South Africa is the new Masters World Champion
ISA World Master Surfing Championships
The South African team is the new Masters World Champion at the Porta del Sol ISA World Masters Surfing Championships, which finished today in excellent barrelling 10 to 15 feet faces, breaking at the beautiful Marías Beach, Rincón.
Juan Ashton from Puerto Rico, along with Magoo de la Rosa from Peru and Chris Knutsen from South Africa obtained gold medals in the Masters, Grand Masters and Kahunas divisions respectively.
As it was forecasted, the powerful northwest swell arrived at Rincon’s coast with no mercy, making the last stages of the event to be carried out in big conditions, with the athletes choosing larger boards in order to get the best out of the waves.
The last two rounds of the repercharge and the event finals were held today. Puerto Rico that was leading the nation’s ranking and had all its team in the competition, lost four athletes on the way to the finals. But it still clung to the battle, head-to-head against South Africa until the last heat of the day, which gave the Africans the Masters Team World Championship.
The first final to be held was in the Masters division. Juan Ashton was the leader of the heat from the beginning to the end. He selected his waves correctly and attacked them with good off the lips and cutbacks, to be scored 9.25 and 7.25 points in his best two. He beat Tahitian Heifara Tahutini –second-, Brazilian Wagner Pupo –third- and South African John McCarthy –fourth-.
Once he was out of the water, a happy Ashton said: “It feels really great to win in Puerto Rico and with big waves, I’m very happy. Today I tried to focus on two things: finding the waves and making vertical moves. In the heat that had got me into the repercharge round I panicked and surfed bad waves. Today I told myself to do otherwise and that gave me this result. Now I’m going to enjoy this title a lot in my country.”
On the other hand, on the Grand Masters division, the competition was tough and the results weren’t defined till the last 90 seconds of the heat. The final was initially led by the local Alberto Licha, but then the Tahitian Heinere Paez placed himself in the first place combining 14.75 in his best two waves. Whereas Peruvian Magoo de la Rosa, who had remained half of the heat without taking any waves, started scoring a 7.10 after he completed an excellent floater in a good size wave. He still needed a 7.66 and when less than a minute and a half remained, De la Rosa found a right that he filled with good backside moves and got an 8.75 to win the first place.
The Peruvian surfer arrived at the shore without knowing the results and once his fellow team mates told him, he was all smiles. De la Rosa said: “I was quite nervous, at first I sat way outside to get a big one and ensure myself a good scoring, but the conditions changed, it turned a bit stormy and it got very difficult for me to catch any waves. But then I found one that gave me half of the points I needed. In the end, I didn’t know how much time I had but I got one wave in which I could do some moves.”
“No doubt one’s always a bit nervous. I think I’ve been surfing great throughout all the event and I had to close this.” Magoo thrilled sighed and looked up at the sky, and ended up saying: “Thank God, thanks to the Virgin that sent me that wave!”
The second place, in the Grand Masters division was for Paez from Tahiti, the third place for Licha from Puerto Rico, and the fourth was for David Malherbe from South Africa.
The last heat of the day, in the Kahunas’ division final, was the key heat for the definition of the final team’s positions. The Puerto Ricans would have gotten the first place on the Teams competition, unless one of the two South African athletes in the Kahuna division, won the heat. Chris Knutsen and Rudi Plamboom from South Africa confronted Javier Huarcaya from Peru and Gilles Asenjo from France. Knutsen, finding the best waves and making large, stylish carves to won the gold, giving South Africa the victory on the teams competition. The second place was for Huarcaya, third was Asenjo and Plamboom fourth.
A thrilled Knutsen, once the event was over, said: “It was a long way to the final, in the last few days the waves went really down and we were all worried about that. But today the great lord of the oceans helped us and we saw an excellent surfing level. I’m really happy that I won the last heat for my country.”
Regarding the fundamental victory he obtained for the team victory of his country, Knutsen said: “I didn´t know that, I´m just very happy to come back home as a winning country. My team was very supportive the whole time we were here, we trained hard for this event, especially me, because I´m the old one. It paid off for me. I just thank my family for supporting me through my training and allowing me to spend the money to come here, the work is done for me.”
The second World Masters Surfing Championships has come to an end perfectly, in good conditions to guarantee a fair competition and a great Sport show. The President of the International Surfing Association, Fernando Aguerre, said from California: In the name of the ISA I send my warmest regards to all competitors, staff of the event and public around the world. I have watched this event from California, since health reasons did not allow me to personally attend the competition as I had planed. This great ISA World Masters Surfing Championship has finished today in Puerto Rico, the heart of the Caribbean. This is only the first step in this new era for Master surfers around the world, competing in their National Surfing Teams.
Thank you Ricardo Lucke, and the staff of the Federacion de Surfing de Puerto Rico. Thank you to all the Puerto Rican people for treating us with such warmth.
Thank you to all delegations, for competing in the event. Thank you to all the Federations for sending their National Teams. This show of camaraderie and friendship amongst Master surfers from around the world, is a great example of peaceful coexistence in this world in so much need of peace.”
ISA Porta del Sol World Masters Surfing Championship were possible thanks to the support of the Tourism Company of Puerto Rico, Heineken, Villa Cofresi, Ricoh, Entertainments and Sports Department, El Nuevo Día, Nido companies, Sprite, 103.7 FM, One Link Communications, Choice Cable TV, Liberty Internet, rad!, The Room and Rincon of the Seas. It is organized by the Puerto Rico Surf Federation and supervised by the International Surfing Association.
About International Surfing Association (ISA)
ISA membership includes the surfing National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of over 50 countries on six continents. Its headquarters are located in San Diego, California. It is presided by Fernando Aguerre, first elected in 1994 in Rio, and re-elected five times since. The ISA's four Vice Presidents are Robin de Kock (South Africa), Alan Atkins (Australia), Maile Aguerre (Hawaii) and Mike Gerard (USA).
Pablo Zanocchi –on site at Puerto Rico-
ISA WMSC Media Manager
Catch all the action from anywhere in the world by logging on to http://www.rincon-hangout.com/isa/home.htm and experience live scoring and video streaming daily. Additionally, photos will be available for viewing and free downloading at http://www.rincon-hangout.com/isa/home.htm. For more information email WMSC Media Manager, Pablo Zanocchi – pablo@isasurf.org.
Click: http://www.smsc-surfing.com to catch the action of each competition day.
World Masters Champions will be defined tomorrow
ISA World Master Surfing Championships
Perfect one to two feet waves didn’t met the organizers’ expectations. The three heats that were planned for today were postponed at the Porta del Sol ISA World Masters Surfing Championships, therefore, it’s been decided to have all the remaining rounds tomorrow, when a powerful swell from the northwest will be hitting Puerto Rico´s coast.
