By Roberto González Niesl – Argentinean Surf Association- www.asasurf.org.ar

Ornella Pellizzari wins WQS in Spain
Argentinean surfer Ornella Pellizari won the XXI Movistar O´Neill Pantin Classic, tenth event of the WQS Tour that happened in Pantin Beach, Spain. In the great final heat, and with a combination of 16.77 points, she imposed herself over France’s Justine Dupont, Marie Dejean and Amandine Sánchez.
This first triumph speaks of the great level reached by Ornella, who days ago had commented during an interview with Roxy News that she was seeking to obtain more experience in WQS competitions.

“I had never come to Pantin before and was told that we would have small waves. I was very lucky this did not happen, since the waves were more adequate to my surfing and, furthermore, I had the fortune of bringing the appropriate board. I really liked Pantin and will surely return next year”, said the champ.

Apart from the rivals she conquered during the finals, the Argentinean also knew how to win over Lee Ann Curren; daughter of the legendary Tom Curren who days ago had eliminated Sofia Mulanovich at Mademoiselle, last WCT event carried out in France. This loss cost the most famous Peruvian, her tour leadership.

In 4 and 5 ft waves, this 21-year-old goofy-footer showed she has all the necessary wining abilities; her powerful backside is well-known from the beginning and now with the necessary support can reflect it as she did hours ago in the Spanish waves.
Happy with her triumph and the US$ 3,000 in prizes, Ornella Pellizzari will be traveling in the next hours to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to compete in the Billabong Girls Rio, 11th stop of the WQS tour.

Ornella Pellizzari is sponsored by: Roxy, Orbital, Birdband-Marbella Surfboards, Bennet Ulua, Austen, X-Trak, and Manuel Tienda León.
Collaborator: Red Bull.

WSG Portugal Team Selection
After a short winter recess, the Argentinean Surf Association is ready to present a program of activities towards forming the Team that will represent the country in the World Surfing Games in Costa de Caparica, Portugal, from 11-19 October, 2008. Although half the team is already defined, there are two positions that need to be filled, namely one in the Women and another in the Men’s Open categories. As a result, a three-event Selective Championship is being planned consecutively.

Fourteen of the 16 top competitors plus two wildcards will be competing, since the 1st and 2nd are chosen directly for their rankings and the 3rd according to the decision of the Technical Body. The remaining position will come from the selective competition, thus giving an added opportunity to those that want to integrate the Team.

The selective championship will happen if at least 8 of the Top 16 competitors participate. The stipulated date for this event will be between September 7 and 21. The date will be chosen according to best waves occurring. Also, the place will be chosen according to the conditions then and there. There will be no Registration Fee for this event.

Athletes must nevertheless regularize their situation as ASA members. ASA summons anyone that wishes to be part of the organization. For this, they must e-mail their registration request to the official webpage: www.asasurf.org.ar and it will inform the cost and form of payment. With the first installment, the athlete will receive an identity card and an ASA t-shirt.

Training in Brazil with the ISA 08 World Junior Champion
After several weeks in which we planned meeting with Brian Masmut and Mirko Salvo to shoot some pictures, we finally met. The two were training during one month at the Bombas and Bombinhas area, north of the Santa Catarina State in the south of Brazil. A place that is not only peaceful, but has plenty of beaches that are good for surfing, such as Bombas, 4 Ilhas and Mariscal, among others.

On the morning of Friday, August 29, I received a call from Mirko telling me that they were leaving for Florianopolis with Brian and company to shoot some pictures before returning to Mar del Plata.
The surprise was the company of these two new surf stars of our country, since they were bringing from Bombinhas the present ISA World Junior Champion, Alejo Muñiz (Quiksilver, RM Surfboards), with whom they had been sharing free surf sessions during their stay at Bombinhas. Alejo’s younger and also talented brother, Santiago Muñiz, also participated. Apart from the exceptional company of the Muñiz brothers inside the water, Mirko and Brian also received some good technical advice from Rubens Muñiz who is also responsible for the success of his younger brothers, who have followed his footsteps.

When these three surfing values reached “Floripa”, the southern wind blew strongly and the waves where ½ to 1-meter high. Since we did not have much time and wanted to profit the good light in our photos, we went out rapidly to check the nearest peaks with that kind of wind. The first option we chose was Barra da Lagoa, but when we got there we saw that the swell did not reach the shore.

Since we did not have time to lose, Brian and Mirko decided to go to Mole beach, where we had gone through and saw waves that were more agitated but with good size and strength, including the light that was getting better and better as minutes went by.

When they reached the peak, the three surfers were extremely happy and, after traveling all the morning, they couldn’t wait to start surfing. Once in the water, the three proved tireless attacking every lip that crossed their path. Brian was the first to get in and really impressed me when I saw him surf. I could see his improvement after one month in Brazilian waters and accompanied by great talents.

Then Mirko went in, complaining about the strong southern wind, which did not interfere at all in his usual expressive surfing. Normally calm, Alejo was the third to get into the water and accommodated rapidly to the Mole Beach wave, which he knows well since he competed during infinity events there.
Consequently, the three talented surfers permitted me to happily work in my photos. We had a good time and at the chose to be first, while Brian Masmut was second in order to not discuss with the elders and Alejo Muñiz decided to seat in the fourth place, simply because it was more comfortable.

It is really gratifying to see new surfing talents struggling for their objectives, training hard, some still without a sponsor and wholeheartedly progressing day by day, year after year, season after season, championship after championship, to sooner rather than later outstand in the professional surfing world, as the already renowned Alejo Muñiz.

Text & Photos: Leandro Barsocchini.
Professional Photographer. / focus1

About International Surfing Association
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 six times since.  The ISA's four Vice Presidents are Alan Atkins (Australia), Robin de Kock (South Africa), Maile Aguerre (Hawaii) and Mike Gerard (USA).

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