Having local surfer and surf coach Calder Nold out there in the Women on Waves lineup, in his trunks, with his chest hair and beard, so clearly a biological man, made everyone uncomfortable.

Everyone on the beach was wondering why the heck a dude was out there in the contest. From every conversation I heard among the spectators, the sentiment ranged from confusion to outrage. No one thought it was fair, people wanted him to get kicked out. There was one competitor watching his heat who called out with gleeful satisfaction when she thought he had interfered with another surfer’s wave, thereby disqualifying him. Knowing she was in his age group, I couldn’t help but hear the relief in her voice over his potential interference call — she didn’t want to surf against him. The woman who was the emcee for the event was so outraged at seeing him in the lineup that she went on to loudly declare that he was just “looking for attention” and suggested that he must be trying to “compensate for something,” alluding to the size of his male anatomy. However cruel her words were, her rage was palpable: how dare he enter in a women’s event?

This is why I entered him. Everyone who saw this spectacle could agree that he didn’t belong out there. He out-paddled and out-surfed everyone in both of his heats and made a mockery out of an event that was allegedly for women. His positivity and encouragement of the other girls in the lineup couldn’t make up for the undeniable fact that he is a man. But would it be so different if he thought he was a woman? Would it change anything about his ability to out-paddle the strongest female in the lineup? If he had shaved his beard and painted his nails, would he have been any less of a man?

In the conversations we had with the event organizers over the course of the weekend, it was very clear that they thought that if Nold identified as a female, then it would have been OK for him to be out there.

In September 2023, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) released an “Expert Consensus Statement: The Biological Basis of Sex Differences in Athletic Performance.” In this release the ACSM outlined the significant differences between biological male and female athletes as it relates to performance potential. The first key finding presented in the summary of the full statement is: “Biological sex is a determinant of athletic performance: adult males are faster, stronger, more powerful than females because of fundamental sex differences in anatomy and physiology dictated by sex chromosomes.”

Sex chromosomes are a part of a person’s DNA, and are determined before birth, and are unchanged by hormones. These fundamental differences in biological sex are what make a person’s gender identity irrelevant when it comes to discussing which contest he or she will surf in.

An article written May 10 by Hannah Fry for the Los Angeles Times regarded the battle in Huntington Beach over the question of whether transgender surfer Sasha Jane Lowerson should be allowed to compete in the Huntington Beach Longboard Pro contest this past August. According to the article, the California Coastal Commission is playing a large role in the decision-making. The mission of their Environmental Justice Policy is in ensuring “California’s coast is accessible to all Californians, regardless of their ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status or place of residence.” While this a worthy goal, I don’t see the connection to allowing everyone to participate in a surf contest. If this report is the reason that contests like the Huntington Beach Longboard Pro are being forced to include certain participants based on gender identity, how do they justify “discriminating” against amateur surfers who didn’t qualify for the event? Why is it considered to be restricting access to California’s coast when it comes to transgender surfers, but not amateur surfers? Contests are inherently exclusive; if contest organizers are forced to be all-inclusive, then it isn’t a contest.

This is why I entered Coach C in Women on Waves. Nold is a champion for female athletes. He is an incredible surf and life coach, and he has a gift for helping his students learn to improve their surfing, and their confidence in and out of the water. A true Santa Cruz local, and respected Mavericks surfer, he went out there to support women’s sports and challenge this idea of competition being “all-inclusive.”

To anyone watching his heats, it was obvious that he could out-paddle and out-surf the other competitors, and I agree — it wasn’t a fair heat with him out there.

EmilyAnne Pillari is a Santa Cruz resident.