The ISA Nations Cup, team competition -Tag Team- took place. This event didn’t count for the teams’ final scoring but it was a good way to show the surfing level the participating teams have.
South Africa, which is up to now second on the teams’ ranking, beat Puerto Rico which got second place this time, but it’s in the first place on the nations’ ranking. France got third.
Tomorrow, the new World Masters Surf Champions will be defined, along with the winning nation. Two countries are fighting head-to-head for the first place: Puerto Rico and South Africa. The local team has still all its competitors in the championship, whereas South Africa has lost one of its athletes but it has the advantage of having four surfers waiting in the three divisions big finals.
Angel “the Doctor” Rodriguez, Puerto Rico Team Manager, gave his opinion about his team’s situation: “We’ve just had a meeting with all the team members and have established that in order to make it through, all of them have to make at least an average of 7.5 points on each wave to qualify. We are making the adjustments that are needed for them to score high. We have a tough competition; both Tahiti and South Africa are hard nations to beat.”
“I think that if we make it to the finals with 50% of our team, we can stand in the first or the second place because we would accumulate a lot of points there. We are feeling good and our team is strong, as an example we have a Juan Ashton that is good at any conditions, and if the waves are big, Alberto Licha is always a favorite. Up to now I feel extremely grateful and satisfied with the team performance, and from now on all depends on God who can give us the right waves, and let the best team win,” added Rodriguez, very pleased with his team performance.
On the other hand, Brendan Callaghan, South African Team Manager, said:
“We’ve come here with a “Dream Team”, we’ve certainly trained hard for this event. Having four surfers on the final is an achieved goal to us. I think that Puerto Rico and the other teams have still a lot of work to do, nevertheless Puerto Rico along with Tahiti are right now our biggest threat, both teams have very good surfers, although they have to make it through two more heats to get into the big final. The situation could have different endings. We’ve already done the hard work and obtained the goals we set for ourselves and we’re confident we can continue performing well for what’s left of the contest and hopefully get the nations’ title.”
Tomorrow at 8:00 AM –local time-, the nine remaining heats will take place to define who the Masters World Champions are in the three different divisions: Masters, Grand Masters and Kahunas. The fifth and sixth round of the repercharge and the finals will take place.
ISA Porta del Sol World Masters Surfing Championship is possible thanks to the support of the Tourism Company of Puerto Rico, Heineken, Villa Cofresi, Ricoh, Entertainments and Sports Department, El Nuevo Día, Nido companies, Sprite, 103.7 FM, One Link Communications, Choice Cable TV, Liberty Internet, rad!, The Room and Rincon of the Seas. It is organized by the Puerto Rico Surf Federation and supervised by the International Surfing Association.
About International Surfing Association (ISA)
ISA membership includes the surfing National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of over 50 countries on six continents. Its headquarters are located in San Diego, California. It is presided by Fernando Aguerre, first elected in 1994 in Rio, and re-elected five times since. The ISA's four Vice Presidents are Robin de Kock (South Africa), Alan Atkins (Australia), Maile Aguerre (Hawaii) and Mike Gerard (USA).
Pablo Zanocchi –on site at Puerto Rico-
ISA WMSC Media Manager
Catch all the action from anywhere in the world by logging on to http://www.rincon-hangout.com/isa/home.htm and experience live scoring and video streaming daily. Additionally, photos will be available for viewing and free downloading at http://www.rincon-hangout.com/isa/home.htm. For more information email WMSC Media Manager, Pablo Zanocchi – pablo@isasurf.org.
Click: http://www.smsc-surfing.com to catch the action of each competition day.
Masters World Champions will be defined this weekend
ISA World Master Surfing Championships
Between tomorrow and Sunday we will know who the Masters World Champions are, the Porta del Sol ISA World Masters Surfing Championships, that is taking place since last Sunday at Rincón, Puerto Rico, will come to an end.
After four full days of competition, two teams have shown a great performance and they are now fighting for first place in team positioning. Up to now Puerto Rico is in first place because its still have all their its athletes on the run. On the other hand, even though South Africa has lost a competitor, it is also one of the favorite’s teams since it has ensured itself four athletes in the big finals of the three divisions - Masters, Grand Masters and Kahunas- through the main event.
Three heats of the Repercharge Round 5 will take place this Saturday. Those who make it through those heats will be one step away from the big final, where we already have: John McCarthy (ZAF) and Wagner Pupo (BRA) on the Masters, Magoo de la Rosa (PER) and David Malherbe (ZAF) on the the Grand Masters and Chris Knutsen (ZAF) and Rudi Plamboom on the Kahunas.
Repercharge finals and the great finals will take place on Sunday when we will know who the new Masters World Champions are along with the winning nation.
Heats that will take place tomorrow
Repercharge Round 5 – Masters
Repercharge Round 5 – Grand Masters
Marcelo Boscoli (BRA) vs. Alberto Licha (PRC) vs. Carlos Santos (BRA) vs. Heinere Paez (TAH)
Repercharge Round 5 – Kahunas
Gilles Asenjo (FRA) vs. Wilfredo Caban (PRC) vs. Victor Torres (PRC) vs. Javier Huarcaya (PER)
Team positions after four days
Puerto Rico – can reach a maximum of 5580 points.
ISA Porta del Sol World Masters Surfing Championship is possible thanks to the support of the Tourism Company of Puerto Rico, Heineken, Villa Cofresi, Ricoh, Entertainments and Sports Department, El Nuevo Día, Nido companies, Sprite, 103.7 FM, One Link Communications, Choice Cable TV, Liberty Internet, rad!, The Room and Rincon of the Seas. It is organized by the Puerto Rico Surf Federation and supervised by the International Surfing Association.
About International Surfing Association (ISA)
ISA membership includes the surfing National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of over 50 countries on six continents. Its headquarters are located in San Diego, California. It is presided by Fernando Aguerre, first elected in 1994 in Rio, and re-elected five times since. The ISA's four Vice Presidents are Robin de Kock (South Africa), Alan Atkins (Australia), Maile Aguerre (Hawaii) and Mike Gerard (USA).
Pablo Zanocchi –on site at Puerto Rico-
ISA WMSC Media Manager
Catch all the action from anywhere in the world by logging on to http://www.rincon-hangout.com/isa/home.htm and experience live scoring and video streaming daily. Additionally, photos will be available for viewing and free downloading at http://www.rincon-hangout.com/isa/home.htm. For more information email WMSC Media Manager, Pablo Zanocchi – pablo@isasurf.org.
Click: http://www.smsc-surfing.com to catch the action of each competition day.
