Pauline Menczer is a world champion so why isn't her name on Byron Bay's honour roll?

Joanne Shoebridge
Swellnet Dispatch

Pauline Menczer not only won a world championship, she was suffering from arthritis so crippling at the time, that friends would often push her around in a shopping trolley to save her the agony of trying to walk.

So why is her name missing from Byron Bay's Surfer's Lane roll of honour?

The lane's mural features some of the town's surfing heroes — members of the Byron Malibu Club and Byron Bay Boardriders Club. But Menczer's name is missing, despite her living in the Byron Shire at the time of her world crown.

In fact, there are no women on the mural at all.

"I do care about the younger generation coming through, and there could be some young girls coming through and they look up at this wall and see a lot of men, and the women that they idolise aren’t there, so what’s that telling them? That they're not worthy?" said Menczer.

President of the Byron Bay Boardriders Neil Cameron said Menczer should be recognised for her achievements, along with Mark 'Mono' Stewart, the one-legged, two-time winner of the world adaptive surfing championship.

Good argument for recognition

Mr Cameron said since the laneway tribute was created to commemorate surfers who had achieved a lot in the organisation and promotion of the sport of surfing in Byron Bay, there had been controversy over who should and should not be included.

"(The mural) went mental on Facebook with all the people saying this person should be included and that person should be included,'' he said.

''But I think what Pauline's achieved was incredible and there's a good argument for her to be recognised."

"Maybe there should be a separate tribute just for women surfers alongside the existing mural?"

Menczer's supporters in Byron Bay who are fighting to get her name included would agree that if there was anyone who should be on the honour roll, it should be Menczer. At just 13, she knew what she wanted to do as she was watched the fun her brother and his mates had cruising into the shore on Bronte Beach riding their foam boards.

Less than ten years later she'd be crowned world champion.

In her first contest — the only girl competing — she came second. At 18, she qualified to go to the World Amateur titles in Puerto Rico in 1988, and won.

"I thought 'this is great, this is what I want to do for a living,' and not long after that I turned professional," she said.

Part of turning professional meant having a coach and Menczer and her mum moved to the Far North Coast to work with one of the best, Steve Foreman.

Menczer surfed regularly against her female idols Wendy Botha and Pam Burridge.

"I always had this massive desire to beat them and I did go up against Pam Burridge, when I was still amateur I went in three professional events and I stopped Pam from winning the world title, and so that made me realise 'Hey, I really have a shot here.'"

Botha narrowly beat the newcomer on the world tour in 1991 and again in 1992 but 1993 was Menczer's world championship year.

Overcoming adversity

However, it wasn't just the other women on the waves she had to battle with. Since the age of 14 Menczer has suffered arthritis that was at times both crippling, and excruciatingly painful.

"Even the year I went for the world title I could barely walk," she said.

"I had friends pushing me around in shopping trolleys, had trouble walking, couldn't even freesurf the year I was going for the title, but then as soon as I put the contest jersey on and went out in the water, the adrenaline was amazing and the pain would disappear."

Like all female surfers of her generation, Menczer was never given any special treatment in the water on the Bondi beach of the '80s.

"It was character-building, it was definitely male-dominated and through the years it's changed," she said.

"I think a lot of the guys have realised that the more women there are in the water the less the crowd is aggressive, so it’s sort of mellowed out the crowd."

However, controversy over sexism in surfing is still alive and well. Recently surf-wear giant Billabong provoked a social media backlash when its online platform showed two images — a male surfer performing an aerial as the portal to the menswear range and a woman in a provocative pose on the beach for the female one.

The photo was quickly replaced by an image of one of the company's stable of female athletes — surfing.

Sponsorship dollars

These days Menczer, 47, is likely to be found at the wheel of a school bus. The arthritis has left her with dodgy hips and she will need a hip replacement.

"At the age of 14 at first I didn't know what was going on I'd wake up and my knees were all swollen, and that rheumatoid arthritis has now turned into osteoarthritis," she said.

Despite her world crown Menczer never received the attention or sponsorship dollars her peers before and after did, but she remains philosophical.

"I'm not sure why I didn't, maybe because I was never a groupie. I basically would surf my heats and then go, and I did miss out on sponsorship dollars."

''A lot of people think it was because I didn't have the look that the surfing community wanted, the blonde hair whereas I was this dark-haired freckle-faced kid."

//JOANNE SHOEBRIDGE
© Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved.

