A meeting around her family's kitchen table in January 2007 sparked Illawarra Mercury Sport Star of the Year Sally Fitzgibbons' rise to the top of the surfing world.
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The 17-year-old started last year by winning gold medals in the 800m and 1500m at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival in Sydney, but that would be her last athletics meet.
A place in the Australian athletics team for the World Youth Track and Field Championships in the Czech Republic was on the cards after Fitzgibbons had registered qualifying times.
But there was another passion calling.
At her back door at Gerroa was the surf, a place where she felt free.
Her father Martin sat Sally down at the kitchen table knowing what the decision would be.
But it was left up to Sally to choose.
"I love surfing and it wasn't really that hard to make a decision," Fitzgibbons said.
"I enjoy all my sports, but there had to be a focus and it was surfing in 2007.
"It's really paid off and we'll see where it will take me from here."
Fitzgibbons was runner-up in the 2006 ISA World Junior Surfing Championships in Brazil and went to Portugal in May last year as one of the favourites for the under 18 title
She beat fellow Aussie Laura Enever in the final at Costa de Caparica to launch an eight-month golden run. Fitzgibbons would step out of juniors and into the US Open at the legendary Huntington Beach in July and shock the surfing world by making the semi-finals.
"A third at the US Open at my first trip to Huntington isn't too bad," said the then 16-year-old, who recorded four of the top 10 wave scores for the week.
She would win what was virtually her home event, the Billabong Pro Junior Wollongong in September before securing the Australian junior series title at Bells Beach a month later.
Fitzgibbons was recognised by then in surfing circles as the next big thing, but she would burst onto the sport pages at the Beachley Classic at Queenscliff in October.
Fitzgibbons, a wild card, beat seven-time world champion Layne Beachley in the opening round.
Beachley would get her revenge in the third round, but there is nearly 20 years difference in experience - and Fitzgibbons' time would come.
She has started the new year by dominating the Billabong World Junior Championship at North Narrabean, adding a second world title to the her file, this time at the under 20 level.
"My 2007 was amazing," Fitzgibbons said.
"I have two world titles to my name and I never dreamed of getting those so quickly.
"I just had goals and set out to do anything to achieve them."