Puerto Rico and South Africa fight for the Masters World Title
ISA World Master Surfing Championships
The fourth day of the Porta del Sol ISA World Masters Surfing Championships were met with three to four feet rights breaking at Marías throughout the morning. On another sunny day, the Championship continued with the same heavenly setting and amplified camaraderie amongst competitors
From the initial 65 surfers that started the Championship, only 18 remain to battle it out in each of the three Divisions amongst the nine remaining heats. Through exemplary surfing six athletes have already ensured themselves a ticket to the big final through the main event: and include John McCarthy from South Africa and Wagner Pupo from Brazil in the Masters division, Magoo de la Rosa from Peru and David Malherbe from South Africa in the Grand Masters and Chris Knutsen and Rudi Plamboom, both from South Africa, in the Kahunas. After tirelessly going head to head over the past four days of competition these surfers have already secured a place at the winners circle.
Not only iwas it a key day to define the first place medalists, it was also integral in defining the position of the teams up to now. After two more repercharge rounds went into the water numerous countries got their athletes disqualified. The only nation that is left with all its surfers intact in the repercharge rounds were the local Puerto Rico team, followed by South Africa who only lost one athlete.
In the Kahunas division, which features surfers who are 45 years or older South African, Chris Knusten earned first place with a combined score of 16.00 points, fellow country man Rudi Plamboom took second echoing Knusten's typical smooth style. Both competitors beat Dominicans Robert Reid and Ariel Mendez.
Knutsen, who forged the path to the big final winning all his heats, said with excitement: “I think I’ve been doing enough to get through my heats, I won them all so far so I am very confident. My surfing is getting better at the right time and I´m going to give everything I have left before we fly back home. Now I can take a rest until Sunday, it looks it’s going to be pretty big.”
In the Grand Masters division, the two surfers who obtained the best scores throughout the event were also the ones who guaranteed themselves a place in the final: Peruvian Magoo de la Rosa –first- and South African David Malherbe –second- beat Tahitian Pascal Luciani –third- and local Hector Gonzalez –fourth-. Once again, the Peruvian posted the highest combined score of his division -17.75- by continuing to take advantage of his backside approach. De la Rosa scored 9.5 and 8.25 to ensure a place among the medalists.
“To tell you the truth, this heat was the toughest I had. That surfer from South Africa showed a great physical condition. He was as prepared as I was and it was hard for me to beat him. When I heard he had scored two waves with more than 8 points and I realized I just had an 8.2, he even told me to be calm because we were both making it. But my last wave was more than 9.00 points, before I rode it I told him I had one wave left and then I caught it. I only felt satisfied, when I heard I had scored a 9.5.” De la Rosa said after getting out of the water.
As regards the next final, the seven-time Peruvian Champ added: “I’m really happy, I’m eager to win; I want to take the triumph to my country. I think I worked hard for the other divisions and a victory would be a good incentive to the young surfers”.
On the Masters division, John McCarthy from South Africa reached the final undefeated along with Wagner Pupo from Brazil sending Heifara Tahutini and Noel Chave out to the repercharge on the third and fourth position respectively. One more time, Mc Carthy drew clean and radical lines to get a great scoring: 17.15 points.
Once he was out of the water, the South African said: “There were some funny waves in my heat, I was watching them all morning and then I was lucky to find them, I´m happy.” Afterwards, talking about his chances to get the World Title, the South African modestly said: “To me, the most important things in my life are to spend time with my family and to surf; the fact that I’m here representing my country is just a bonus.”
The repercharge rounds were tough today. The excellent surfers that reached this stage of the championship fought their way out of the “life or death” heats. The local surfers did very well, since five out of the six athletes, who were already in the so-called “losers round”, managed to stay in the event with excellent performances.
On the other hand, Defending Champ Carlos Santos, competing in two divisions, had a great day. He earned first place in three heats scoring over 16.00 points on each of them.
After the heat, the Brazilian surfer said: “It was amazing because I haven´t been able to get first place in any heat until now. It’s hard to find good waves, you have to fight your competitors and your own mind. I would like to win in both divisions, that’s why I came here, but that’s not an easy task”.
In the last heat of the day, the second of the Masters repercharge round four, Andre Malherbe from South Africa established the highest combined of the championship up to now -18.00-, after he rode two rights that scored more than 9.00 points in a smooth, clean and radical way. He beat Juan Ashton from Puerto Rico –second- and Olivier Salvaire from France.
Considering the predictions of swell for the next days, it’s been decided that the event will finish either this Saturday or Sunday. A powerfull swell will be arriving from the northwest –perfect for Rincon- and will act as the backdrop to determine the best Masters surfers of the world.
The on-line broadcasting is not available for extraordinary reasons; the Organization Staff apologized for this and invites you all to follow the best World best Masters this Saturday, live from Rincón, Puerto Rico.
ISA Porta del Sol World Masters Surfing Championship is possible thanks to the support of the Tourism Company of Puerto Rico, Heineken, Villa Cofresi, Ricoh, Entertainments and Sports Department, El Nuevo Día, Nido companies, Sprite, 103.7 FM, One Link Communications, Choice Cable TV, Liberty Internet, rad!, The Room and Rincon of the Seas. It is organized by the Puerto Rico Surf Federation and supervised by the International Surfing Association.
About International Surfing Association (ISA)
ISA membership includes the surfing National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of over 50 countries on six continents. Its headquarters are located in San Diego, California. It is presided by Fernando Aguerre, first elected in 1994 in Rio, and re-elected five times since. The ISA's four Vice Presidents are Robin de Kock (South Africa), Alan Atkins (Australia), Maile Aguerre (Hawaii) and Mike Gerard (USA).
Pablo Zanocchi –on site at Puerto Rico-
ISA WMSC Media Manager
Catch all the action from anywhere in the world by logging on to http://www.rincon-hangout.com/isa/home.htm and experience live scoring and video streaming daily. Additionally, photos will be available for viewing and free downloading at http://www.rincon-hangout.com/isa/home.htm. For more information email WMSC Media Manager, Pablo Zanocchi – pablo@isasurf.org.
Click: http://www.smsc-surfing.com to catch the action of each competition day.
Perfect waves at the World Masters Surfing Championships day 3
ISA World Master Surfing Championships
Amazing glassy waves with six to eight feet barreling faces were the focus of the Porta del Sol ISA World Masters Surfing Championships today. The stellar conditions made the Masters surfers contingency able to enjoy all the charm of “la isla del encanto”, allowing them to seize an entire day of Marias Beach waves in full bloom.
