Costa Rica attracts national spotlight

Country gets first WSL professional QS 

World Surf League QS will reward 3,000 points to the winner

Followers of surfing are well aware of the two international organizations that promote the sport. The International Surf Association (ISA) organizes team competitions for amateurs who get to participate because of their local federation contest results in individual countries. The World Surf League (WSL) is for professionals—the best in the world—and the organization not only produces contests but supports and manages their athletes.

And this month, both the WSL and the ISA announced big news for Costa Rica.

For the first time since the Association of Surf Professionals (ASP) morphed into the larger WSL, Costa Rica will host a Qualifying Series contest.  These qualifying rounds of the prestigious championship tour will take place October 5 to 9 in Esterillos, which is a perfect location because of its vast open beach and proximity to necessary infrastructure. The Costa Rica Pro: A WSL QS3000 Event, featuring men and women’s competition, will be produced by Orange Wave Productions, co-founded by national champions and international surf ambassadors Diego Naranjo and Lisbeth Vindas. Another founder is Walter Brenes, a well-respected Tico environmental lawyer.

During the 5 days of the event, an estimated 46,000 spectators will watch 7 to 10 hours a day of  the best surfers in the world, visit sponsorship tents, listen to concerts and more. Organizers have estimated that the Costa Rica Pro will bring $11 million into the country’s coffers.

Breaking it down further: This event will reward 3,000 points to the winner, adding to their ranking on the QS chart. The Top 10 surfers in the WSL ranking at the end of the year will roll over, and “qualify” to compete on the WSL Championship Tour (CT).  So, you see, the QS is a big deal for Ticos, who have never had a representative on the CT.

Costa Ricans already on the QS include Noe Mar McGonagle (Pavones), Carlos Muñoz (Esterillos homeboy), Jason Torres (Jaco), Tomas King (Tamarindo) and Federico Pilurzu (Tamarindo). Of course, we can expect these guys, as well as the QS ladies Emily Gussoni (Jaco) and Leilani McGonagle (Pavones) to paddle out in Esterillos.  "I really want to make it to the CT," Munoz said after participating in an Australian QS. "I've been aiming to make it for almost four years now so this year I'm feeling really good and more knowledgeable than ever."

Last year, Carlos finished #34, while Noe Mar ended at #41.  Pretty amazing to have had two Costa Ricans in the Top 50 of the 2015 QS rankings.

One of the nicest aspects of the upcoming Costa Rica Pro: A WSL QS3000 Event is that there will be trial heats where locals can vie for spots in the main Rounds. What a great opportunity for the pros to see just how good are more of the local talent, those who are only restricted from the other QS dates due to lack of financial support.

Costa Rica’s current #1 ranked surfer on the Circuito Nacional de Surf kolbi is Anthony Fillingim. He is planning to be one of those surfers to participate in trial heats of the Costa Rica Pro. Beforehand, his itinerary will include a handful of international QS dates including the Van’s Pro, which takes place August 22-28 in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and maybe another in the States or Europe. “I am competing in (the Costa Rica Pro: A WSL QS3000 Event) because I want to represent the Malpais and Santa Teresa area and I also want to get a good result for the points and ranking.”

World Surfing Championship returns to Costa Rica

Meanwhile, the ISA has cut a deal with the Federacion de Surf de Costa Rica to bring the World Surfing Championships back to this country. On August 7 to 14, Costa Rica will hit the water in Jaco to defend its world title, won last year at the championships in Nicaragua.

"This is a proud day for ISA and I hope for the people of Costa Rica, for the government, the private sector and the Federation of Surf. This is the culmination of a process of work of all involved. Costa Rica is home to defend the title they won last year and this is a great moment for the sport, “said Fernando Aguerre, ISA President, via a video at a press conference this month in San Jose.

As I write, the Federacion de Surf de Costa Rica is working on preparations to welcome 30 or more country teams. This event is supported by the Ministry of Sport, the Costa Rican Institute of Sport and Recreation (ICODER), the Municipality of Garabito and the production company RPMTV.  You may remember the last time the championships took place in Costa Rica; that was July 2009 in Playa Hermosa, and over 100,000 people watched 300 athletes from five continents.  Estimates of $2 million were brought into the Tico economy for that one.

