Billabong welcomes international rider Anne-Flore Marxer to the team. Anne-Flore has been on the frontline of snowboarding for the past years and has had many film parts and awards to back her snowboarding skills. The French rider is going to focus on getting back-country film part for the upcoming years.

Anne-Flore fits the Billabong image perfectly. She is a true athlete with a strong and positive outlook on life. Her riding and her sense of style is a great addition to the already impressive Billabong women’s team that already counts TTR champion Jamie Anderson, X Games Silver Medalist Claudia Fliri and 3rd place in the 2008 Burton Open series Jenny Jones.

Watchout for her profile with pictures and videos very very soon on the Billabong Girls Blog ! We’ll let you know as soon as we’ve got the profile up and going !

Some news from the Billabong Girls Pro in Rio, the event we presented here on this page.

Australia’s Rebecca Woods Wins WQS Billabong Girls Pro Rio ! Brazil’s Maria Tita Tavares Claims Main Event Wildcard

Here is a quick recap of what went down during the event:

Billabong Girls Pro Rio - Barra da Tijuca; Rio de Janerio, Brazil - 4 star World Qualifying Series (WQS)

Rio de Janerio Brazil (Tuesday September 9th); Australian surfer Rebecca Woods (Copacabana, NSW) made a welcome return to the winners dais today by claiming victory in the star studded final of the 4 star World Qualifying Series (WQS) Billabong Girls Pro Rio in Brazil.

With just two minutes remaining the current world no.8 used a high scoring 8.83 ride to post her first win in over four years in the challenging 1.5 metre beach break waves of Barra da Tijuca in Rio de Janeiro.

Twenty-three year-old Woods defeated reigning world champion Stephanie Gilmore (Aus), former Billabong world junior champion and current world no.7 Jessi Miley-Dyer (Aus) and 2000 WQS champion Maria Tita Tavares (Brz).
“I got heaps of waves on my head when I was paddling out and I was thinking, “Please God send me a good one”, and it came,” said an elated Woods.
“The final was really hard and it was my first time facing world champions in the same heat. That definitely gives me a lot of confidence for the world tour event here in Rio and good value for my victory,” added Woods, who won USD3.500 prize money and jumped to no.2 on the WQS rankings.

Pocket rocket and crowd favourite Tavares used her local knowledge for an early heat lead before current world no.1 Gilmore carved her way to the front, only to be headed in the dying minutes by Woods.

Former world ranked competitor Tavares claimed the coveted wildcard into the Billabong Girls Pro Rio women’s world tour event with her fourth placing as the only finalist not included in the worlds top 17.

The experienced Brazilian has drawn Gilmore and Melanie Bartels (Haw) in round one of the main event. Fresh from her world tour victory in France Gilmore was gracious in defeat stating, “Rebecca got the best wave and won.”
“It’s my first time in Rio, and I like the waves here” added Gilmore

Woods will take on fellow Australian Amee Donohoe and Julia De La Rosa (Peru) in the opening heat of round one when the main event commences, which could be as soon as tomorrow.

The waiting period for the fourth of eight women’s world tour events begins September 10th and runs through to the 18th. The tournament only requires three days to be finalized allowing organizers to use the best possible surf conditions for the worlds best surfers.

Billabong Girls Pro Rio is sanctioned by ASP (Association of Surfing Professionals), CBS (Brazilian Surf Confederation) and FESERJ (State of Rio de Janeiro Surf Federation), sponsoring by Gol airline, co sponsor by Nova Schin, Nixon, Von Zipper and Kustom, and the support from Star Point, Hot Water, Toca do Lobo, Kyw Boardstore, Litoral 655, Overboard, Pacific Beach, Ombak, Promenade Casa Del Mar and Mais Link and the collaboration from Rio de Janeiro Council and the Government of Rio de Janeiro State.

BILLABONG GIRLS PRO RIO WQS –FINAL:
1st.Rebecca Woods (AUS) champion with 13.53 points – US$ 3.500 and 1.500 points on WQS
2nd. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 11.33 – US$ 1.900 and 1.290 points
3rd. Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS) 9.13 – US$ 1.600 and 1.095 points
4th Tita Tavares (BRA) 8.34 – US$ 1.500 and 1.005 points

Billabong is proud to announce its continued sponsorship of pro snowboarder sensation Jamie Anderson, re-signing a multi-year contract. It all happened in Irvine, California USA on the 10th of June.

This year Jamie Anderson proved to be without a doubt one of the most talented female snowboarders on the competition circuit. She rides with unmatched style and precision at every event. Her highest accolades include claiming her second Women’s Slopestyle Gold Medal at Winter X Games and winning the 2007/2008 TTR Women’s Title.

“We are so excited to continue our relationship with Jamie”, says Billabong Brand Director, Candy Harris. “Last season was amazing ending with her TTR win, we are looking forward to a strong season from her next year.”

As part of Anderson’s new deal, Billabong designers have begun collaborating with Jamie on the development of her signature outerwear line to be released Fall of 2009. Billabong looks forward to supporting and celebrating Anderson’s stardom.

“Billabong is such a great company to be a part of, I’m really excited about my new signature outerwear line coming out” says Anderson. “I’m just excited to be a part of everything with them. Billabong is awesome!”

Paige Hareb (New Zealand/Taranaki) won the Drug Aware Pro
at Margaret River in Western Australia today. She is the first New Zealand
surfer to ever win a major ASP World Surfing event and the 17 year old did
it comfortably defeating South Africa’s Rosanne Hodge.

Watch the event live via www.drugawarepro.com – live Webcast which
includes vision, audio and scores

Jamie Anderson is the new TTR World champ ! Billabong’s Jamie Anderson is the youngest ever TTR World Snowboard Tour Champion

Billabong rider Jamie Anderson wins the coveted Swatch TTR World Champion Trophy. At the age of 17, Jamie from South Lake Tahoe has clearly established herself as a leader in the woman’s snowboarding.

Jamie becomes the TTR world champion after an amazing competitive year, she placed in the Top 3 at every major TTR Slopestyle event this season winning the European Open, and the Chicken Jam securing her lead in the TTR race.

Jamie has showcased solid and consistent riding throughout the year, The X-games Gold Medalist has put another prestigious trophy under her belt.

Congratulations from everyone at Billabong!

Fast facts about Jamie:

Dob : September 13, 1990
From : South Lake Tahoe (USA)
Sponsors : Billabong, Electric, Grenade, Salomon.
Youngest TTR World champion ever crowned.
2008 Winter X-games Gold Medalist (Slopestyle)

07/08 season highlights:

1st PLACE: TTR 6-Star Burton European Open (slopestyle)
TTR 6-Star Roxy Chicken Jam USA (slopestyle)
TTR 6-star O’Neill Evolution in Davos (quarterpipe)
TTR 4 star Garnier Fructis Australian Open (slopestyle)
2ND PLACE: TTR 6-Star Burton US Open (slopestyle)
TTR 6-Star Roxy Chicken Jam Austria (slopestyle)
TTR 5-Star Nissan X-Trail Nippon Open (slopetyle)

Fast facts about Billabong Girls Snowboarding

Billabong Snowboard girls team finishes at the top of the TTR brand ranking.
Jenny Jones (UK) = 6th place
Claudia Fliri (AUT) = 9th place