Fitz Fires But Fizzles

Fitzgibbons is no rookie. She won the Rip Curl Women’s Pro at Bells Beach and the Billabong Pro Rio last year. She was the 2012 world champ runner up, and no stranger to the podium. Sally is small of stature but pulls some man-sized moves. Not shy of a big drop, she always looks for the big hit off the top.

She is one of the new crop of surfers who are nice to look at because they rip with strong, smooth approaches and yet are are light on their feet. Add into that mix Steph, Laura, Carissa, Tyler and Bianca. They surf in way that inspires. As you can see, I’m quite a fan, and people like Sally have made many people out there fans of women surfing.

Part of Sally’s levels of performance has been as a result of serious training, coaching, and constantly working on her head game. She’s worked on the mind games that go down in a heat, as well as the hussling and the psycho wars. She has learned to remain calm, and stay loose on her feet. Sally always looks confident and determined.

Yet she lost the final of the Roxy Pro at Snapper Rocks with a rookie error. An error that, when viewed through the magic of the webcast replays, she is going to kick herself.

The final was going both ways, with Sally and Tyler surfing hard and fast. Both looked good, with Sally linking her turns, and Tyler cutting loose with some big off the tops. Towards the end of the heat Sally held the lead, albeit a small lead, against the impressive and on-form Tyler Wright. A good-looking set came through, and Tyler paddled hard for a set wave. Inexplicably, she didn’t catch it, and in the process she lost priority. The priority reverted to Sally, and with 2 minutes to go and holding onto the lead, she was in prime position to win the final. Should Tyler paddle for a wave, all Sally would need to do was drop in on her, and claim the wave through her priority. She just needed to keep Tyler off any wave for 2 minutes, and she had the power to do it.

A small little runner bounced off the rocks and gifted itself to Tyler. Sally was in position to paddle hard and catch it, thus blocking Tyler, and the heat would have ticked out. Instead, Sally allowed Tyler to go. The wave opened up, and Tyler blasted it all the way through to the inside for a biggest single wave score of the final – a 9.2.

The crowd groaned collectively. They gnashed their teeth. There might have been some wailing. Coaches and trainers looked down at their feet. The Wright family danced a jig.

It wasn’t over however, and Sally picked up one final wave. She needed a huge score at this stage, a nine plus, but she didn’t get it and the win went to a very deserving and lucky and savvy Tyler Wright.

Some say that Tyler was over-scored on her final wave, but whatever, it’s moot, Sally gave her the victory on a nice and shiny plate. Done deal.

It’s all about priority.