As the third day of competition came to a close, the time of the truth rapidly approached. Twelve surfers, divided in the three main event different divisions, are now one step away from reaching the podium; four South Africans, three Tahitians, two Dominicans, one Peruvian, one Brazilian and one Puerto Rican. If they are able to make it through one more heat, these countries will be ensuring a medal for themselves.
Taking advantage of this morning great conditions, South African John McCarthy received the highest combined score at the Masters -17.00-. He scored an almost perfect 9.00, after coming out of the barrel and gliding the wave with stylish clean moves. With this score he beat Noel Chave from Tahiti -second- and Lee Bartlett from England -third-. Once out of the water McCarthy said: "I felt great, waves are perfect, clean and a bit bigger than yesterday; I like them just like that. Anyway, I was lucky to find them. In my 9.00 point ride I got a little bit of a barrel and then a couple of turns in the end, it was great wave and I enjoyed it a lot. I don´t know if deserves 9.00 points, it was just really fun.”
Also showing great performance, Brazilian Wagner Pupo and Tahitian Heifara Tahutini joined McCarthy and Chave on the main event round four.
On the other hand, in the Grand Masters rounds, like in the previous two days, Magoo de la Rosa from Peru and David Malherbe made the highest scores of their heat. However today, the Peruvian was better.
One more time, de la Rosa was solid, with a wise wave selection and a backside approach that filled Marías waves with radical moves. He took advantage of the strength of his backside, adjusting perfectly to hit good rights, allowing him to score 8.15 and 8.75. With this he beat Pascal Luciani from Tahiti -second- and Carlos Santos from Brazil -third-. Commenting on his performance Magoo said: "I'm really glad, because of these results and because the waves rose up a lot. That leaves less room for luck and the same opportunities to everyone. I went to the water with my 6'6, I knew that it was important for me to get back to the line up as soon as possible with this kind of conditions. Then, in the waves I felt a bit uncomfortable because of the size of the board but it adjusted because it works fine, and I think it helped me to get the best out of the waves. I hope I'll keep being lucky on the next rounds.”
Hector Gonzalez, from Puerto Rico, who also made a great performance, is also close to the Grand Masters' finals along with De la Rosa, Malherbe and Luciani.
The best single wave of the day and of the championship up to now was ridden by one of the eldest participants, Rudi Plamboom from South Africa -47-. It took place on the first heat of the Kahunas' -over 45 years old- third round of the main event. Plamboom rode a set wave, made a short snap and disappeared for three seconds to victoriously come out and keep performing getting a 9.5 which he backed up with a 5.5 to beat Dominican Robert Reid -second- and French Gilles Asenjo -third-.
Plamboom left the water and received a standing ovation from his team. Regarding to the wave, he later said: "I felt great, it was a rather deep barrel, it reminded me of one of my favorite’s waves back home, Cave Rock. I´m still confident about the championships, I've got good boards so I´m really happy. Our team is great, we´re really close and we´re committed to do a good job".
Apart from Plamboom and Reid, Ariel Méndez from Dominican Republic and Chris Knutsen from South Africa, will compete tomorrow on the fourth round to try to assure a medal.
Once all the main event rounds were over, the second round of the repercharge started and again it offered a lot to talk about. Local Alberto Licha scored the highest combined score of the championship - 17.5-, adding 9.25 and 8.25 on his best two waves. Surfing at home, Licha showed to comfortable under perfect conditions and filled with clean moves Marías' faces. He beat Heinere Paez from Tahiti -second-, Jean Louis Poupinel from France -third- and Antonio Pino from Ecuador -fourth-.
The “boricua” proudly commented: "I obtained this score because the competition was performed in Marias’ instead of Domes'; it is a pointbreak and gives the power surfers great advantages. I felt really comfortable, waves were big. I've been surfing waves like those all my life, thus I didn't have any problem. Now I'm ready to kill, after this I feel confident enough to kill".
Among other results of the repercharge, Andre Malherbe from South Africa and Gustavo Betancourt from Puerto Rico on the Masters, Heinare Paez from Tahití on the Grand Masters and the local Wilfredo Caban on the Kahunas, were standouts, scoring more than 14.00 points on their heats.
With two rounds of the repercharge already played, with the exception of South Africa, Puerto Rico and Brazil –with an incomplete team-, all the countries have lost at least one athlete. Contrary to that, Italy, Ecuador and Spain -also with an incomplete team- have no surfers "alive" on the contest.
Tomorrow at 8:00 AM -local time-, the fourth day of competition of the Porta del Sol ISA World Masters Surfing Championships will start at Marias Beach. The third and fourth repercharge will take place and also the fourth round of the main event of all the categories. The first two surfers of each heat on the main event tomorrow will assure themselves a place in the podium.
About International Surfing Association (ISA)
The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the World Governing Authority for surfing, bodyboarding and surfriding. It was originally founded as the International Surfing Federation in 1964 and has been running World Championships since 1964 and the Junior World Championships since 1980.
ISA membership includes the surfing National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of over 50 countries on six continents. Its headquarters are located in San Diego, California. It is presided by Fernando Aguerre, first elected in 1994 in Rio, and re-elected five times since. The ISA's four Vice Presidents are Robin de Kock (South Africa), Alan Atkins (Australia), Maile Aguerre (Hawaii) and Mike Gerard (USA).
Pablo Zanocchi –on site at Puerto Rico-
Catch all the action from anywhere in the world by logging on to http://www.rincon-hangout.com/isa/home.htm and experience live scoring and video streaming daily. Additionally, photos will be available for viewing and free downloading at http://www.rincon-hangout.com/isa/home.htm. For more information email WMSC Media Manager, Pablo Zanocchi – pablo@isasurf.org.
Click: http://www.smsc-surfing.com to catch the action of each competition day.
Waves and scores rise at the World Masters Surfing Championships day two
ISA World Master Surfing Championships
The best Masters surfers of the World went back to the water today as the Porta del Sol ISA World Masters Surfing Championships kept going on another sunny day at Domes Beach with waves that went from three to four feet in the morning to perfect six to eight faces by the last heats of the day, making it difficult for some surfers to show their talent. Main event round two took place today as well as the first of the repercharge of the three divisions –Masters, Grand Masters and Kahunas-. Surfing level was outstanding today, with great waves, higher scores came along.
First three heats of the day showed that veterans are here to fight for the title; the winners -John McCarty from South Africa, Wagner Pupo from Brazil and Noel Chave from Tahiti- scored more than 14.00 points on their each two best waves.
The greatest was Chave who scored a total of 17.00 points, surfing the second highest single wave of the championship up to now, a 9.25 in a right he filled with maneuvers from the outside to the shore. Once out of the water the Tahitian said: “I found a great 9.00 points wave that got me all the way to the shore line, I was lucky to find that one. The Championships are great but the level of competition is fierce and all these surfers are really good. Anyway, I hope to get to the finals.”
