FITZROY, Taranaki/New Zealand — O‘ahu’s Carissa Moore, 17, a senior at Punahou High School and a 2010 ASP Women’s World Tour rookie, claimed the 2010 TSB Bank Women’s Surf Festival over Australia’s Sally Fitzgibbons, 19, in pumping offshore barrels at
FITZROY, Taranaki/New Zealand — O‘ahu’s Carissa Moore, 17, a senior at Punahou High School and a 2010 ASP Women’s World Tour rookie, claimed the 2010 TSB Bank Women’s Surf Festival over Australia’s Sally Fitzgibbons, 19, in pumping offshore barrels at Fitzroy Beach, Friday.
The third stop on the 2010 ASP Women’s World Tour season, the TSB Bank Women’s Surf Festival enjoyed a veritable cornucopia of conditions throughout the six-day event window, culminating in exciting fashion in front of a capacity crowd at the primary site, according to a press release from the ASP.
Moore wasted little time in the hard-fought final, posting an excellent 9.33 out of a possible 10 on her opening wave for a flurry of electrifying backhand surfing. She was quick to back it up, lighting up another running lefthander with ferocity and a complete repertoire of maneuvers for 9.83, the highest heat total of the event, a 19.16 out of a possible 20, as well as the victory.
“The conditions definitely turned on for us this afternoon and I knew I couldn’t leave Sally (Fitzgibbons) a lot of room to maneuver,” Moore said Friday. “She has been getting the highest scores every round and she’s so dangerous. I just felt like I was building momentum throughout the event and fortunately peaked in the final.”
In a show of unprecedented generosity, Moore chose to donate her $15,000 first prize winnings to the local Waitara Bar Boardriders Club, a gesture that received undulating support from the thousands in attendance.
“I fell in love with New Zealand and I’m fortunate enough to have great support from my family and my sponsors and that puts me in a position to do things like this,” Moore said. “The Haka that the Waitara Bar Boardriders Club performed before the event was beautiful and they’ve really opened up their community and waves to us. For this, I am very thankful.”
Following a relatively slow start to 2009 with two equal ninth-place results, Moore, who has long been considered one of the most promising young surfers on tour, was growing frustrated with her ninth-place ranking. Friday’s win vaults the young Hawaiian to ASP Women’s World No. 6 and establishes her as a legitimate threat to the 2010 ASP Women’s World Title.
“I wasn’t very happy with the start of my year,” Moore said. “I expected more out of myself and couldn’t figure out what was going on. Things really fell into place for me here in New Zealand and it’s a great result for my campaign this year. I’m really excited and looking forward to Sydney.”
Despite Moore’s domineering start to the final, Fitzgibbons fought back admirably collecting a 7.50 and an 8.67, but it would not be enough to overtake Moore.
“It’s frustrating but Carissa (Moore) just went mad in the final,” Fitzgibbons said. “The waves were really good, and it was an exciting heat. I’m disappointed to not get the win, but it’s still a good result for me.”
The runner-up finish matches Fitzgibbons’ career best and moves her from fifth to second on the ASP Women’s World Tour rankings, positioning her for a run at the prestigious ASP Women’s World Title throughout the remainder of the year.
“It matches my best result and I’m sure I’ll be happy with it down the road, but to come so close and not win still stings right now,” Fitzgibbons said. “I feel like I am surfing well and surfing smart and it will happen eventually. To be second on the rankings now is great for me and the goal is to reign in Steph (Gilmore) over the next couple events.”
Highlights from the TSB Bank Women’s Surf Festival are available www.nzsurffestival.co.nz.
The next stop on the 2010 ASP Women’s World Tour will be the Commonwealth Back Beachley Classic held at Dee Why Point in Sydney, Australia starting today through Monday.
For more information, see www.aspworldtour.com.
