Hawaii wins the 2013 ISA World Masters Surfing Championship.

The waves were incredible throughout the Finals. The morning heats saw glassy surf in the 6-8 feet range at the perfect right hand point-break in Montañita, Ecuador. A gentle onshore breeze picked up mid-morning, but the waves remained consistent and pumping all day
Team Hawaii successfully defended their title of World Team Champions and winners of the Eduardo Arena Perpetual Team Trophy, named after the Peruvian founder and first President of the ISA in 1964.
“Huge congratulations to all of the winners. This was an amazing competition with great waves and excellent performances from all athletes,” commented ISA President Fernando Aguerre.

 “Thank you to everyone that helped organize this amazing event including the President of Ecuador Rafael Correa, the Minister of Sport Francisco Cevallos and the Deputy Minister Augusto Moran, and the over 20 government organizations that helped make this World Championship a reality. Ecuador is an incredible surfing destination. We plan to come back next year with another ISA world championship.”

Grand Kahuna (over 50) Chris Knutsen was rewarded for his powerful surfing and impeccable wave selection with his fourth ISA World Championship.  The South African reached the Final via the Repechage rounds, and put on a display of powerful, clean surfing.  During the live webcast interview, the South African expressed his desire for a fourth gold medal to have one for every one of his grandchildren.

Knutsen scored 15.17, overcoming Silver Medalist Craig Schieber (CRC, 12.10), Bronze Medalist Allen Sarlo (USA, 11.33), and Copper Medalist Eric Graciet (FRA, 9.80).
In an action-packed Grand Mastsers (over 40) Final, Sunny Garcia (HAW), defended his 2012 Gold Medal, scoring an impressive 17.08, defeating Silver Medalist Marcelo Alves (BRA, 10.66), Bronze Medalist Love Hodel (HAW, 10.50), and Copper Medalist Dean Randazzo (USA, 10.27).

Hawaii’s Mike Latronic, who also reached the Final through the Repechage, won the Kahuna (over 45) division. In the Final, the Hawaiian scored a heat total of 12.90, earning the Gold Medal, defeating Silver Medalist Andre Malherbe (ZAF, 11.34), Bronze Medalist Jojo de Olivenca (BRA, 10.04) and Copper Medalist Ricky Schaffer (USA, 6.43). Australia’s Layne Beachley continued her domination, winning the Gold and reclaiming the Women’s Masters World Champion title.

In a very close Final, Beachley came out victorious with 13.76, defeating Heather Clark (ZAF, 13.67), Andrea Lopes (BRA, 12.96) and Rochelle Ballard (HAW, 11.60).
Greg Emslie from South Africa is the new ISA Masters (over 35) World Champion.  Emslie was unstoppable in the Final with a near-perfect total heat score of 19.46, the sum of two individual scores of 9.83 and 9.63. In second, Kalani Robb (HAW, 14.50) won the Silver Medal, Magnum Martinez placed third for the Bronze (VEN, 12.83), and Sunny Garcia, surfing down into the younger age group,  (HAW, 12.30) placed fourth, winning the Copper Medal. The last event of the day was the thrilling ISA Aloha Cup, a tag-team relay competition that featured the four finalists, who earned a position in the Finals by advancing through the semi- finals the day before.

Today’s Aloha Cup Final featured teams from Hawaii, Brazil, Australia and Venezuela.  Each Team is made up of 4 men and 1 woman, and each surfer is scored on the best two of a maximum of three waves. The Final was one hour long. Team Australia won the ISA Aloha Cup showing great strategy and teamwork defeating Venezuela, in second place, Brazil in third and Hawaii in fourth. The Closing Ceremony took place in Concha Acustica on the beach, to officially close the 2013 ISA World Masters and award the Eduardo Arena Perpetual Team Trophy and all the individual medals.

As part of the ceremony, a special gift was awarded to all the first place finishers.
The local surf shop in Montañita that specializes in Balsa surfboards, “Balsa House,” along with its owner, Cesar “Rasty” Moreira, presented a custom hand made Balsa Wood Surfboard to each individual Gold Medalist. In addition, a special announcement was made by ISA President Fernando Aguerre and Ecuador’s Surfing Federation President Xavier Aguirre that an ISA World Championship will return to Ecuador in 2014 with the support of the Ministry of Sport.

Official Results:
Overall Team Results:

Masters:
Greg Emslie (ZAF), Gold Medal
Kalani Robb (HAW), Silver Medal
Magnum Martinez (VEN), Bronze Medal
Sunny Garcia (HAW), Copper Medal
Women’s Masters:
Layne Beachley (AUS), Gold Medal
Heather Clark (ZAF), Silver Medal
Andrea Lopes (BRA), Bronze Medal
Rochelle Ballard (HAW), Copper Medal
Grand Masters:
Sunny Garcia (HAW), Gold Medal
Marcelo Alves (BRA), Silver Medal
Love Hodel (HAW), Bronze Medal
Dean Randazzo (USA), Copper Medal
Kahuna:
Mike Latronic (HAW), Gold Medal
Andre Malherbe (ZAF), Silver Medal
Jojo de Olivenca (BRA), Bronze Medal
Ricky Schaffer (USA), Copper Medal
Grand Kahuna:
Chris Knutsen (ZAF), Gold Medal
Craig Schieber (CRC), Silver Medal
Allen Sarlo (USA), Bronze Medal
Eric Graciet (FRA), Copper Medal
Aloha Cup:
Australia, Gold Medal and winner of the ISA Aloha Cup Trophy
Venezuela, Silver Medal
Brazil, Bronze Medal
Hawaii, Copper Medal
For a full list of results visit: www.iswmsc.com/results
For the full event coverage with daily videos and photo galleries visit- www.isawmsc.com
Text and photos ISA / Gonzalez

