The Question of Female Surfing.

Watching women's surfing, one of my passions and all-time favourite pass-times, and being confronted with the terrible irony of a sport on the crest of a boom, yet responsible for its own (inevitable?) downfall.

Perhaps the most glaringly obvious, and topical, case in point? Two words. One woman.

Silvana Lima.

Have you seen her surf? Probably not. Should you have? Yes. Definitely yes. I can bet you've seen Alana surf, or even Coco, but Silvana is down in the depths of YouTube, almost unsearched on Google. The truth for anyone, new to surfing or not, is that she rips. Full stop. She puts her 4'9 body into contortions I've never even imagined. Her board goes places most girls (seriously, most) can't fathom putting theirs. Regardless of wave conditions or size (a component of women's surfing that is absolutely mandatory if you ever hope to do well on the WCT), she can surf better than most of the girls on tour.

Then, BAM. Reality happens.

Reality means Lima doesn't have a sponsor. Travelling and competing on your own buck across vast expanses of the globe, not to mention the transport, accommodation and board costs that come with professional surfing, and Lima is struggling.

The one place she doesn't struggle is the surf. Surely this should speak for something. Surely there is a Billabong, Roxy, Rip Curl, heck a Target sponsor-head out there watching this shining beacon of elite female thinking "now she can surf. I want her on my team."

You would think so. But reality proves that this mustn't be the case. Silvana is sponsor-less.

When the board flies through the air with her body following in an unbelievable showmanship of just how good females can surf, the stickers are missing. When the photos of her come out, soaring through the air and blasting giant-sized chunks, throwing spray many times larger than her, we see blank empty space on a board begging for a sticker.

2014 saw Alana Blanchard get the wild card. I have seen many attempts to grate on the ASP for giving Blanchard the spot over others, it is not only Lima that is missing out on a well-deserved place. However, I don't whole-heartedly disagree with their choice. Blanchard has more Instagram followers that any other surfer. She has almost 200,000 more than Kelly Slater. Blanchard could possibly hold the crown for most heard of surfer, certainly the most recognisable. That long blonde, surfer hair and the come-hither puppy dog eyes. That body, right? That arch in her back that leads the voyeuristic eye to her most valuable possession. Not her surfboard, her derrière.

Regardless of whether she can surf (if I'm going to talk personally, I actually think she can. WCT worthy? Debatable), she brings a huge viewership to the sport, particularly the female side. How can you argue with the ASP for wanting to capitalise on that? It is marketing 101.

However, the irony is wrapped up in the pretty parcel of Alana herself. Watch or read an interview with her (I will not be surprised if almost all of you are yet to hear her speak) and she comments on the state of women's surfing, as do all the female surfers these days. The current crop of female surfers are blowing the minds of the viewers, it is an understatement to say that the surfing we are seeing from women at the moment is the best we have ever seen. Fact. But to hear Alana say that the women are surfing better than ever, and that the girls on tour are doing better cutbacks, airs and radical manoeuvres that ever before is confusing.

It is true, I don't disagree with her. But the question lies there begging to be answered, if this is the case - why is Alana on tour? I don't mean this crudely, as I said before, I think Alana can surf and she is certainly better than me and probably 90% of the female surfing population. But she is not in the Top 17 on tour. There are the Silvana's, the Justine DuPont, Felicity Palmateer and half of the girls in the water in Hawaii watching her on tour, thinking.. what? They are mind surfing the waves she is attempting to tear apart, and they are surfing their home breaks when she is gallivanting around the globe posting butt-laden photos to her biggest sponsor - social media.

She brings eyes to the sport, and unfortunately, this still has more value than good surfing. However hard the ASP tries to show their changes, there is irony in their word. Women's surfing is getting better and better, FACT. But viewership is what remains most important at its core. Viewers mean people, people means money. Money means everything.

Alana hasn't made it to the quarters once this year, and I don't believe she belongs in a jersey. I think she can bring just as many eyes to the sport while not on the tour. While she may brings eyes to the sport, I don't think that those same eyes are going to stay in on a Saturday afternoon and watch a live stream of her surfing a mushy onshore. Those eyes will be out with a pint of lager, and will later retreat home in the early hours of the morning merely hoping to see a Blanchard upload grace their social media.

Alana will bring eyes to the sport on the tour or off, and I think those 17 precious places on the tour should be given to those deserving of making it further than the quarters, and to entertain the viewership of the rest of us who are actually watching the women's WCT to see them surf. Because yes, we're still here.

Now, I've just gotta go check my Instagram.