On the Grand Masters division, the main event’s best performance was again made by the South African David Malherbe and the second best by the Peruvian Magoo de la Rosa. Malherbe surfed with clean lines that ended up with explosive moves; he got 16.25 to beat Brazilian Carlos Santos –second-, the South African Craig Simms –third- and French Jean Louis Poupinel –fourth-. As for Magoo, he printed his typical radical style and with three strong moves per wave he got 15.75 beating Hector Gonzalez from Puerto Rico –second-, Heinere Paez from Tahiti –third- and Daz Wright from England -fourth-.
After his great heat, the South African commented: “The heat was great, right now I feel really good. I simply hope things to keep going like this. There’s still a long way to go, the competition is hard, and I’m very proud of getting another first place.”
On the other hand, de la Rosa declared: “I am very happy because the waves are better and that assures my surfing. In my heat I was determined on finding good waves and on being as radical as possible; it paid off in the end.”
As for the Kahunas, South Africans also made the difference, Chris Knutsen and Rudi Plamboom got the highest combined scores of their Qualifying round two heats. Knutsen -48-, a well-known surfer back in the 70s and 80s, scored 15.25 beating Dominican Robert Reid –second-, local Wilfredo Caban –third- and the Peruvian Javier Huarcaya –fourth-.
“Today I felt better than yesterday; the waves have improved so much, therefore now I can surf the way I know. I was lucky to find some good waves and that’s how I got the first place. It’s fantastic to be here and meet old friends that were at the World Championships back in the seventies. Puerto Ricans are incredibly nice people and have treated us great. I wish for the waves to keep coming so we can give a good show at the end of the championship”, said the South African surfer after his excellent performance.
Once the Kahuna’s heats were over, the repercharge started. Surfers proved wrong the so-called “losers round”. On the Masters, Luigi de Marzo and German Aguirre both from Peru, and the Dominican Robert Reid scored 11.00, 14.15 and 15.15 respectively and won their heats. Reid stood out with a great backhand approach, combined a strong off the lip that almost made him lose control but came back up with a layback, for then get in the barrel and kept going up to the shore to get an 8.5.
A great surprise took place in the Grand Masters repercharge heat one, with the Peruvian Jorge Pozo surfing the best wave of the championship up to now -9.4-. Pozo performed great in an almost double overhead wave, with good line and large bottom turns, doing three strong off the lips. The Peruvian backed up his points with a 7.00 to get the highest combined score of his division.
By the end of the day, the waves turned huge. At the Kahunas’ repercharge, some competitors never got to the line up and ended up riding white water in the shore. This was not the case of Luis Salvador from Ecuador who performed great off the lips to score 14.5 on his best two waves.
While the fight is getting tougher, the favorite nations started to lose athletes. Right now, none of the countries keep all their competitors in the main event, all of them have someone on the repercharge and others are out of the championship. Out of the 18 participants who remained undefeated, we have: four from South Africa, three from Tahiti, three from Brazil, two from France, two from Dominican Republic, two from Puerto Rico, one from Peru and one from England. Nevertheless, any competitor in the repercharge has the same chances to win.
Considering the wave quality at the end of the day and the forecast for tomorrow, it is likely that the contest will take place on the second podium, at Marias Beach, where conditions definitely will be better.
Tomorrow at 8:00 AM the third day of competition will start, main event round three will take place and also the repercharge second in all its divisions.
The on-line broadcasting wasn’t available today one more time for extraordinary reasons; the Organization Staff apologized for this and invites you all to follow the best Masters of the World tomorrow, live from Rincon, Puerto Rico.
ISA Porta del Sol World Masters Surfing Championship is possible thanks to the support of the Tourism Company of Puerto Rico, Heineken, Villa Cofresi, Ricoh, Entertainments and Sports Department, El Nuevo Día, Nido companies, Sprite, 103.7 FM, One Link Communications, Choice Cable TV, Liberty Internet, rad!, The Room and Rincon of the Seas. It is organized by the Puerto Rico Surf Federation and supervised by the International Surfing Association.
About International Surfing Association (ISA)
The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the World Governing Authority for surfing, bodyboarding and surfriding. It was originally founded as the International Surfing Federation in 1964 and has been running World Championships since 1964 and the Junior World Championships since 1980.
ISA membership includes the surfing National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of over 50 countries on six continents. Its headquarters are located in San Diego, California. It is presided by Fernando Aguerre, first elected in 1994 in Rio, and re-elected five times since. The ISA's four Vice Presidents are Robin de Kock (South Africa), Alan Atkins (Australia), Maile Aguerre (Hawaii) and Mike Gerard (USA).
Pablo Zanocchi –on site at Puerto Rico-
Catch all the action from anywhere in the world by logging on to http://www.rincon-hangout.com/isa/home.htm and experience live scoring and video streaming daily. Additionally, photos will be available for viewing and free downloading at http://www.rincon-hangout.com/isa/home.htm. For more information email WMSC Media Manager, Pablo Zanocchi – Pablo@isasurf.org.
Click: http://www.smsc-surfing.com to catch the action of each competition day.
Action began for the Masters at Puerto Rico
ISA World Master Surfing Championships
The ISA Porta del Sol World Masters Surfing Championships started today on a beautiful sunny day with perfect two to three feet waves at Domes Beach, Rincón. ISA President said in his remarks at the Opening Ceremony, “High performance surfing is not a matter of age any longer”, this was proven in the first day of the event.
Competition round one of the three categories fighting for the World Title -Masters, Grand Masters and Kahunas- took place today. The day best performance was made early in the morning by Juan Ashton from Puerto Rico, he surfed with great power, scoring 17.15 to beat Defending Champ Carlos Santos from Brazil –second-, Luigi de Marzo from Perú –third- and Belanino Rodriguez from Republica Dominicana –fourth-.
The well-known local surfer said: "I’m feeling good; basically in the first heat I was trying not to be nervous. My first few waves were small, so I started to wait for bigger ones and I finally demonstrated that I could get a good score". Referring about having this great contest at home, Ashton added: "I can see that this is going to be a good contest, the Brazilians are disciplined. Anyway I feel that Puerto Rico is a strong contender to win the championships, our team is good and we are on our waves".
Wagner Pupo from Brazil, who also competed in the Master division, scored the highest single wave score of the day, with an almost perfect 9.00. Pupo performed two big floaters on a set waves that were followed by a fluent cutback and an off the lip. The Brazilian backed his best ride with a 7.1 to combine 16.10, and won against Gustavo Betancourt from Puerto Rico-second-, Peruvian German Aguirre –third- and Dominican Robert Reid –fourth-.
