Central American Surf Championship moves to El Salvador

Source: Carlos Enrique Brenes – Costa Rican Surf Federation

The Salvadorian Surf Federation has confirmed that the next Central American Surfing Championship will be held in the waters of El Salvador on September 25, 26 and 27 at “El Sunsal” beach in La Libertad.

The event is where Costa Rica hopes to attain its fourth consecutive title.

A full tricolor team will be at the competition to increase their odds of extending the winning streak that started at the inaugural contest in 2006.

However, in the next few days the organization is expected to update the different delegations of the zone (Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala) about the new format for this years contest.

Last year, Panama integrated the Longboard and Bodyboard categories (both men and women) into the competition.  Nevertheless, this championship, endorsed by the International Surfing Association (ISA), will likely follow the standards set by the ISA World Surfing Games.

For this reason, the Costa Rican technical body is waiting for the final format to be announced by the organizers before establishing the team that will defend the Central American title.

In Guatemala 2007 and Panama 2008, the technical body criterion to select the participating team was based on the first place winners of the National Tour. 

However, José Ureña, the team’s Technical Manager, declared that it will be based on the pre-selection for the Billabong ISA World Surfing Games Costa Rica 2009.

“It is still early to give possible names, but it is important to say that in this type of event we want to give the opportunity to new and young names of surfing in our country,” noted Ureña.

The current Central American Open Champion is the Jaco-born Jason Torres. He is also the only surfer to make it to all the finals in this event since it began in 2006 at Esterillos Beach. This contest is a reality due to the efforts by the Surfing Federation, headed by Antonio Pilurzo.

On the women’s side, the title belongs to Natalie Bernold of Costa Rica. Bernold grabbed it when she was only 14 years old in a final that pitted her against three Panamanians.  The champion in the Juniors category is Rex Calderon of Nicaragua.

Calderon is a new Central American surfing up-and-comer.  Wilber Alvarenga of El Salvador is the Longboard champion, while Edilberto Navarro (PAN) and Jimena Calvo (CRI) are bodyboard champions in the male and female categories respectively.

Members of the 2008 Costa Rican team were: Jason Torres, Diego Naranjo, Matías Braun & Gilbert Brown (Open); Lisbeth Vindas and Natalie Bernold (Women); Mauricio Umaña and Cedric Auffret (Longboard), and finally Jefrey Gomez, Johan Mojica and Jimena Calvo (male and female Bodyboard).      

Central American Surf Championship History
2006, Costa Rica –Esterillos Beach
Champion: Costa Rica
Open: Federico Pilurzu (CRI)
Women: Lisbeth Vindas (CRI)
Junior: Jason Torres (CRI)
                 
2007, Guatemala - La Empalizada Beach    
Champion: Costa Rica 
Open: Federico Pilurzu (CRI)
Women: Lisbeth Vindas (CRI)
Junior: Jair Pérez (CRI)                    

2008, Panama -   Venao Beach
Champion: Costa Rica
Open: Jason Torres (CRI)
Women: Nataly Bernold (CRI)
Junior: Rex Calderón (NIC)
Longboard: Wilber Alvarenga (SAL)
Bodyboard Male.: Edilberto Navarro (PAN) 
Bodyboard Female: Jimena Calvo (CRI)

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).

BACK TO HOME