TAVARUA, Fiji (Saturday, May 30, 2015) - The world's best female surfers have arrived in the remote South Pacific for the fifth stop of the 2015 Samsung Galaxy WSL Championship Tour (CT), the Fiji Women's Pro, scheduled from May 31 - June 5, 2015.
The Top 17 were welcomed today on the island of Tavarua in advance of the start of the competitive window tomorrow. Held at the world-class reef passes of Cloudbreak and Restaurants, the event will recommence this season's electric hunt for the world surfing crown.
Two-time World Champion Carissa Moore (HAW) heads into the event as No. 1 on the Jeep Leaderboard following a sensational run of form in 2015, claiming back-to-back wins at the opening events of the year on the Gold Coast and at Bells Beach as well as a 2nd and a 3rd in Margaret River and Rio de Janeiro respectively. Moore will face wildcard and reigning WSL Women's Junior Champion, Mahina Maeda (HAW), in Round 1 along with Dimity Stoyle (AUS), who knocked Moore out in the Quarterfinals in Fiji last year.
"It's amazing to be back in Fiji," Moore said. "The community is so incredibly supportive of what we do and the wave is one of the best we get to enjoy each season. The forecast looks great and I'm looking forward to an amazing event."
Courtney Conlogue (USA), into her fifth season amongst the world's elite, is coming into the Fiji Women's Pro as the form surfer of the moment with back-to-back wins at Margaret River and Rio de Janeiro. Sidelined with an injury in 2014, the young Californian is in the middle of her best title campaign yet. Conlogue will match-up against European threat Johanne Defay (FRA) and replacement surfer Keely Andrew (AUS) in the opening round of competition.
"I'm looking forward to putting on my jersey in Fiji," said Conlogue. "I've always thought that this location belonged on the World Championship Tour for the women. As for my ankle injury from last year; it's feeling great. I had an amazing support team that worked closely with me during my rehabilitation."
"I look at each event with fresh eyes and an open attitude," Conlogue continued. "We still have 5 events left on the tour after Fiji. There's still a lot of travel and competition left in the season. I'll be preparing for each of them and competing for a solid result. I still want to be in the world title conversation near the end of the season."
Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), defending event winner, is in need of a return to form in Fiji to put her back in World Title contention after an uncharacteristically slow start to 2015. Fitzgibbons will battle Laura Enever (AUS) and Coco Ho (HAW) in Round 1.
"It's awesome to have the event back here in Fiji," Fitzgibbons said. "The waves are super challenging and there is so much to learn. It inspires me to come back year after and it's such a bonus to be able to test yourself against the world's best here in the Fiji Women's Pro. The excitement and the challenge is something that really energised me in my last year's performance and I will be working hard to regain that winning feeling once again."
"It's been unfortunate to not have those solid results I'm after so far this year, especially after working hard on different areas of my surfing and feeling some big jumps in my performance in and out of the contest jersey," Fitzgibbons continued. "After so many years on Tour I am really confident and comfortable with where I'm at and I can't wait to have some results flow my way and I can charge up that leaderboard."
Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), reigning six-time WSL Champion, has withdrawn from the Fiji Women's Pro due to a knee injury sustained in Western Australia in April. She will be replaced by Keely Andrew (AUS).
Surfline, official forecaster for the WSL CT, are calling for:
S/SSE swell winds down the first few days of the waiting period as a healthy SW groundswell builds in and peaks. Stronger winds from the SSE/SE to start, trending more Easterly and lightening considerably midweek as SW groundswell holds. Possible larger SW swell late week.
Following the completion of the Fiji Women's Pro, the world's best male surfers will take on Cloudbreak and Restaurants for the Fiji Pro from June 7 to 19.
The Fiji Women's Pro will be webcast LIVE on WorldSurfLeague.com. The world's best surfing will also be broadcast LIVE on Fox Sports in Australia, MCS Extreme in France, EDGE Sports in China, South Korea, Malaysia and other territories and on Globo TV in Brazil.
Fiji Women's Pro Round 1 Match-Ups:
Heat 1: Lakey Peterson (USA), Tatiana Weston-Webb (HAW), Alessa Quizon (HAW)
Heat 2: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), Coco Ho (HAW), Laura Enever (AUS)
Heat 3: Carissa Moore (HAW), Dimity Stoyle (AUS), Mahina Maeda (HAW)
Heat 4: Courtney Conlogue (USA), Johanne Defay (FRA), Keely Andrew (AUS)
Heat 5: Tyler Wright (AUS), Silvana Lima (BRA), Sage Erickson (USA)
Heat 6: Malia Manuel (HAW), Bianca Buitendag (ZAF), Nikki Van Dijk (AUS)