"My first few waves weren’t so good, but later I started looking for better ones and I was lucky to find them. I’m cool, I'm enjoying this tournament, where there are a great number of people our age with lot of experience. I can see the surf quality of them, everybody can be a surprise" mentioned Pupo once the heat was over.
On the other hand, in the Grand Masters division -over 40 years old-, it was the South African David Malherbe who scored the highest combined score -13.25-, with his smooth surfing and a wise wave selection, Malherbe beat Pascal Luciani from Tahiti -second-, Aldo Ruiz from Dominican Republic -third-, and Daniel Morla from Ecuador -fourth-. The South African surfer happily mentioned: "I’m feeling good, the waves are pretty good. I was lucky to find two good waves. I look forward for them to keep coming in my direction. This championship is a fantastic opportunity to see old friends, all the veterans that used to compete in the WQS, it is a wonderful thing because we can gather all together again".
Also competing in the Grand Masters, the Peruvian Magoo de la Rosa was the author of the division second highest score -13.15-. Surfing with his typical powerful style, De la Rosa beat Defending Champ Carlos Santos from Brazil -second-, who’s participating in two categories, and the local star Alberto Licha -third-.
The eldest competitors of the event, the Kahunas -over 45 year old-, provided a great show, fighting each heat as if they were on their youth. Robert Reid from Dominican Republic -also a competitor on the Grand Master category- scored 13.00 points, which was the round highest combined score, and beat English Jed Stone -second-, Jamaican Anthony Wilmot -third- and Phillipe Klima from Tahiti -fourth-. 45 years old, Dominican said: "I was really worried because at the beginning of the heat I couldn’t get any waves at all. Luckily, I later found a right and a left that helped my score. I’m really happy; thank God everything went really well. I just have to keep going, it looks like the waves are getting bigger, and I think that that will help my surfing."
Among other results, Heifara Tahutini -ISA World Champion in 1990- and Noel Chave both from Tahiti along with Lee Bartlett and Grishka Roberts from England did a great job, placing themselves on the first place of their Masters heats.
Meanwhile, the Brazilian Marcelo Boscoli, the South African Craig Simms, English Daz Wright and his country fellow man Roger Knight won their respective heats of the Grand Masters.
Between Kahunas competitors, Gary Rogers from Great Britain, Rudi Plamboom and Chris Knutsen from South Africa with Gilles Asenjo and Jean Labrucherie both from France, all won on their heats.
Up to now, round one of all divisions have been played, and as the event is one of double elimination no country has lost any athletes on the competition yet. Nevertheless, the only countries that still have all their surfers in the main event are: South Africa, France, United Kingdom and Brazil –with an incomplete team-.
Competition day two of the ISA World Masters Surfing Championships will be held tomorrow starting at 8:00 AM -local time-. According to the predictions, waves will be bigger and the championship will take place either on Domes or Marias.
On-line broadcasting wasn't available today for extraordinary reasons, the members of the Organization Staff want to apologize for this inconvenience and invite you to watch the best Masters surfers of the World live from Rincon, Puerto Rico tomorrow.
ISA Porta del Sol World Masters Surfing Championship is possible thanks to the support of the Tourism Company of Puerto Rico, Heineken, Villa Cofresi, Ricoh, Entertainments and Sports Department, El Nuevo Día, Nido companies, Sprite, 103.7 FM, One Link Communications, Choice Cable TV, Liberty Internet, rad!, The Room and Rincon of the Seas. It is organized by the Puerto Rico Surf Federation and supervised by the International Surfing Association.
About International Surfing Association (ISA)
The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the World Governing Authority for surfing, bodyboarding and surfriding. It was originally founded as the International Surfing Federation in 1964 and has been running World Championships since 1964 and the Junior World Championships since 1980.
ISA membership includes the surfing National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of over 50 countries on six continents. Its headquarters are located in San Diego, California. It is presided by Fernando Aguerre, first elected in 1994 in Rio, and re-elected five times since. The ISA's four Vice Presidents are Robin de Kock (South Africa), Alan Atkins (Australia), Maile Aguerre (Hawaii) and Mike Gerard (USA).
Pablo Zanocchi –on site at Puerto Rico-
ISA WMSC Media Manager
Catch all the action from anywhere in the world by logging on to http://www.rincon-hangout.com/isa/home.htm and experience live scoring and video streaming daily. Additionally, photos will be available for viewing and free downloading at http://www.rincon-hangout.com/isa/home.htm. For more information email WMSC Media Manager, Pablo Zanocchi – Pablo@isasurf.org.
Click: http://www.smsc-surfing.com to catch the action of each competition day.
The ISA World Masters Surfing Championships have been officially opened at Rincon, Puerto Rico.
ISA World Master Surfing Championships
On a beautiful landscape, in front of the well-known Rincon’s lighthouse, the ISA World Masters Surfing Championships were opened. In the next days it will be decided who the best 35yrs+ surfers of the world are.
More than 70 persons, representatives of twelve nations, participated in the famous Parade of the Nations and in the Ceremony of the World’s Sands which were followed by the speeches of the President of the Surf Federation of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Lucke, the Mayor of Rincón, Carlos López, the representative of the Entertainments and Sports Department of the Government of Puerto Rico, Javier González and the President of the Tourism Company of Puerto Rico, Estela González. The opening ceremony finished with a traditional boricua dance, performed by the Tainos, a native tribe of Puerto Rico.
Ricardo Lucke declared firmly: “To me, this event is the most important event of the world. The surfers who are here now are the best and here we have the surfing masters of our planet”.
On the other hand, the Mayor of Rincon, Carlos Lopez showed very satisfied for having such an important event on his city. He welcomed every Masters and continued saying: “It is an honour for us to have you all here; and to have this beautiful event on our beaches. It is an historical moment, an event like this took place on these same beaches on 1968 and now on 2007 we continued writing our history. Rincon’s sea will give you great waves, great waves for surfing! And our village, surfing capital city, opens its heart and hugs you all. Good luck, I wish you all the best and God bless you”!
The speech of the President of the International Surfing Association, Fernando Aguerre – was read by the Speaker of the Ceremony, Nuno Junet, as Aguerre couldn’t attend the ceremony due to a health problem- emphasized: “Surfers can now start to compete as members of their National Surfing Teams at a very young age in the Junior division at the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Championship. They can then do it in the Open division at the ISA World Surfing Games, also known as “The Olympics of Surfing”. Finally, they can now compete in the Masters division at this ISA Masters World Championship.
Being a member of the official National Surfing Team, is the highest honor for any surfer. With the creation of the Masters event, now that honor could be part of the life of any surfer not just in his or her young years but for the rest of his life.”
