The Roxy Jam Biarritz is kicking off today and we'll be bringing you updates on the event through out the week. Keep your eyes on this post as we'll be updating it throughout the day as the news happens. Currently the round one heats are taking place and the surf is looking messy and windblown, and the wind is onshore.
10.32am So far Mary Osborne has come first in her heat, so will progress straight to round three, but Kassia Meador will have to battle it out in round two after only coming second in her heat. Aussie Chelsea Williams also failed to win her heat, so will also have to surf in round two. Last year's champion, Schuyler McFerran, is up next in heat eight. Full heat results are available here and you too can watch the event live here.
10.42.am Last years winner Schuyler McFerran has started her heat. She scores a 6.75 for her first wave, taking her straight into first place in her heat....
Keep reading for more updates...
10.56.am Schuyler McFerran increases her lead with a 8.75 score on her fourth wave. She's now way ahead of the other girls in her heat, Coline Menard and Malia Fuertes.
11.05am Defending champion Schuyler McFerran wins her heat with a 15.50 score and glides through to the third round.
11.21am Heat nine is pretty uneventful so far, with none of the participants Jennifer Smith, Melanie Fosse or Kelly Coward scoring above a 5 for their waves. Jennifer Smith is currently in first place, despite Melanie Fosse getting seven rides so far! There's still seven minutes to go, and it looks like it could easily all change, especially for second and third place.
11.31am Jennifer Smith goes through with a score of 12.15, despite second place surfer Melanie Fosse clocking up ten scores. Next up is Claire Karabatsos, Clemence Godinaud and Kelia Moniz.
11.37am Kelia Moniz, one of the surfers in heat ten is only 13! She's even got her own blog. Check it out here. Here's what she said about her arrival in Biarritz...
My mom and I arrived in Biarritz about 3 hours ago and it has been a really long trip here. We had a 5 hour flight from Hawaii to LA... a 6 hour layover in LA... jumped back on the plane to Paris that took 10 hours... and then had another 5 hour lay over in Paris... got back on the plane for another 1 1/2 to Biarritz. And now I just got out of the water from a fast little session with Kassia. The waves are really bad! It is like 2 feet and howling on shore winds. But other then that the town is beautiful and we are having a great time.
So far she's in the lead with an overall score of 9.50, obviously the conditions aren't holding her back too much!
11.48am These girls make paddling look so effortless! Oh to have their arm muscles!
11.56am Hawaiian Kelia Moniz held onto her lead with a score of 10.90 and will advance to the third round. Random Kelia fact - her favourite smell is Ralph Lauren Blue Water perfume.
12.01pm Happy afternoon! We're now on heat eleven and Tori Gilkerson, Kelly Sloan and Yuko Shimajiri are currently in the water. Last years winner Schuyler McFerran has the highest wave score of the event so far - 8.75.
12.29pm Yuko Shimajiri from Japan won heat eleven, and now Leah Dawnson, Claire Dereux and Angela Bauer are battling it out for a chance to go straight through to the third round. Angela Bauer has yet to get a good wave, but she is in Guiness Book of World Records as one of the 42 surfers to ride the same wave simultaneously at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil!
1.23pm The waves are pretty dire! The girls in the current heat, Kelly Nicely, Gaelle Szymkowiak and Marie Vigne, are spending a lot of time waiting for that elusive wave. As for the last two heats Leah Dawnson and Emma Neuschwanger were the surfers to go through to the third round and miss out on the instant death second round. I'm looking forward to heat 15 (next) where Hawaiian surfer and Roxy rider Crystal Dzigas is up against the only Brit in the competition, Candice O'Donnell. Good luck Candice!
1.40pm Yay Candice is up! Oh, now she's down! Good start, though.
1.43pm Crystal Dzigas gets her first ride of the heat, crashing out on a attempt to get to the nose, but scoring a 4.50 putting her into first place. Candice O'Donnell is now up on her second wave, still pretty short but at 2.40 an improvement on her first score of 1.00. She's in third place behind Myriam Imaz of Spain.
1.52pm It's now high tide in Biarritz, causing all sorts of problems with backwash for the girls in heat 15. If you want to read more about Candice O'Donnell, check out the special summer Edition of Surf Girl, where Candice is interviewed. She's also a body boarder, in case you didn't know! Crystal Dzigas is now leading by quite a big margin with a combined score of 11.25 for her two best rides.
1.56pm There's still six minutes left but it looks like Crystal Dzigas is likely to maintain her lead. If you'd like to see more of Crystal, check out her long boarding in the new Roxy movie, Shimmer.
2.04pm Sure enough, Crystal Dzigas posts a final score of 7.50 and wins the heat. The final heat of the day now underway. Selby Riddle, Nathalie Destandau and Sabrina Olas are the last to surf.
2.27pm I can hear a British bloke commenting in the background. They sound like a cross between Ed Leigh and Tim Warwood. Hang on, perhaps it is Ed Leigh. He gets around a bit, eh?
2.30pm All done! Sabrina Olas goes through. Come back tomorrow for the instant death second round. Everyone who came second or third today will be surfing tomorrow for their chance to get into the third round.