Hosting both the Costa Rica Pro: A WSL QS3000 Event and the ISA World Surfing Championship will be more steps toward the country’s validation as one of the best surfing spots in the world. Already, ICT (Costa Rica Tourism Bureau) estimates that 20% of the tourists who come to Costa Rica, are here for the surf.

Muñoz nominated for Pipeline bomb ride

Last February, Carlos Muñoz head into a Backdoor barrel in Hawaii and after a full eight seconds inside, flew out. Not only was he stoked, but so were the crowd on the beach, who cheered from every house from Off-the-Wall to Ehukai Beach Park. Now that wave, which you can see here http://www.surfline.com/wave-of-the-winter/2015-2016/?page=entries&surfer=Carlos%20Munoz,  joins nine other entries including those from Jamie O’Brien and Mikey O’Shaughnessy in the O’Neill Wave of the Winter contest.

The event celebrates the accomplishments of surfers, 19 and younger, who standout with performances on the North Shore in the time period of November through February. The breakthrough performance winner receives $5,000, while the Overall Performance winner will receive $10,000 for their skill and community activities (another $10,000 will be donated in their name to a non-profit of the winner’s choice).

Muñoz will be judged by Gerry Lopez, Pancho Sullivan, Ross Williams and Shawn Briley.

Bonomelli, Vindas come out in top in Limon 

For the second time in his career, Angelo Bonomelli, the Puerto Viejo native, won a date on the Circuito Nacional kolbi presented by Adrenaline Rush. Last month, in front of about 2,000 people in Playa Cieneguita near Limon, the Italian-Tico won the first-ever date at this beach called the PAPIOLAS Surfing Challenge. The win pushed him up to #2 in the year’s overall Open rankings.

To win a second championship date is always good, but this kid did so by scoring a perfect 10 on a massive air in the finals that definitely challenged him because it included Anthony Fillingim (currently ranked #1 in the Circuito), and the Jefferson brothers Anderson and Tacson.

“I was really surprised by the waves Cieneguita gave us today, which were unbelievable,” Bonomelli said. “I had never gotten a 10 in a final and that makes me very happy because the final was really tough.”

After getting a wakeup call on her home break in the Circuito’s Jaco date when Tamarindo’s Zulay Martinez won the Women’s category there, national Women’s champion Lisbeth Vindas  was able to step up to her familiar 1^st place podium spot at the PAPIOLAS Surfing Challenge.

“I was proud of Zuley because she selected the best waves, and was surfing good, made good maneuvers and was connecting with the ocean. I’m happy to see her improvement and that she was more aggressive,” Vindas said of the Jaco contest. “This year for me I’m more relaxed, just enjoying my heats. I’m not worrying too much about winning, even helping the other girls if I can.  The little girls are surfing pretty good. Now we are up to the point where everybody is doing good, selecting good, and practicing good wave strategy. I’m just relaxing and enjoying myself, if I win I win.”

And she did in Limon.

Part of the reason that Lisbeth is less stressed in the water is the fact that she is spending a lot of time focused on other things in her life. She’s a mom to Yulian, working on the Costa Rica QS, and has been doing a lot of promotional work for her sponsors. In addition, she has filmed a bunch of television commercials including those for Tico businesses Banco Nacional, Aerocasilles and another upcoming advertisement for AM PM stores.

12-times national women's champ back on top in Limon

The next date of the Circuito Nacional kolbi presented by Adrenaline Rush moves to Playa Bejuco on April 16 and 17.