Pamela Verboonen: New Surfing Ambassador Of Guerrero

Translation: Heido Sundstrom

On April 6th, the Secretary of Tourism for the state of Guerrero, Javier Aluni, appointed former National Surf Champion, Pamela Verboonen of Zihuatanjeo, as Guerrero’s new Surfing Ambassador. With this historic appointment, Pamela became the first Mexican woman to receive this honor in the state of Guerrero, if not all of Mexico. Pamela will promote the good surfing that exists in Guerrero in every competition and the Secretary of Tourism has vowed to support Pamela with travel expenses and logistics in order for her to compete in national and international competitions.

After her appointment, Pamela is preparing to head off to Costa Rica to compete in the upcoming ALAS contest, followed by the ISA World Surf Championship in Panama.

March Swell

By: Eduardo Amaro Garcia
Translation: Heido Sundstrom

Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca

This past March, a long-awaited swell (one of the best this year) crashed ashore along the beaches of Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca. Playa Zicatela, also known as the “Mexican Pipeline”, is a reserved and very privileged spot for experienced surfers and is known for its large waves of over 30 feet in height. For this reason, it’s considered to be one of the most exclusive surf spots in Mexico.

To get to Puerto Escondido (if traveling from abroad), you must fly to either Mexico City or Oaxaca City and from there, you can arrive by air or land to this paradisiacal place and explore the natural beauties that this tourist destination has to offer.

The perfect conditions that all surf lovers are looking for have finally arrived, bringing out surfers from all over the world, as well as local surfers like Oscar Moncada, Jose Ramirez, Raul Haro, Angelo Lozano and Coco Nogales, who have been busy giving us a spectacular show of throwing themselves into solid waves of 8 – 15 feet via a “tow-in” (for those that don’t know, “tow-in” is a method of surfing where the surfer gets “towed” out to a certain point at a precise moment with the help of a jet ski). This technique is used on extremely large waves, which aren’t easily accessible due to their height and speed.

As a sport, surfing has it all: excitement, adrenaline and glory. This spectacular practice lives on in the souls of the surfers that catch each wave with love, to achieve this indescribable feeling of freedom. Many surfers have discovered that Puerto Escondido is home to some of the best surf that anyone can experience. If you’re a dedicated surfer in search of an unforgettable trip, Puerto Escondido is waiting with open arms. Those who aren’t yet ready to face big waves can experiment at other beaches or simply be a spectator of this incredible sport.    

Dylan Southworth and Ivan Gonzalez Crowned Champions of Acapulco Pro Surf Open 2013

Translation: Heido Sundstrom

At noon this past Saturday, the Acapulco Pro Surf Open came to a close, culminating in the awards ceremony held at Playa Peninsula (formerly Copacabana) and bringing with it the final results for the Champions of the two top categories: Shortboard Open and Bodyboard Open. Nayarit surfer, Dylan Southworth took home first place in the Shortboard category, while Ivan Gonzalez took first in the Bodyboard Category, both having had to face Mexico’s surfing elite, as well as previous environmental conditions, like the strong current and choppy waves.

Dylan, with two second-place and two first-place finishes in his qualifying heat, managed to make it into the final and ended up winning. In the second round, he faced a heavy heat against David Rutherford and Raul Medina, eventually eliminating both. In the quarterfinals, Dylan defeated his fellow countrymen, Diego Cadena and local Coby Hernandez. In the semifinals, he surpassed local Julio Contreras and Mike Velasco of Puerto Escondido, who proved to be the revelations of the contest. Velasco is under 18 years of age and in the final, the wind began to make its presence known and the experience of this competitor was instrumental in beating Angelo Lozano of Puerto Escondido, local Oscar “Pawi” Chino and his other countrymen, Adrian “Gatito” Rodriguez.

The Bodyboard final also saw a dramatic finish, leaving a few of the favorites eliminated. Ivan Gonzalez of Sinaloa took home three first-place finishes and one second-place in his qualifying heats. In the quarterfinals, we saw none other than the current National Champion of bodyboarding eliminated, Hector “Motor” Santiago of Puerto Escondido, as well as another local favorite, who was eliminated in the semifinals, Jorge Diaz.

SURF OPEN

TABLA DE CUERPO

After the finals, the women surfers put on a show that included: Pamela Verboonen (National Runner-up), Leila Takeda (current National Champion), Lorraine Castro, Ana Pau Castillo and Yanis Fabre, among others.

At the award’s ceremony, Javier Aluni, Secretary of Tourism Promotion for the state of Guerrero, pledged his support as a representative of the State Municipal Government, to participate in professional events taking place around the world, to be ambassadors of a tourist destination and elevate the level of surfers in the state of Guerrero. Different authorities accompanied him, including: Wulfrano Salgado, Regidor and Alfons Aquino, Director of Municipal Sport Development.

The party kicked off with a selection of bands performing on the beach, headed by Acapulquito Reguee and Allien. Then, for the final farewell, it was off to the balcony of the Palladium Discoteque to celebrate the closing party.