Carissa Moore was touted as a world champion when she hadn’t even hit double digits. She was a child prodigy and as such had been groomed in the perfect surf of Hawaii from a young age to become a great surfer.

She burst onto the scene under the umbrella of a huge Nike endorsement and was immediately on fire. She went onto win her first world title in 2011, had a sticky year on a much reduced World Tour in 2012 but came back to win in 2013.

Snapper Rocks is one of her favourite waves and she has a good record here, winning in 2011. This year though she needs to get out of the gates fast as it’s not just Stephanie Gilmore she needs to watch out for with a raft of women behind her. But she’s our pick to take out this first event.

Carissa Moore’s 2013 winning year: