Trans surfer Sasha Jane Lowerson makes history at WA Longboard Championships

The first transgender surfer in history is set to embark on a campaign for change after claiming a piece of history which may never be matched.

West Australian longboarder Sasha Jane Lowerson has secured a piece of surfing history which, let’s face it, is going to be tough to beat.

Lowerson excelled in her home lineup at the WA Longboard championships over the weekend to claim both the Open Women’s and Open Logger divisions with a dominant performance in the left hand waves.

But that’s not what sets her achievement apart. It’s the fact three years earlier she was crowned the men’s champion.

Lowerson is the first transgender surfer in history, having won the WA state title as Ryan Egan in 2019 and finished third in the Australian titles before transitioning as a woman and being welcomed back into the sport with open arms.

“To be the first transgender woman competing in surfing hasn’t been an easy ride emotionally but the amount of support I’ve been showed has been phenomenal and I’m so grateful to be involved, welcomed and embraced within the longboard community in Australia,” said Lowerson.

Lowerson’s dominance in the WA women’s final was evident by the fact her two nearest rivals needed high-scoring 9-point rides to win while the fourth finalist was comboed.

A former World Surf League longboard tour competitor and surfboard shaper, she tried to transition in 2010 but finally committed to it 11 years later at the age of 43.

Lowerson says her life changed after yet another suicide attempt and she accepted who she really was. Earlier this year she approached Surfing Australia about returning to competition in women’s events.

“I’ve been surfing since I was a little boy,” Lowerson said on a YouTube podcast with Jason Byrne.

“I was a good junior surfer, I was surfing against grown men at 14 and winning.

“I knew at a very young age that I wasn’t a normal boy.

“For the best part of (my life) I thought she (Sasha) could never live, I had to put her in a box. That is something a lot of girls experience.

“About every two years I’d want to kill myself and I’ve had a good go at it.

“I had a real wake up call (suicide attempt in 2020), then I thought ‘what are you doing? You are living a lie’.

“I made a decision to be truthful to me and the world and that is when I decided to unveil Sasha as such.

“I started a medical transition at the start of 2021. Up until then I hid from people surfing, I stopped surfing for six months. I basically took six months out of the water.

“Then I woke up one morning and said, ‘no it’s been my life, I can’t just walk away from my passion and life.”

Now Lowerson wants to talk to the WSL about where she can take her career in the sport as a woman.

”We are about to start formal talks with the World Surf League about the inclusion of diverse genders,” she said.

Sasha Jane Lowerson won the Women’s and Logger divisions at the WA Longboard Championships.

RADICAL PARALYMPIC PLAN FOR TRANS SWIMMERS

The World Swim Coaches Association has called for transgender athletes to be banned from women’s events, instead proposing the introduction of elite trans competition similar to the way Paralympic and multi-disability athletes have forged strong international racing events.

In an open statement that will be presented to swimming’s world governing body FINA for consideration, the WSCA recommend “trans males” and “trans females” are afforded their own competitive fields to ensure fairness for all athletes.

The WSCA considered options that included making all men’s competition “open” or non-declared gender events, but felt this would be a disadvantage to biologically born females who identified as males.

At the same time, it was felt those same athletes couldn’t compete fairly against biological women as the risk of hormone therapy would be akin to doping.

“Trans females cannot compete fairly with biological females; however, providing them with the competition that is predominantly that of competing against biological males becomes unfair to the Trans female,” the WSCA statement said.

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“It is the exact mirror image for the Trans Male. He has the same biologic disadvantage that the trans female has as an advantage. Yet forcing him onto a female’s division would in many cases (and in the least) violate our doping rules.

“One such solution is to create a Trans Division. The Trans Females will race each other. The Trans Males will race each other. There is an argument that the Trans Males have been completely lost in this debate because they are uncompetitive in our current structure.

“This would also allow those of indeterminate gender to be factored into such a solution.”

However, the WSCA plans are not likely to go down well at the International Olympic Committee who has maintained that their Olympic competition will remain as two racing categories.

But the WSCA believe over time Trans athletes can thrive in the pool with their own competition, which like Para athletes would only see them racing in a different field but not segregated from the elite environment of training or club.

“Our role as coaches is not to decide if the athlete is ready for transitioning or if they should transition. That is up to them, their parents, and their physicians,” the WSCA said.

“Our role is to help them swim faster and develop lifetime health and fitness habits.

“On the typical club team, age-group athletes, elite athletes, Special Olympians, and Paralympic athletes all share the same practice pool. They train together every day for weeks, then go their separate ways for their competitions.

“It could be precisely the same for our Trans Athletes. 99% of the year, every athlete trains together. 1% of the year, they attend their appropriate competitions.

“A coaches’ historical role has been to expand the sport and create the best competitive opportunities for our athletes. The ‘Trans situation’ affords us the same opportunity.

“We must protect female sports, but we must endeavour to create fair competition for everyone. It could be seen that Trans males have become lost in this debate.

“If we want to protect female sports, grow our sport, and create fair competitions, there is a strong argument that we need to follow the path of history and create a new division for such Trans athletes.”

Originally published as Trans surfer Sasha Jane Lowerson makes history at WA Longboard Championships