By Isabel Áviles – Ecuadorian Surfing Federation - www.fesurf.org

JUNIOR SURFERS’ INTENSIVE TRAINING
The pre-selection for the Junior team that will participate in the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championship in Ecuador 2009 finished their first training. This is the first of a number of trainings, of ten days each, that they are planning to complete till the beginning of the World Championship. The event will take place in Salinas in March.

The Coach Marcos Conde is in charge of the trainings. He has worked with World champions such as Alejo Muniz, Adriano de Souza and Marcelo Freitas.

Conde said that “We are working with 29 athletes, from 11 to 17 years old, and from three different divisions. We were together in Salinas during the first stage of training for ten days. First of all, we focused on the physical and technical aspects, and then we worked on the tactic and psychological aspects.

We did a physical training in the mornings, surfing competitions in the afternoons and all the theory at nights. It is worth it to mention the high level of competition the under-18 athletes have and the potential of the under-16 athletes. I was also surprised by the commitment, motivation and enthusiasm this team of young people shows to represent their country”.

Ecuadorian Team in the World Surfing Games –Portugal 2008
The Ecuadorian national team went to the ISA World Surfing Games. The uncompleted team was formed by: Isabel Romero in Women, Luís Vélez in Longboard, Eusebio Rodríguez and Isidro Villao in Open, and Jorge Andant as the Team Manager.

The Ecuadorians placed 28th in the overall team standings.

DIEGO VARGAS CONQUERED MONTAÑITA
Diego Vargas surprised the crowd with his glorious return to a new stage of the National Surfing Championship. The athlete that had been off the podium due to an injury has become the new Open Champion at Montañita’s waves.

Valuable points for the national ranking in this final stage were disputed with waves of one and two meters. Now that Montañita’s stage is over, there are only two stages left: the National Championship in Pedernales and in San Mateo, Manta, on November and December respectively.

NEW SYSTEM IN THE FES
The Ecuadorian Surfing Federation has installed an innovative computer system for judging. This is the first time for a national championship to have this system and it makes the evaluation easier. You can immediately get the scores after each wave ridden and after each heat. It also helps to let the athlete choose the right strategy. This new system has been an enormous improvement for all the surfers that participate in the event.

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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