World surfing champion Pauline Menczer immortalized with bronze statue at Bondi Beach

Pauline Menczer: the 1993 ASP Womens World Tour champion | Photo: Menczer Archive

A life-sized bronze sculpture honouring the extraordinary legacy of Waverley-born trailblazer and surfing champion Pauline Menczer has been unveiled at South Bondi Beach.

Pauline took out the ASP Women's World Tour in 1993, all without the backing of a sponsor, becoming the first - and only - world champ to come from Bondi.

In 2018, she was inducted into the Australian Surfing Hall of Fame.

Last year, Waverley Council approved the gift of a statue immortalizing Pauline's incredible career and immeasurable contribution to both surfing and women's sports, in a spot overlooking the very place she first took to the water as a child.

"As well as being a talented athlete, Pauline Menczer has been a trailblazer and tireless advocate for equality in sport, paving the way for so many to follow in her footsteps," Waverley Mayor Will Nemesh said.

"Pauline's impact and everything she was as a champion remains as relevant as ever, and Waverley Council is honored to give her a permanent home at South Bondi Beach."

Pauline said she was "blown away" by the statue, which she described as also being "for the surfers, the battlers and everyone who's copped a few knocks but refused to give up".

"This statue isn't just about me," she said. "If it inspires even one kid to have the courage to paddle out, it's done its job.

"It's so wild to think a little Bondi grom like me would end up with a bronze statue overlooking the waves where I learnt to surf. We didn't have much growing up, but we had the gift of the ocean, and that was our everything."

Surf Checking Bondi Beach

Pauline is celebrated for her advocacy and fortitude in overcoming hurdles of sexism, homophobia, and debilitating bouts of rheumatoid arthritis.

Born and raised in Bondi, she began surfing at the tender age of 12 and quickly drew recognition for her uncanny ability to read the waves and ride them fearlessly.

The bronze figure honouring her is the work of respected Australian artist Cathy Weiszmann and portrays a young Pauline doing a surf check, looking out across the ocean from the park.

Its cost was covered by the crowdfunding efforts of the grassroots community group Pauline in Bronze and gifted to the Council as a donation for the community.

"I express my sincere thanks to those who tirelessly campaigned to make this installation possible," Nemesh underlined.

Pauline added, "I'm so grateful to this amazing community. You legends made this happen."

por Surfing | News, Headlines and Top Stories https://ift.tt/QoFr9hp

Postagens mais visitadas deste blog

Duke Kahanamoku reflects on surfing, Olympics, and old Hawaii in 1966 interview

Duke Kahanamoku is the most influential surfer of all time and is often hailed as the father of modern surfing. There is nearly no one questioning these titles. Recently, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Hawaii unveiled a never-before-seen interview with the legendary surfer and Olympic swimmer. In the 1966 episode of Pau Hana Years, a seminal Hawaii television program that aired on KHET-TV (now PBS Hawaii) for 16 years, running from 1966 until 1982, Bob Barker chats with Duke Kahanamoku, then 76. The conversation drifts from royal ancestry to Olympic lanes, from Hollywood sets to a surfboard shaped by hand, tracing the outline of a life that helped define modern surfing and Hawaii's public image in the 20th century. And if you know little about the man who dreamed of getting surfing into the Olympic Games, this is a precious piece of history. A name with history, worn casually The interview starts with Kahanamoku explaining that "Duke" is not a title but his giv...

King Haakon VIII of Norway and his lifelong love of surfing

When Haakon VIII became King of Norway on August 28, 2026, the world learned more about the man behind the crown. Former Crown Prince Haakon is a sailor, skier, outdoor enthusiast, and, perhaps most surprisingly for a European monarch, a committed surfer. Nevertheless, he's not the first. Charles III , King of England, has surfed before, as have previous British royals . But let's focus on the newly crowned Norwegian king who has already spent years chasing waves. Haakon surfed in California while studying at the University of California, Berkeley, and later returned to the water in Norway with his family. The Nordic royal helped bring the European Surfing Championships (Eurosurf) to Norway and watched his daughter compete in the sport. Then, in a 2023 interview with Norwegian broadcaster NRK, he revealed how serious his surfing ambitions might once have been. Are you curious already? Let's see how surfing conquered Haakon VIII. A royal discovers surfing in Californ...

The hydrodynamics of surfboard fins

Have you ever wondered why a surfboard fin looks like that? It is a single or a set of fixed blades or keels located under a board, near the tail, often no bigger than a hand. Yet that small surface is where much of the surfboard's behavior takes place. Speed, hold, looseness, and the feeling of control all trace back to how water moves around fins. The physics of surfboard fins falls under hydrodynamics, the study of how fluids behave in motion. So, according to science, they feature a shape designed to turn flowing water into several forces. Let's take a look at what's at stake when fins and water interact. Lift and the feeling of control One of the key variables in hydrodynamic terms involving surfboard fins is lift. When a surfer leans into a turn, the board tilts and the fins meet the water at an angle. The angle is enough to create a pressure difference between the two sides of the fin. Water speeds up on one side and slows on the other. The result is a sidewa...

Vitor Oliveira

Pesquisar este blog