Source: Byron Yagual – Ecuadorian Surf Federation - www.fesurf.org

National Team for the Billabong ISA World Surfing Games 2009 in Costa Rica is Announced

After a truly gripping final, the Ecuadorian National Team that will participate in the upcoming Billabong ISA World Surfing Games in Playa Hermosa, Jaco, Costa Rica from August 1-8 was finally selected.
The Open Men division is composed of Sebastián Santos, Carlos Goncalvez, Adrian Dapelo and Israel Barona, with Jonathan Chila as first reserve.
The chosen athletes in the Open Women category are Dominic Barona and Carmen de los Santos and in the Longboard category, Leo Merchán and Osvaldo Borbor.

The judges had a difficult task during the elimination trials to designate the best four in the Open category, where ten athletes were pre-selected in order to send the best surfers to Costa Rica by choosing the four best of the 2008 tour, the two best internationally and the six best ranked in 2009.

The members of the final team will begin immediate intensive training under the instruction of Coach Roberto Lynch, since there is less than 20 days from the beginning of the competition.

The first trial occurred in Engabao, Playas, on Thursday 9 July, in conditions that were considered of good quality, with the sea offering up sets of waves up to one and a half meters high.  In the end, the best four were Santos, Goncalvez, Chila and Dapelo.

The second trial took place in the “Tres Cruces” sector of La FAE, Salinas, where the competitors showed an entire arsenal of maneuvers to surpass each heat.  Marcos Goncalvez was one of the first to be eliminated in repercharge #2.  Then it was Franklin Heredia’s turn in repercharge #3.  However, nobody expected the silent recovery of Israel Barona of Montañita, who little by little was passing his heats, and knocking out one of the four winners of the Engabao trial.  His effort was rewarded when he reached third place in the final classification, thus displacing Jonathan Chila to a 5th place, managing to obtain his desired ranking among the first four members of the team to travel to the World Games.

When inquired, the technical director of the trials, Mr. Cirilo Yagual, said: “Each heat, from the first to the last, was a true final, as nobody gave in, in what was a totally transparent process to select the best.  There were no favorites since there were 5 seeded surfers and the athletes themselves designated by means of a draw the place of each one in the competition heats.”

About the International Surfing Association (ISA)
The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the World Governing Authority for Surfing. 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 La Jolla, 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), Mike Gerard (USA) and Karín Sierralta (Peru).

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