The Roxy girls including Kelia Moniz, Sally Fitzgibbons, Monyca Byrne-Wickey, Kassia Meador, LeAnn Curren, Rosy Hodge and Bruna Schmitz. Music’s from Jess Penner and the song’s Bring Me The Sunshine.

Check out the best of Roxy team rider Sally Fitzgibbons, showing exactly why she risen through the ranks of women’s pro surfing within just 2 years and in strong pursuit for this year’s world title.

After the fulminate start, the Women’s division at the Australian Open of Surfing continued with a breathtaking quarterfinals sessions which left only four surfers to battle it out in the showdown tonight!

Laura Enever was looking like exiting the event with a 5th place finish in her Quarterfinal against Pauline Ado, she was left needing a decent score as the ocean went flat in the last five minutes. But Enever waited patiently and with a mere 14 seconds on the clock she stood up on a nice looking left-hander and launched into a series of sharp turns, easily netting the required score. “There was a part of me thinking this might be the end,” she said afterwards, “but then I thought – it’s never over, you can catch a wave with one second on the clock and get the score. I knew I had to find something and when that wave popped up and I thought this is it, this is the one. I’m excited to be into the Semis and to be able to surf on Finals day this weekend.”

Sally Fitzgibbons faced off against Lakey Peterson in Quarterfinal 2, which was a rematch of the Final of the US Open in August last year. Sally took the heat on both occasions and will now match-up against Laura in the Semifinals this weekend. Malia Manuel and Joanne Defay finished Quarterfinal 3 tied on 11.67 (out of a possible 20) for their two wave heat total. When there’s a tie the surfer with the highest single wave score wins, and in this case it was Manuel who won with a 6.67 (out of a possible 10) to Defay’s 6.00. “That was too close for comfort right there,” Malia confessed though, “she needed a 6.01 right at the end and got a 6.00, it was so close! Halfway through the heat a rip popped up right in the middle of the lineup and it made it hard for me to get a back-up score. I really admire the European surfers, they’re such a tight-knit crew and they’re all surfing great.”

So stay tuned for more updates after the finals, which thanks to Australia being on the other side of the world will go down while we’re all sleeping soundly… But in case you’re experience insomnia, catch the live webcast on australianopenofsurfing.com

Watch the highlights from the Women’s Quarter Finals and Men’s Rounds 1 & 2

Maya Gabeira and Sally Fitzgibbons take part in a surf survival course that trains them in breath holding techniques that can be applied to surfing.

Australian Sally Fitzgibbons has defeated American Sage Erickson on an epic final day of competition to win the Swatch Girls Pro France at Seignosse in Hossegor.

Both Fitzgibbons and Erickson surfed at their limit. Sally Fitzgibbons, who is currently rated No. 2 on the elite ASP Women’s World Title Series, competed in her second consecutive Swatch Girls Pro France event and her victory marks her third major ASP win this year.

While the women’s Swatch Girls Pro France has been completed, the Swatch Girls Pro Junior kicked off action today and competed Rounds 1 and 2 to narrow the field of under-21 girls down to 16.

Take a look at highlights of day 1 and day 2 from Swatch Girls Pro in Hossegor.

Day 1

Day 2

Narrowly defeating World No. 2 Sally Fitzgibbons in the Final in Rio over the weekend, Carissa Moore secured her third win of the 2011 ASP season. With two events left this year–the Roxy Pro in Biarritz, France, in July and the U.S. Open in Huntington in August– Carissa Moore currently reigns over the World Rankings, with Sally not far behind. Carissa rocked! Take a look at this short video- tribute to the winner!

Carissa Moore (HAW), 18, has claimed the Billabong Rio Pro, stop No. 5 of 7 on the 2011 ASP Women’s World Title Season, over Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), 20, in punchy 1 metre waves in a hard-fought Final at Barra Da Tijuca yesterday.

Moore and Fitzgibbons nearly matched scores on their opening accounts, but the young Hawaiian notched a solid 8.10 midway through the heat with polished backhand surfing on a lefthander that proved to be enough to solidify Moore’s third elite event victory of the 2011 season.

“I just went out there and had fun and to me there was no pressure in the Final,” Moore said. “I was just stoked to be in the Final regardless of how I finished. Obviously I’m happy that I won. The girls really didn’t go on those lefts, but they worked out for me today.”

Check out the video with the best surfing of the Billabong Girls Rio Pro’s final day.

Silvana Lima (BRA), 26, put on an impressive performance in front of her hometown crowd to match her best result of 2011. The talented Brazilian finished behind Carissa Moore in their Semifinals matchup and was happy to tie her best result of the season at her home event.

“I’m so excited to have matched my best result in front of my home crowd,” Lima said. “Of course I wanted to make the Final, but I’m so happy with my result and thanks to everyone for all of the support.”

