 In the last few decades there are generally less than 60 men and 30 women who qualify for the highest level of the surf league each year in its modern form, the WSL.There are thousands more surfers competing in various smaller surf contests held continually around the world, the majority of them being for groms (young participants).In the last half century of competitive surfing, nearly all professionals have learned to surf as children and were essentially prodigies, as in most modern professional sports.