Costa Rica
Chooses The Final Team for ISA World Games
Playa Hermosa - José Ureña, the President of
the Federacion de Surf de Costa Rica had a
busy day yesterday.
As the Federacion de Surf de Costa President
and host of this year’s Billabong
International Surfing Association (ISA)
World Surfing Games Costa Rica 2009, he not
only had his hands full with a myriad of
responsibilities getting the final loose
ends tied up for the biggest sporting event
to hit this country, but he had a pair of
press conferences that bookended the day
that he had to attend.
Early on, he joined Fernando Aguerre,
President of the ISA in welcoming 34
countries - a record number of countries -
to Costa Rica at the first press conference.
Also at his side was 16-year old Carlos
Muñoz, this country’s current Costa Rican
national surf champion holding his own on
the panel with Australia’s Mick Campbell, an
ASP professional surfer ranked 13th in the
world and ISA Gold Medalist in 1998,
California’s Courtney Conlogue, a Silver
Medalist and winner of last week’s US Open,
and Sofia Mulanovich, 2004 ISA and ASP World
Champion. The famous table represented just
a glimpse of the talent that the Billabong
ISA World Surfing Games will have to offer.
“It is a real pleasure to be able to host
these championships, since they are
considered the ‘Olympics of the Surfing,’
said Ureña. “I want to publicly thank
Billabong and the ISA, since without them it
had been really impossible to even dream of
this event. And now we have it here, where
everything we want to share it with the
world we can – to show how agreeable Costa
Rica is and how to enjoy to the maximum all
Costa Rica has to offer.”
Ultimately, what Costa Rica had to offer
yesterday were the 8 members of the Costa
Rica National Surf Team, who were announced
to the media at a press conference later in
the day.
The most difficult task that has been called
on me to do in the past 7 years has been to
train and direct our team in the selection
process,” Ureña explained. “I am very
pleased with the motivation that they have
maintained during this process and extremely
proud that they have taken the final
decisión with respect and given support to
those that were selected.”
The Costa Rica National Surf Team are:
Open: Carlos Muñoz/Esterillos, Gilbert
Brown/Puerto Viejo, Luis Vindas/Jaco and
Jason Torres/Jaco. Supplemental: Jair Pérez/Jaco
Women: Lisbeth Vindas/Jaco, Nataly Bernold/Jaco.
Supplemental: Mariana Samudio/Jaco.
Longboard: Diego Naranjo/Jaco, Cristian
Santamaría/Nosara. Supplemental: Anthony
Flores/Jaco.
These 8 final surfers join the rest of the
competitors for the Billabong ISA World
Surfing Games, making a grand total of 211
athletes here in Playa Hermosa going for the
gold.
This morning, all the preselected tricolor
Ticos, and the rest of the teams marched in
the Parade of Nations down Jaco Boulevard to
Jaco Park for the Opening Ceremonies.
Carlos Munoz : photo Fabian Sanchez |
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