Gilmore honoured at WSL awards

THE world’s best surfers of 2018 were honoured at the World Surf League Awards in Coolangatta, Queensland at the end of March.

The awards night celebrated the achievements of the newly crowned world champions across the Championship Tour, Big Wave Tour, Longboard, Pro Juniors, Masters and Grand Masters.

Praise for best performances, most groundbreaking moments and exciting accomplishments in surfing over the past year were also delivered.

When Aussie champion Stephanie Gilmore approached the WSL Awards stage, she said she was surprised by the power and platform that comes with a World Championship title.

“It was around September 2018 that I really understood the power of winning multiple World Titles,” she said.

“You win a lot of World Titles and you start to wonder, ‘what is it worth? Why do I continue to do this? What is it that motivated me to keep going?’ – and you start to think about the platform that you get, the voice that you get, and the value of the power of sport.

“To announce equal prize, pay for men and women with the WSL was such a proud moment for myself and for all the women before me, for not only female athletes but women around the world.”

2018 WSL World Champions
Championship Tour: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), Gabriel Media (BRA)
Big Wave Tour: Keala Kennelly (HAW), Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker (ZAF)
Longboard: Soleil Errico (USA), Steven Sawyer (ZAF)
Pro Junior: Kirra Pinkerton (USA), Mateus Herdy (BRA)
Masters: Layne Beachley (AUS), Rob Bain (AUS)
Grand Masters: Dave Macaulay (AUS)

2018 Championship Tour Honours
Fan favourite award presented by Breitling: Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA), Gabriel Medina (BRA)
Wave of the year: Carissa Moore (HAW), Gabriel Medina (BRA)
Move of the year: Carissa Moore (HAW), Filipe Toledo (BRA)
Heat of the year: Carissa Moore (HAW) vs. Courtney Conlogue (USA) at Beachwaver Maui Pro/ Gabriel Medina (BRA) vs. Conner Coffin (USA) at Billabong Pipe Masters
CT runner-ups: Lakey Peterson (USA), Julian Wilson (AUS)
CT rookies of the year: Caroline Marks (USA), Wade Carmichael (AUS)