As the 2013 Women's World Tour is on the home stretch with only a few events left, many of the girls are hard at work to prepare for a race to the finish line in the hopes of clinching a world title. We had the opportunity to interview
Sally Fitzgibbons this past week to discuss what it's like to be a pro surfer. Enjoy!
Being a professional surfer is a very time consuming career between Surf Contests, Trips, Photoshoots and other commitments. How do you balance your career and social life? Do you find that many of your good friends are on the World Tour since you travel around the world together?
It is a pretty crazy, fast moving lifestyle. I feel right at home having such a busy schedule as I have always been naturally active and trying to do a million things in one day. I love that Surfing provides that holistic lifestyle..I'm able to feed my competitive hunger and work hard to clinch a World Title and on the other hand I can do trips and lifestyle shoots with my sponsors. Adventuring around the world looking for that next best wave. I've made great friends World wide doing what I do and it is an awesome feeling to be able to stop over in a different country and have a good friend to go surf with.
What is the best thing you have ever bought with the money you have won at a surf contest?
When I won my first pro junior event I went halves with my oldest brother and bought a Jet ski. It was so much fun to go towing with my brothers around Gerroa but we sank it so many times in the surf eventually we had to sell it as it was costing too much money.
The US Open of Surfing is one of the biggest surf contests every year, in terms of the amount of people who come to watch all the action in Huntington Beach, CA. What is it like being a surfer in the contest at such a large event? Is it harder to focus? Do you get fewer warmup waves in the morning cause the lines are already crowded before the sun comes up?
The Line ups are always super crowded around any World Tour event, which definitely makes it difficult to practice. But you get use to it and it makes you hungrier to get your share of waves. Competing at an event like the US Open is one of the most exciting feelings. It's the closest we get to competing in a stadium, just with the way the crowd runs right along the beach and then out along the iconic Huntington Pier. It creates an awesome atmosphere and it was incredible to win the event in 2011, it felt like I crowd surfed all the way back to the podium there were that many people watching the final.
What is it like to be a role model and inspiration to so many young girls who see what you have accomplished so far and want to become a professional surfer as well?
It is hard for me to see myself as that role model for aspiring young girls, as I still feel like a young grom myself. I do take a lot of pride in the decisions I make in life and I give everything 100% of my time and effort. I like to promote a really Happy healthy lifestyle and that being active and exercising puts you in such a creative mindset to tackle any of life's challenges.
This year the Men's World Tour has 3 more events than the Women's World Tour. Do you hope that they add more events for the women in or do you feel like 7 events is a good length?
I definitely feel the Women's World Tour needs a few more events in some amazing locations for waves. The Tour is at it's strongest it's ever been Talent wise and I believe we all deserve those great platforms to keep improving our surfing and pushing the performance level through the roof. I think the sport is going to keep growing and pushing more and more into that mainstream spotlight over the next few years. Who knows wave pool surfing might bring the sport inland and showcase it to the rest of the world.
