Pauline Menczer (born 21 May 1970) is an
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal A ...
surfer. She was Women's World Champion for Professional Surfing in 1993.
Surfing career
Menczer started surfing aged 12
in about 1982. She won the 1988 women's amateur world title at the competition held in Puerto Rico,
the 1993 women's world championship and was a long-standing competitor on the world championship tour.
In 1991 and 1992 Menczer was narrowly beaten in the world championship by
Wendy Botha
Wendy Botha (born 22 August 1965) is a four-time world surfing champion. She won her first title as a South African citizen in 1987, then she became an Australian citizen and won three more titles in 1989, 1991, and 1992. She also posed nude f ...
, but blitzed the field in 1993 becoming the women's world champion of professional surfers.
In that year she qualified for half of the competition finals, and ended up the winner in a quarter of all the competitions.
The trophy that she was awarded was damaged and she did not receive any financial award.
She also was World Qualifying Series champion in 2002 from the event held in Hawaii.
In a career over 20 years she won a total of 20
WCT events and 8 WQS events; only
Layne Beachley
Layne Collette Beachley (born 24 May 1972) is a former professional surfer from Manly, New South Wales. She won the World Championship seven times. Currently she is the chair of Surfing Australia.
Surfing career
At the age of 16 Beachley ...
has won more.
Menczer failed to requalify for the 2005
world championship tour. Her sponsors were Stick Girl Surfboards (
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
) and Ocean Shores Surf Shop.
In March 2018 Menczer was inducted into the Australian Surfing Hall of Fame.
Personal life
Menczer grew up in Bondi, Australia, with her mother and three siblings. Her taxi-driver father was murdered when she was five.
She attended Bondi Public and Dover Heights Girls’ High schools.
She acquired the nickname 'Naughty Pauls' that continued into her surfing career.
From age 14,
and throughout her surfing career, Menczer suffered from sometimes crippling
rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and hands are involv ...
.
Since 2019 she has had a rare autoimmune disease that affects her skin.
During her career Menczer travelled the surfing circuit with her "coach", but Nadege was really her French girlfriend.
In 2021 Menczer lived in
Byron Bay
Byron Bay ( Minjungbal: ''Cavvanbah)'' is a beachside town located in the far-northeastern corner of the state of New South Wales, Australia on Bundjalung Country. It is located north of Sydney and south of Brisbane. Cape Byron, a hea ...
and was working as a bus driver
but has subsequently become a carer.
Her struggles, and that of other women to compete in a male dominated sport, is part of the movie ''Girls Can't Surf''. The film's director Chris Nelius, is lobbying
Waverley Council
Waverley Council is a Local government area in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. First incorporated on 16 June 1859 as the Municipality of Waverley, it is one of the oldest-surviving local government ar ...
to have a statue of Menczer erected at Bondi beach.
In 2022 an image of Menczer was added to the mural of surfers on Bondi beach boardwalk by artist Megan Hales.
Films
Menczer has appeared in a number of surf videos featuring female surfers, including:
* ''Blue Crush'' by Bill Ballard (1998)
* ''Peaches: the Core of Women's Surfing'' by Bill Ballard (2000)
* ''Surfabout: Down Under'' by Jenny Hedley
* ''Girls Can't Surf'' by Chris Nelius (2021)
References
External links
Stick Man Surfboards(present sponsor), includin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Menczer, Pauline
Australian female surfers
1970 births
Living people
World Surf League surfers
Sportspeople from Sydney