“The people from Puerto Rico feel very proud of our surfers”, the representative of the Entertainments and Sports Department of the Government of Puerto Rico, Javier Gonzalez declared and continued: “They have been very strong protectors of our coasts; they have the same passion for sports and environment preservation.” He concluded remembering the tragic death of Puerto Rican Joaquín Velilla, on Hawaii last January the 11th and he also welcomed all the athletes.
The President of the Tourism Company of Puerto Rico, Estela Gonzalez, who was also very pleased with the event, declared: “The Tourism Company feels deeply honored for being part of the event; to us sport tourism is very important. It is not only a good way of improving our citizen’s life, but also a good way to promote our destination and to contribute to our economy as well. On these days, our hostels are full of people because of the great deal of visitors who came to enjoy our coasts and this championship. I wish you all the best, have a great competition and let the best surfer to win.”
Once the speeches were finished, Jorge Gonzlez, representing the international staff of judges of the ISA, and Terrence Muschet from Jamaica, the oldest competitor representing the athletes -58-, took the oath. They swore that they will participate on the competition with the best sportsmanship like spirit possible.
The event starts tomorrow at 8 am –local time-. The first round of each of the three categories will take place: Masters, Grand Masters and Kahunas. According to the Director of the competition, Marcos Bukão, on Tuesday a good swell from the west will be coming and this is the best orientation for this zone of the island, so the athletes will get advantages from that conditions to make a great show.
It is possible a larger swell may come to the boricuas coasts on Friday. The waiting period goes till Sunday the 28th, staff and organizers feel confident that the event will be carried out in good conditions. Today, the waves at Domes and Marias, broke with perfect four to five feet. Many of the best Masters of the World surfed these perfect waves all day long.
ISA Porta del Sol World Masters Surfing Championship is possible thanks to the support of the Tourism Company of Puerto Rico, Heineken, Villa Cofresi, Ricoh, Entertainments and Sports Department, El Nuevo Día, Nido companies, Sprite, 103.7 FM, One Link Communications, Choice Cable TV, Liberty Internet, rad!, The Room and Rincon of the Seas. It is organized by the Puerto Rico Surf Federation and supervised by the International Surfing Association.
About International Surfing Association (ISA)
ISA membership includes the surfing National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of over 50 countries on six continents. Its headquarters are located in San Diego, California. It is presided by Fernando Aguerre, first elected in 1994 in Rio, and re-elected five times since. The ISA's four Vice Presidents are Robin de Kock (South Africa), Alan Atkins (Australia), Maile Aguerre (Hawaii) and Mike Gerard (USA).
Pablo Zanocchi – on site in Puerto Rico-
ISA WMSC Media Manager
Catch all the action from anywhere in the world by logging on to http://www.rincon-hangout.com/isa/home.htm and experience live scoring and video streaming daily. Additionally, photos will be available for viewing and free downloading at http://www.rincon-hangout.com/isa/home.htm. For more information email WMSC Media Manager, Pablo Zanocchi – Pablo@isasurf.org.
The World Master Surfing Championships set to begin on Sunday
Opening ceremonies will take place tomorrow
ISA World Master Surfing Championships
With only two days to go, for the first heat of the ISA World Master Surfing Championship, some of the best 35yrs+ surfers have just arrived to Puerto Rico, everything is set for what is going to be an amazing surfing festivity starting tomorrow at Rincon, on the island’s west coast.
Team members of the Master division –over 35-, Grand Master –over 40- and Kahunas –over 45- from Puerto Rico, Great Britain, South Africa, Brazil, Ecuador, Jamaica, Peru, Tahiti, Italy, France, Dominican Republic and Spain will fight the following ten days for each division World Title.
Four years have passed since the last World Master Surfing Championships took place. The inaugural WMSC was held at New Zealand in 2003 and won by Brazil, who earned first in the Masters and Grand Masters, with Carlos Santos and Alex Salazar winning their respective divisions.
Event Organizer and President of the Puerto Rico Surfing Federation, Ricardo Lucke, responsible for bringing the Masters Championships back to life, commented: “All the staff involved on the organization of this event is really happy because now we see that all the efforts to make this happen is worthwhile. This is going to be a great way to show the younger generations where you can get with surfing, by watching the best of our time.”
Tomorrow, the official Opening of the World Master Surfing Championships will take place at the Rincón Lighthouse, with the colorful Parade of Nations and the traditional Sands of the World Ceremony that symbolize the union of our world countries, in a peaceful and camaraderie environment, throughout surfing.
Unfortunately, ISA President, Fernando Aguerre that had planned to host the opening ceremony and declare the Championships open was forced to cancel his trip because of some health issues.
According to the forecast, a great swell is about to hit this side of the island and the organizer was forced to consider Marias Beach as a second spot to hold the contest, instead of Domes, which is the base break for the event.
Among some of the competitors, we have: the 2003 World Master Surfing Championship, Carlos Santos from Brazil, his fellow countryman, former WCT competitor Ricardo Tatuí, three-time South African Champion and respected big wave rider, Rudy Plamboon, the legendary seven-time Peruvian Champ, Magoo de la Rosa, the 1988 World Surfing Games finalist, the finalist local star Juan Ashton, the European Master Surfing Champion, Jed Stone from the United Kingdom, and lots of other legendary surfers.
The ceremony will start tomorrow at 3:00 pm. The first heat of the contest will be held Sunday, January 21 at 8:00 a.m.
Competitors per country and division:
Brazil
Masters: Ricardo Tatui and Wagner Pupo.
Ecuador
Masters: Manuel Lozano and Xavier Aguirre.
Spain
Masters: Eduardo Acosta and José Ramón García Fernández.
France
Masters: Olivier Salvaire and Stéphane Jambou.
Great Britain
Masters: Jed Stone and Gary Rogers.
Italy
Masters: -
Jamaica
Masters: Eugene Miller and Michael Mair.
Perú
Masters: Luiggi De Marzo and Germán Aguirre.
Puerto Rico
Masters: Juasn Ashton and Gustavo Bettancourt.
República Dominicana
South Africa
Masters: John McCarthy and André Malherbe Grand Masters: David Malherbe and Craig Sims
Tahití
Masters: Jean Tahutini and Noel Chave.
About International Surfing Association (ISA) The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the World Governing Authority for surfing, bodyboarding and surfriding. It was originally founded as the International Surfing Federation in 1964 and has been running World Championships since 1964 and the Junior World Championships since 1980.
