organizer of the Huntington Beach event, said via text message on Thursday, May 9, he received her entry fee, but no follow-up paperwork. If Lowerson met the requirements set by the International Surfing Association, he said she would have been added into the contest.

The Coastal Commission had been contacted on Lowerson’s behalf and sent Messick a letter emphasizing that “prohibiting or unfairly limiting transgender athletes from competing in this or any surf competition that takes place in the coastal waters of California does not meet the requirements of the public access policies of the Coastal Act.”

And that means an event could possibly be shut down, the letter said, because “the Coastal Act includes policies that explicitly identify the need to ensure equality and environmental justice and allows the commission to use this lens in its regulatory decision making related to activities occurring in the coastal zone.”

In the same letter, the Coastal Commission also said that a conversation with Messick showed a commitment to follow the ISA Transgender Policy to allow transgender women to compete in the women’s division if they meet requirements.

This is not the first time the Coastal Commission has weighed in on equal access debates, requiring a big-wave event at Mavericks to include women in order to obtain permitting to run the event on a public beach in 2016.

Lowerson, of Australia, made international headlines after winning women’s divisions for the Western Australian State Titles. She recently made public that she was born intersex, a term describing people born with reproductive anatomy that doesn’t fit the binary designations of male and female gender, according to the Inertia.

Messick initially addressed the subject in an online video posted in late April, saying he did not expect to have to address the issue so early in organizing the new event but that the contest would be aligned with International Surfing Association transgender policies, which allows entry for gender identification based on testosterone levels. But later in the video, he also said the contest would support biological males and biological females in their respective divisions, which appeared to differ from the ISA policy.

“If you were born a female, you enter into womens. If you were born a male, you enter into the mens,” he stated in the video posted online, which generated more than 1,000 comments. “You guys can live however you want and do whatever you want to do in life, it’s not for me to decide. But it is for me to decide what is fair and not fair for the American Longboarding Association. So, that being said we will stick to our guns and I want to offer an equal playing field for all athletes, that’s the stand we’re taking. I hope everyone respects that and allows us to do our thing. This contest is about traditional longboard surfing and supporting that, that’s what we are here to do. Sorry to anybody for the inconvenience.”

According to a California Coastal Commission letter, the agency’s staff had a discussion with Messick on May 7 and said they were pleased to learn the American Longboard Association “has agreed to adhere to state policy for its longboard surf competition, respecting the access and equity guidelines of the Coastal Act, as well as the rules of the International Surfing Association and World Surf League.”

Lowerson on Wednesday, May 8, told The Inertia she still had not been contacted about entry into the contest, but either way decided not to enter.

In his text message, Messick said he made the public announcement about aligning with the ISA and Lowerson “never provided us with the paperwork allowing her into the event, just like any WSL or ISA event.”

Commenters on Messick’s video post were mixed.

One person emphasized the importance of showing surfing is welcoming and a safe place for trans/gender diverse athletes, as it is for all kids.

“A lot of young trans kids see policies like this and feel unwelcome and unsafe, whether they compete or not,” the comment reads.

Another person argued reducing hormones does not remove the physical advantages biological males may be born with, an argument famed surfer Bethany Hamilton has vocally expressed.