Comments

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Monday, 18 Sep 2017 at 9:30am

Nice summary of PM's world title and career from Warshaw's EOS:

"Menczer's 1993 championship remains one of the sport's great underdog stories. Sponsorless and forced to spend $25,000 of the $30,000 she earned that year in prize money just to get from contest to contest, Menczer won three of the first 11 events, and had a slender ratings lead going into the 12th and final contest in Hawaii. Two weeks before the event started, the 23-year-old Menczer had an arthritis attack that put her temporarily in a wheelchair; seven days later she began paddling her surfboard in a pool as a warm-up; on the day of the contest—held in windblown eight-foot surf at Sunset Beach—she scraped into the finals, and won the title. "I couldn't even brush my own hair," she said of her pre-title attack. "My body just shut down."

The following year brought the first of Florida-raised Lisa Andersen's four world championships, and runner-up Menczer was all but ignored, despite the fact that she won five of the tour's 11 events, including the last three. As the freckled and tomboy-ish Menczer put it, "I don't have sponsors, because I don't have big boobs, blonde hair and blue eyes." At the end of 1995, with the popularity of women's surfing shooting up in large part due to a massive pretty-surfer-girl marketing campaign, Menczer decorated one of her surfboards with a hand-drawn surfing "bushpig" (Australian slang for an unattractive woman), in mordant celebration of her own nonglamorous looks."

https://encyclopediaofsurfing.com/entries/menczer-pauline/

PCS PeterPan's picture
PCS PeterPan's picture
PCS PeterPan Monday, 18 Sep 2017 at 9:50am

Having had the pleasure of watching Pauline freesurf a number of times , and outsurf nearly every bloke in the lineup , I focused on her progress in those years . So happy when she got that title.
There is no argument that she should be honoured . I'd like to see the dorks involved in deciding who should and who shouldn't be honoured, surf with the pain Pauline endured.
Anyway they never won a World Surfing Title , Pauline did. Nuff said.

Blob's picture
Blob's picture
Blob Monday, 18 Sep 2017 at 10:18am

From the start you could see her gritty loner determination. Sometimes mistaken for a boy and usually the only girl in a competitive Bondi lineup you could see how hard it was. She was sensitive behind the self control. Waves were not to be wasted, and some of the guys were regularly in her face....but all 5' of her would just keep standing her ground. She was laughed at, then tolerated, then respected, then a world beater. Great material for a Tele movie.

freeride76's picture
freeride76's picture
freeride76 Monday, 18 Sep 2017 at 10:44am

It's a travesty Pauline isn't recognised on the Byron mural.

Having worked alongside Pauline for a few years i can say she is one of the mentally toughest and most determined individuals I've ever met......no one is going to push her around.
And some of the vile sexism she endured in the line-ups, some of it physical makes your hair stand on end.

She still gets down to Lennox for the All Girls club rounds and is an ongoing inspiration to everyone who comes into contact with her.

And she still fucking rips, despite the arthritis and having almost full-time care of a sick parent to deal with.

trolleyboy's picture
trolleyboy's picture
trolleyboy Monday, 18 Sep 2017 at 11:09am

Morrison Media didnt cover themselves in glory after Pauline Menczer won the world title. IIRC either Derek Rielly or Tim Baker rang her up not to talk about her win but ask her about tits.

Terminal's picture
Terminal's picture
Terminal Tuesday, 19 Sep 2017 at 1:56pm

If this actually happened all I can say is wow

Cookie1's picture
Cookie1's picture
Cookie1 Monday, 18 Sep 2017 at 11:13am

I still remember Pauline charging and then going over the falls at the Margaret River Comp in massive waves in 1990 (?). The commentator at the time let out a massive "Noooooooo" and all the crowd groaned expecting an evacuation by jetski or worse. Yet after what seems like an eternity she pops up and paddles back out. Most of us blokes couldn't believe it, we were scared watching from the carpark and here was this 5 foot nothing chick suffering the worst wipeout we've ever seen and then just getting back into it. Gutsy stuff - put her in!

crg's picture
crg's picture
crg Monday, 18 Sep 2017 at 1:36pm

"Maybe there should be a separate tribute just for women surfers alongside the existing mural?"

Or maybe she should have been included on her merits in the first place. She rips and she is a champion.