ISA membership includes the surfing National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of over 50 countries on six continents. Its headquarters are located in San Diego, California. It is presided by Fernando Aguerre, first elected
in 1994 in Rio, and re-elected five times since. The ISA's four Vice Presidents are Robin de Kock (South Africa), Alan Atkins (Australia), Maile Aguerre (Hawaii) and Mike Gerard (USA).
Pablo Zanocchi –on site at Puerto Rico-
ISA WMSC Media Manager
PRE EVENT RELEASE:
Ashton, De la Rosa and Knutsen won the gold
January 28th, 2007
Rincón, Puerto Rico
The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the World Governing Authority for surfing, bodyboarding and surfriding. It was originally founded as the International Surfing Federation in 1964 and has been running World Championships since 1964 and the Junior World Championships since 1980.
pablo@isasurf.org
www.isasurf.org
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
January 27th, 2007
Rincón, Puerto Rico
The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the World Governing Authority for surfing, bodyboarding and surfriding. It was originally founded as the International Surfing Federation in 1964 and has been running World Championships since 1964 and the Junior World Championships since 1980.
pablo@isasurf.org
www.isasurf.org
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
January 26th, 2007
Rincón, Puerto Rico
Carlos Santos (BRA) vs. Juan Ashton (PRC) vs. Andre Malherbe (ZAF) vs. Gustavo Betancourt (PRI)
South Africa – can reach a maximum of 5220 points.
Tahiti – can reach a maximum 4585 points.
Peru – can reach a maximum of 3788 points.
Brazil – can reach a maximum of 3720 points.
The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the World Governing Authority for surfing, bodyboarding and surfriding. It was originally founded as the International Surfing Federation in 1964 and has been running World Championships since 1964 and the Junior World Championships since 1980.
pablo@isasurf.org
www.isasurf.org
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First finalists were determined
January 24th, 2007
Rincón, Puerto Rico
The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the World Governing Authority for surfing, bodyboarding and surfriding. It was originally founded as the International Surfing Federation in 1964 and has been running World Championships since 1964 and the Junior World Championships since 1980.
pablo@isasurf.org
www.isasurf.org
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
January 23rd, 2007
Rincón, Puerto Rico
ISA WMSC Media Manager
pablo@isasurf.org
www.isasurf.org
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
January 22nd, 2007
Rincón, Puerto Rico
ISA WMSC Media Manager
pablo@isasurf.org
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
January 21st, 2007
Rincón, Puerto Rico
pablo@isasurf.org
www.isasurf.org
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
January 20th, 2007
Rincón, Puerto Rico
The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the World Governing Authority for surfing, bodyboarding and surfriding. It was originally founded as the International Surfing Federation in 1964 and has been running World Championships since 1964 and the Junior World Championships since 1980.
pablo@isasurf.org
www.isasurf.org
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
January 20 – 28, 2007
Rincón, Puerto Rico
Grand Masters: Carlos Santos and Marcelo Bóscoli.
Kahunas: -
Grand Masters: José Antonio Pino and Daniel Morla.
Kahunas: Luis Alberto Salvador and Humberto Dapelo.
Grand Masters: -
Kahunas: -
Grand Masters: Pierre Lagarde and Jean Louis Poupinel.
Kahunas: Gilles Asenjo and Jean Labruchere
Grand Masters: Roger Knight and Daz Wright.
Kahunas: Jed Stone and Gary Rogers.
Grand Masters: Giorgio Stagno and Andrea Capogna.
Kahunas: Stefano Rossini and Maurizio Spinas.
Grand Masters: Pierre Diaz and Julian Benjamin.
Kahunas: Anthony Wilmot and Terrence Muschett.
Grand Masters: Magoo de la Rosa and Cesar Aspillaga
Kahunas: Javier Huarcaya and Felipe Becerra
Grand Masters: Alberto Licha and Héctor González.
Kahunas: Victor Torres and Wilo Caban.
Masters: Belarminio Rodríguez and Erick Franco.
Grand Masters: Luis Aracena and Aldo Ruíz.
Kahunas: Robert Reid and Ariel Méndez.
Kahunas: Rudy Palmboom and Chris Knutsen
Grand Masters: Cory Paez and Pascal Luciani.
Kahunas: Kevin Hemingway and Philippe Klima
pablo@isasurf.org
www.isasurf.org
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The World’s National Masters Surfing Teams Set to Compete at the 2007 ISA World Masters Surfing Championship Puerto Rico to Host International Surfing Event in Rincon, January 20-28, 2007
ISA World Master Surfing Championship
January 20-28, 2007
Rincón, Puerto Rico
The 2007 ISA World Masters Surfing Championship will feature some of the best master’s surfers from around the globe competing for their respective countries January 20-28, 2007 in Rincon, Puerto Rico. The event will be hosted by the Puerto Rico Surfing Federation, the national governing body for the sport of surfing in the Puerto Rico.
The Championship will feature surfers from over 15 countries including Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Great Britain, Italy, Jamaica, Peru, Portugal, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Sweden, Tahiti and Venezuela.
“This is a great opportunity for Master surfers to represent their countries, wear the national uniforms, while enjoying the camaraderie and Olympic spirit of ISA events. We are happy to have the event in Puerto Rico, a surfing paradise in the Caribbean. The ISA Masters event perfectly complements the ISA World Surfing Games and the ISA Quiksilver Junior Surfing Championships. Now surfers of any age can enjoy the honor of representing their national colors," said ISA President Fernando Aguerre.
Puerto Rico last hosted an ISA event in 1988 where they ran a successful World Surfing Games. With the government fully behind this event it is sure to be a success too. The Masters will bring together surfers who have previously surfed in ISA events and newcomers as teams from around the world compete over the course of 10 days for the honor of representing their respective countries. Each national team consists of 6 competitors among three divisions: two open 35 years +, two open 40+ and two 45 years +. The top four finalists in each division are awarded gold, silver, bronze and copper medals, as well as the top four national teams.
The 2007 ISA World Masters Surfing Championship will be available to view online with live scoring and streaming video at www.rincon-hangout.com/isa/rinconpr.html. Details will be available at www.isasurf.org as the event nears.
About International Surfing Association (ISA)
The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the World Governing Authority for surfing, bodyboarding and surfriding. It was originally founded as the International Surfing Federation in 1964 and has been running world championships since 1964 and the Junior World Championships since 1980.
ISA membership includes the surfing National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of over 50 countries on six continents. Its headquarters are located in San Diego, California. It is presided by Fernando Aguerre, first elected in 1994 in Rio, and re-elected five times since. The ISA's four Vice Presidents are from South Africa, Australia, Hawaii and the USA.
Kate Herber
International Surfing Association
kate@isasurf.org
Tel: 858-551-5292
Fax: 858-551-5290
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------