Results of the PAPIOLAS Surfing Challenge:

Open

1. Angelo Bonomelli (Puerto Viejo)

2. Anthony Fillingim (Santa Teresa)

3. Anderson Tascón (Herradura)

4. Jefferson Tascón (Herradura)

Women’s

1. Lisbeth Vindas (Jaco)

2. Coral Wiggins (Avellanas)

3. Emily Gussoni (Jaco)

4. Lady Meek (Dominical)

Junior

1. José Joaquín López (Jaco)

2. Dennis Picado (Jaco)

3. Oscar Urbina (Puerto Viejo)

4. Lorenzo Cordoba (Puerto Viejo)

Junior Women’s

1. Emily Gussoni (Jaco)

2. Candelaria Resano (Nicaragua)

3. Paulina Summers (Puerto Viejo)

4. Zulay Martínez (Tamarindo)

Boys

1. Oscar Urbina (Puerto Viejo)

2. Dean Vandewalle (Tamarindo)

3. Axel Castro (Cieneguita)

4. Cedrik McCrakin (Puerto Viejo)

Girls

1. Coral Wiggins (Avellanas)

2. Paulina Summers (Puerto Viejo)

3. Valentina Resano (Nicaragua)

4. Zulay Martínez (Tamarindo)

Grommet 

1. Dean Vandewalle (Tamarindo)

2. Samuel Reidy (Dominical)

3. Kenneth Peralta (Jaco)

4. Isauro Elizondo (Panamá)

Minigrommet

1. Axel Castro (Cieneguita)

2. Kalani Abrahao (Tamarindo)

3. Ethan Hollander (Dominical)

4. Ziggy Myrie (Jaco)

5. Zac Barger

Minigrommet Girls

1. Auxiela Ryan (Puerto Viejo)

2. Danielle Guzmán (Jaco)

3. Keislin Pereira (Cieneguita)

4. Valentina Resano (Nicaragua)

Circuito Guanacaste heads into the Final Stretch with King on top

It looks like there’s no stopping Tomas King’s run to become the champion of the Circuito de Guanacaste Surf presented by Otis Eyewear and Freestyle Watches. With ANOTHER 1^st place win, this time a few weeks ago in Avellanas’ COPA Lola’s, King now has a podium visit in each of the four dates this season, 2 at the top spot and a 2^nd and 3^rd place as well. He has 3,545 points, nearly 1,000 more than the omnipresent, Angelo Bonomelli.  Each competitor will add up their 4 best dates, discarding the least impressive score.

“I’m thrilled with my performance on this championship and even more for the good quality of waves that I’ve faced. Now, I’m super focused on the finals next month,” said King.

The finals for the Circuito de Guanacaste Surf will be COPA Hotel Playa Negra May 14 and 15.

Results for COPA Lolas:

 Open
1. Tomas King
2. Anthony Filligam
3. Jason Torres
4. Ramon Tailani

Open Women
1. Valentina Resano
2. Serena Nava
3. Calendaria Resano
4. Emily Gussoni

Masters
1. Trey Brownell
2. Alex Gomez
3. Jeff Allen
4. Fabian Sanchez

Juniors
1. Tiago Carrique
2. Sean Foerster
3. Malakai Martinez
4. Jose Lopez

Boys
1. Tiago Carrique
2. Aldo Chirinos
3. Dean Vandewalle
4. Francisco Coronado

Girls
1. Valentina Resano
2. Serena Nava
3. Zulay Martinez
4. Calendaria Resano

Mixed Groms
1. Kalani Abrahao
2. Axel Castro
3. Candelaria Resano
4. Valentina Resano

Longboard
1. Alex Gomez
2. Dorian Torres
3. Victor Stclair
4. Omar Cruz

Stars visit Costa Rica for its surf 

In the past month, we’ve had a few famous faces hitting the waves here in Costa Rica.  

Out in Avellanas, photographer Jorgelina Agramunt of Avellanas Surf Photos got a nice surprise while her lens scanned the horizon. There was Kassia Meador, champion pro longboarder and the gal the New York Times called the “queen of noseriding.”

Reported Agramunt: “I could spot her, she stood out in the lineup. I can say she was surfing with a smile on her face the whole time, and she was really approachable and nice. I talked to her at the end of her session. She had a videographer with her. She just mentioned that she loved the time she spent here and that she was going to be back.”

In Malpais, model Gisele Bundchen and her football hero hubby Tom Brady surfed the waves out front of their Costa Rica home. The couple are no stranger to our country, as they exchanged vows here years ago on the beach near Florblanca Hotel.  Check out their moves.

Gisele Bundchen not just a supermodel