Eliza Feely's picture
Eliza Feely's picture
Eliza Feely Monday, 18 Sep 2017 at 3:06pm

I vividly remember seeing PAULINE MENCZER (let's say it LOUD!!!) surf at Winki in the nineties. Absolutely blew my mind. Totally inspiring - definitely one of my favourite surfers. Try being a chick in the Winki line up then (a rookie to boot) ....or now, ha (tho I've always had support from unreal gents) but still- totally out numbered. And the 'caste' system between male and female pros then was ridiculous. And there was Pauline blowing everyone out of the park. Seems lack of recognition has plagued her career. But why?? She's a freakin' legend. What kind of dumb -cool decision making snobbery left her off the mural? It's 2017 and they're still smelling their own armpits. A WORLD CHAMPION no less. C'MON!! & No special blah blah seperate tribute etc etc. All TOGETHER.

lukas's picture
lukas's picture
lukas Monday, 18 Sep 2017 at 5:15pm

typical ! Pauline not being respected in byron...... farkenell, well alot of us know about some yuppies running stuff up there these day's. & to you bunch of lazy, out of touch, fake's, on the council, i say to you all.... pull your fuckin heads in.

AndyM's picture
AndyM's picture
AndyM Monday, 18 Sep 2017 at 6:09pm

You wash your mouth out lukas - Byron Bay is the most earthy, real place I've ever been to.

As a matter of fact, I'd go so far as to say that Byron is delightfully transcendent.

Dean Mc's picture
Dean Mc's picture
Dean Mc Monday, 18 Sep 2017 at 8:44pm

This bloke does not smile much. Pauline smiles heaps.

AndyM's picture
AndyM's picture
AndyM Monday, 18 Sep 2017 at 9:21pm

Spiritual people are always smiling on the inside.

Or maybe his all-quinoa no-gluten diet is giving him really bad wind.

Fuck, last time I was in Sydney I saw quinoa porridge selling for 19 bucks per bowl, that'd make all but the most cosmically aligned groover crack the sads.

indo-dreaming's picture
indo-dreaming's picture
indo-dreaming Tuesday, 19 Sep 2017 at 4:11pm

I liked Paulines surfing, i got on the piss with her once at the Torquay pub one easter and seemed a good chick too.

kslice's picture
kslice's picture
kslice Thursday, 21 Sep 2017 at 7:01am

Pauline is a deadset fucking legend and should be on that 'honour roll' without question! Don't make a seperate one for women! Put her in the mix with the men!

truebluebasher's picture
truebluebasher's picture
truebluebasher Sunday, 24 Sep 2017 at 12:52am

Thanks Joanne splendid work!
Thanks Pauline nice moves!

Thanks Swellnet for all girl affair.
Real top shelf surf journalism

Good as it gets ... I'm a fan!
Special thanks to Swellnet for holding true to your word. ( Best surf site....ever!)

GuySmiley's picture
GuySmiley's picture
GuySmiley Sunday, 24 Sep 2017 at 1:09pm

Surfed with Pauline a few times on a trip up north during the time when she was champ, perhaps correctly she surf all over us mere morals. Didn't mind dropping in thou! The pocket rocket could surf alright. Gutsy too, didn't she tackle 2 mile with the boys around this time also.

joeyjojo's picture
joeyjojo's picture
joeyjojo Sunday, 24 Sep 2017 at 1:47pm

When the POS surf industry types refer to her as “spotty dog”, you know that she was never get main stream support!
Says a lot about not kissing ass or wedging a bikini up your ass.
Forged her own path and deserves the respect for doing it > true definition of the Aussie battler......

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Monday, 5 Mar 2018 at 3:05pm

Press release received this afternoon:

The Australian surfing community will gather tomorrow evening on the Gold Coast to honour 1993 Women’s World Champion Pauline Menczer who will be inducted into the Australian Surfing Hall of Fame.

Menczer will become the 40th inductee into the Hall of Fame and cements herself as one of surfing’s great individuals. She overcame enormous odds, including lack of sponsorship and crippling rheumatoid arthritis, to build a superb pro surfing career, including an epic world title win. She defied every possible female stereotype in the process, sustained by her ingrained surfing talent, courage, and a lethal sense of humour. In the process, she also earned the complete respect of every other surfer on tour.

simba's picture
simba's picture
simba Monday, 5 Mar 2018 at 3:21pm

Well done Pauline!

zenagain's picture
zenagain's picture
zenagain Monday, 5 Mar 2018 at 3:36pm

Common sense prevails.

Now, up at Byron...

waxer's picture
waxer's picture
waxer Monday, 5 Mar 2018 at 3:50pm

Neil.....Get your act together.

crg's picture
crg's picture
crg Monday, 5 Mar 2018 at 3:52pm

That's epic! Congrats Pauline!

It's so strange...I walked past the Byron plaque this morning and needing to clear my throat from this cold I have at the moment, I projected a throat full in its direction in disgust at her name being left off.