ISA World
Surfing Games To Bring Tourists to Costa Rica
Costa Rica, the world’s foremost leader in
ecotourism, is gearing up to host the 2009
ISA Billabong World Surfing Championship in
Playa Hermosa July 31 – August 9, 2009.
With 40 nations and 280 surfers
participating, this is the first and largest
sporting event ever to be held in Central
America, solidifying Costa Rica’s position
as the world’s premiere surf destination.
With beautiful coastlines, perfect waves,
great weather and warm people, there could
be no better choice for this year’s event
than Costa Rica. This year’s competition
will be the largest in its history and will
be broadcast over the web to over 80 million
people world-wide throughout the
competition’s eight-day run with additional
coverage on ESPN and FOX Sports.
As one of the few countries in the world
that can offer two wave producing oceans for
surfing, Costa Rica is a dream come true for
any surfer. With easy access between dual
coasts, a surfer can spend sunrise on the
Pacific and end the day with a surf session
at sunset on the Caribbean coast.
Additionally, Costa Rica is the only country
that offers prime surfing waves 365 days a
year, an advantage that surfers from all
over the world come to experience.
The biggest dilemma that most surfers face
when they come to Costa Rica is picking a
breaking point.
The Pacific Coast alone offers 250 premium
spots for surfing including some of its most
famous like Roca Bruja in Guanacaste,
Pavones in Garabito, Salsa Brava in Limon
and Playa Hermosa in the Puntarenas
province, the site of this year’s World
Surfing Games. There’s also ideal surfing to
be found in Marbella, Playa Negra, Avellanas,
Boca Barranca, Dominical and Isla Uvita.
Surfing in Costa Rica dates back to the
1970’s when tourists from Hawaii would show
up with their boards and ride the premium
waves on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast.
Local curiosity for the sport grew and Costa
Ricans began to embrace it as well.
Ironically, many of the locals did not
derive from coastal towns, but from areas
such as Alajuela, Cartago and San Jose where
easy access to the beach wasn’t available.
Costa Rica’s fame as a surfing destination
came full circle with the creation of the
Surfing Federation in 2001. With the help of
Antonio Pilurzu, father of famed Costa Rican
surfer, Federico Pilurzu, the surfing
Federation has driven Costa Rica to the
forefront of the sport as well as making it
the top attraction for Costa Rica’s tourism.
As a result, Costa Rica was crowned
champions of the Central American region in
2006 and earned international recognition
for several of its team members including
Lisbeth Vindas, Jason Torres, Jair Perez and
Nataly Bernold. In addition to being an
exceptional destination for surfing, Costa
Rica has also produced some of the best
surfers the sport has seen in the last few
years.
With international recognition and an
award-winning team under its belt, Costa
Rica is sure to continue thriving as a
destination for surf kooks and pros alike. |
