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News Four Costa Ricans make quaterfinals at ISA Games
[Nataly Bernold by Philippe Demarsan]
Yesterday, on the 3rd day of the International Surfing Association (ISA) World Surfing Games (WSG) in Costa de Caprica, in the province of Almeda, Portugal, the Costa Rican National Surf Team stole the show
by Ellen Zoe Golden
16/10/2008:// First, Jason Torres, Luis Vindas and Jairo Pérez demonstrated outstanding skills, enough to classify for the quarterfinals of the Open category. Later in the day, in her own Heats, Nataly Bernold, the youngest surfer in this international competition with 15 years of age, repeated the same feat, and was set in the quarterfinals of the Women’s division as well. This is a new world record.
The ISA itself acknowledged the surfing: “....Costa Rican surfers were once again the talk of the beach ...” they reported.
This presentation marks a new chapter, an elevated mark for the Ticos, in the international surfing arena. The most recent achievement was in 2006, at the ISA World Surfing Games in Huntington Beach, California, when the Costa Rican National Surf Team featured one remaining surfer in 8th place at the end. The team, at that time, placed 8th place out of 32 countries. Yesterday, Costa Rica already has three surfers in the Open quarterfinals. In addition, Bernold was in the quarterfinals as well. This bodes well for a better Costa Rican Team position overall this year.
The Women’s division was the first to enter the water yesterday near 8:30 local time. Nataly won 1st place in her Heat against rivals of Argentina, Portugal and England. Then, ahead, six Heats more, team member Lisbeth Vindas made 2nd place behind the Portuguese Joana Rocha. In Round 2, Bernold managed to classify to the quarterfinals with a 2nd place finish behind Peru’s Anali Gomez and over Chantelle Rautenbach from South Africa, who came in 3rd place. Lisbeth, because of a poor selection of waves, will have to finish out the World Surfing Games in repercharge.
The Open category was, quite simply, inspired. After magnificent action on the 1st day, the Ticos maintained their high level yesterday when Torres, Vindas and Pérez passed into the quarterfinals from their respective heats. Torres was the first to enter the water, and characteristic of his game managed to build energy with two good waves that placed him 1st in a Heat that contained the highly rated Nat Young of the United States. Young came in 4th place.
Then, Luis Vindas entered a Heat full of Latin American radicals: Felipe Braz of Brazil, Rafael Pereira of Venezuela and Diego Cadena of Mexico, to whom he pushed his way forcefully to 1st place with a well selected left and a right. The rest fell to 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, respectively.
And finally, Pérez, in arguably the hardest Heat of the day for the Ticos, with surfers from Portugal, South Africa and Australia, obtained a very high score with the help of the second best wave of the day. The score was 9.3, a delight to the powerhouse surfer, who made his moves in precarious conditions.
Upon leaving the water, team members from Australia, one by one approached the Tico giving him their congratulations for the spectacular heat that had just played out. “You would have made the WCT on that one,” expressed the Technical Director of Australia to Pérez, calling him the “small giant of Latin America.”
Of the four Latinos in the Open category in quarterfinals now, three are of Costa Rica. “We are fulfilling our objectives in each presentation that we have managed to advance more and are establishing to our record. This allows us to see the future we projected and dreamed of. Today was a day we remembered why we work so hard,” affirmed Jose Ureña, Technical Director and coach of the Costa Rica National Surf Team.
Today the Tico Team is surfing repercharge rounds where Walter Gatgens and Richard Marin in the Bodyboard category will run. In addition, Lisbight Vindas in Women’s and Gilbert Brown in Open will hit the water.
Over 350 surfers from across the nation joined SAS and ABBA and paddled out at Kimmeridge Bay on International Surfing Day.
Surfers Against Sewage’s new campaign Protect Our Waves is having its first action, The Gathering, in association with local campaign group Access BroadBench Association
Surfers Against Sewage has published their new guidance for offshore renewable developers today, World Ocean Day, as the first act within the new Protect Our Waves (POW) campaign.
Clean water campaigners from Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) were joined by a mermaid in celebrating a campaign victory today, World Environment Day, with the release of the British Plastic Federation’s (BPF) Operation Clean Sweep (OCS) guidance manual.
Carlos Muñoz of Esterillos made history at this event as the Latino who went the furthest in these Heats, going all the way to Round 8 of repercharge and finishing ranked #9 in the Games Under 16.
The first representatives of the Costa Rica National Junior Surf Team entered the water today at Playa La FAE, Santa Elena, at the International Surfing Association World Junior Surfing Games.
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