Costa Rica announced its team for the Pan American Surfing Games

Costa Rica announced the surfers that will be representing the nation of “Pura Vida” in the Pan American Surfing Games.  The Federation indicated that the Costa Rican ambassadors to Chile will be:

Open: Luis Vindas, Diego Naranjo, Jason Torres y Gilberth Brown.
Junior: Jairo Pérez, Carlos Múñoz, José Calderón y Orlando Solís.
Women´s: Lisbeth Vindas, Nataly Bernold.
Boogie: Silvio Mangel y William Fallas.
Longboard: Diego Naranjo y Mauricio Umaña.
Women´s Boogie: Jimena Calvo.

The 8th edition of the Pan American Surfing Games, that will take place in November in the perfect waves of Iquique, Chile, are being described as one of the most competitive games so far.  The teams put forth up until now show that the federations have been striving to assemble their strongest group of athletes.

The following is a note published in one of the main Costa Rican newspapers, La Nación.  The best 14 surfers of the country will travel in November to Iquique, Chile, to participate in the Pan American Surfing Games, the most important title of the American continent. 

The Costa Rican representatives were revealed to the Surfing Federation after a methodic selection process that avoided favoritism. 

In order to determine the names that would go to the Chilean coasts the Federation based the ranking on both the Triple Crown and the National Tour that culminated last August on the beaches of Jacó. 

As in the past, the brothers Lisbeth and Luis Vindas command the Costa Rican delegation of surfers. 

Also, the experienced surfers Diego Naranjo, Jason Torres and Gilberth Brown, will all be participating in the Open division in Chile.

The Junior division (less than 18 years) is comprised of Jairo Pérez, Carlos Múñoz, José Calderón and Orlando Solís; while Lisbeth Vindas and Nataly Bernold will be in the Women´s category. 

The "bad news" for the Costa Ricans is that Jason Torres, current Pan American champion in the Junior category, will not be able to defend his title because he surpassed the age limit set forward to compete in this category. 

Despite that, Jairo Pérez is considered one of the favorites due to his success in gaining the title of National and Central American champion within the Juniors category.  The best Costa Rican opponent in last year’s Pan American games was Federico Pilurzu.  He will not be competing due to his absence in the Triple Crown, a tournament that is necessary for a surfer to be considered for the continental competition. 

To size up to the strength of the nationals, these surfers will have to fight against the cold Chilean water.  This will force them to train and compete in wetsuits (special full-body suits that are made of fabric that is more bulky than normal).   

Training
Prior to their participation in Chile, the selected surfers will concentrate and group train for three weeks in Jacó.  In addition, they will continue their individual training regimens that were already assigned.

It is predicted that the native surfers will travel south on October 31st, three days before the event. 

For this edition of the Games, 22 countries of the continent have already been confirmed. The countries include Brazil and Peru, powerful players in this arena.

On this tour the surfers will be directed by José Ureña, a specialist who also presides over the Surfing Federation.  Also, a national judge will be integrated into the trip to Chile to receive courses of arbitration, another of the activities that they are promoting in the Games. 

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