Billabong Rio Pro Final Results:

1 – Carissa Moore (HAW) 14.87
2 – Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 13.80

Billabong Rio Pro Semifinals Results:
SF 1: Carissa Moore (HAW) 13.67 def. Silvana Lima (BRA) 10.33
SF 2: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 13.16 def. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 9.23

Billabong Rio Pro Quarterfinals Results:
QF 1: Silvana Lima (BRA) 13.63 def. Tyler Wright (AUS) 12.27
QF 2: Carissa Moore (HAW) 11.50 def. Courtney Conlogue (USA) 9.93
QF 3: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 12.44 def. Pauline Ado (FRA) 10.97
QF 4: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 15.10 def. Laura Enever (AUS) 9.57

Billabong Rio Pro Women’s Round 4 Results:
Heat 1: Silvana Lima (BRA) 14.33 def. Paige Hareb (NZL) 9.30
Heat 2: Courtney Conlogue (USA) 15.63 def. Alana Blanchard (HAW) 10.14
Heat 3: Pauline Ado (FRA) 12.40 def. Coco Ho (HAW) 11.03
Heat 4: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 13.84 def. Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 9.24

Billabong Rio Pro Women’s Round 3 Results:
Heat 1: Tyler Wright (AUS) 12.50, Silvana Lima (BRA) 7.14, Alana Blanchard (HAW) 1.97
Heat 2: Carissa Moore (HAW) 11.83, Courtney Conlogue (USA) 11.26, Paige Hareb (NZL) 4.66
Heat 3: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 13.17, Pauline Ado (FRA) 10.73, Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 8.00
Heat 4: Laura Enever (AUS) 11.66, Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 9.00, Coco Ho (HAW) 9.00

ASP Women’s World Title Top 5 (After Billabong Rio Pro):
1. Carissa Moore (HAW) 47,000 pts
2. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 41,650 pts
3. Tyler Wright (AUS) 30,620 pts
4. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 29,350 pts
5. Silvana Lima (BRA) 27,920 pts
Billabong Rio Pro Men’s Round 1 Match Ups:

Check out this video from the opening day: rounds 1 & 2 of the Billabong Girls Rio Pro at Barra da Tijuca!

Brazilian surfing prodigy, Peterson Crisanto, has been awarded a coveted wildcard spot into the main event of the US$500,000 Men’s Billabong Rio Pro. The 19-year-old from Paraná state will be the youngest surfer in the event and certain to draw one of the tournament’s big-name seeds in the form of Kelly Slater (USA), Jordy Smith (ZAF) or Mick Fanning (AUS).

Crisanto’s ability to consistently pull a variety of aerial maneuvers makes him a legitimate threat to the sport’s biggest names, and surfing in his first-ever ASP World Tour event in familiar waters – he has nothing to lose. The fanatical hometown Brazilian surf fraternity will be pushing him all the way!

In January on Australia’s Gold Coast, Crisanto claimed the biggest-ever first-place prize for a junior surfer when he won the Hurley Burleigh ahead of a stellar, all-international field. The third and final Billabong Rio Pro webisode focuses on Crisanto and his possible shot at glory.

The Billabong Rio Pro incorporates event number 5 on the ASP Women’s World Tour. Starring the top-17 rated female surfers and one wildcard, the tournament boasts a $120,000 prize pool. Hawaiian Carissa Moore leads the race for the 2011 World Title ahead of Australians Sally Fitzgibbons and Tyler Wright. Four-time and reigning world champion, Stephanie Gilmore, is fourth.

Roxy surfer Sally Fitzgibbons continues to dominate the ASP Women’s World Tour as she claims her second consecutive win at the Subaru Pro TSB Bank Women’s Surf Festival in New Zealand.

Charging into the finals amidst a wave of near perfect scores and flawless performances, Australian-born Fitzgibbons was high on confidence in familiar waters and it translated in her final heat against Hawaii’s Carissa Moore, who until today held the top position on the women’s tour. With today’s win, Fitzgibbons moved into the number one position on the 2011 Women’s World Tour.

“I am just so overwhelmed,” Sally stated. “It’s an incredibly feeling. I just tried to have fun out there and do my best. It’s like a dream right now.”

“Sally is on fire!” said Danielle Beck, Vice President of Roxy, Marketing “We are so excited! Sally has had winning on the mind for years and we really feel like this is her year.”

Congratulations to Sally Fitzgibbons for her incredible performance these past few weeks. Next up for the Roxy pro surfer is a trip back home for the Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic.

Roxy decided to push the famous Roxy Jam a bit further this year, invite some short board cracks and create a unique, innovative event for the elite of female surfing: the Roxy Pro.

Going down in Biarritz, France from July 11th – 17th, the traditional ASP Women’s Longboard World Championship with icons such as Jennifer Smith and Kassia Meador, is joined by a stop of the ASP Women’s World Tour, assembling the top 17 surfers, including the likes of 4times world Champ Steph Gilmore, our current cover girl Sally Fitzgibbons and wildcard Lee-Ann Curren.

The longboarders will compete in the first of two legs of the World Circuit in Biarritz on the Cote des Basques, whilst the surfers will compete in their penultimate event of the season at nearby Villa Belza, or at one of neighbouring spots, which will have a mobile structure to have the best wave conditions.

And of course they also stay true to their tradition of blending in some culture and art, with a huge free concert at the Port Vieux Beach, on Sat 16th July with Lily Wood & The Prick, The Sounds, and Pendentif as well as an art exhibition by Roxy icons Kassia Meador, Pandora Decoster and others, dedicated to surf culture and with a Californian theme.