2nd recreational tournament SUP La Paz 2012

With great success, the Stand Up Paddle Board La Paz 2012 was held last Saturday, October 27th, on the beautiful beaches and wharf of La Paz. The event was organized by the Municipal Sports Directive and  HARKER BOARDco, with the participation of 76 persons in different categories including Relays, 800 mts, Male Professional, Male and Female Open.

Norma Alicia Castañeda, Councilor of La Paz, in representation of the Municipal President, Esthela Ponce Beltrán, Juan Kenji Ito Larios, Director of Sports and Municipal Recreation, Bryon Harker from HARKER BOARDco and Sergio García Rico where all in charge of giving the rewards to the winners of all categories.

At the end of the competence, the prizes supplied from 22 sponsors, where given. At the relay category, the third place was for the team formed by Jeannete Camacho, Carlos Camacho, Aurelio Ortiz and Santiago Ortiz whom made a time of 26:43'98''; Second place was for the team formed by Florence, Hoyt Peckha, Antonio and Brand, whit a time of 24:19'26"; The first place was for the team of León Robles, Alfredo Salafranca, Gabriela Farías and Jesús, whom made the fastest time at 20:58'14".
In the Male Professional category, the first place was for Alfredo Salafranca,

who paddled the 800 mts. in 4:15'40"; second place was for Jesús Baeza López with 4:42'57" and third place was for Hoyt Peckham who took 4:50'96" to paddle the 800 mts.

For the Female Open category, the results were: First place to the National Representative, Gabriela Farías who made a time of 1:52'16" and who came from Los Cabos to attend this event for her second time. Gabriela will attend the World Tournament in Peru and said she considers the La Paz Bay as one of the best spots to practice Paddle Board. The second place was for Angie García with a time of 2:18'14" and the third place was for Vanessa Harker with 2:19'36".

The first place at the Male Open category was for Ben Gillam who arrived to the finish line in 2:16'46", the second place was for Shony Gel with a time of 2:17'14" and Brani Worren took the third place making 2:17'47".

“It is important to keep promoting this kind of activities as la Paz is a great place to practice this aquatic sports”, said Juan Kenji Ito, “specially the Paddle Board due to its popularity on the bay that has become a favorite for practitioners and learners of this sport in tranquil, clear waters with amazing landscapes.”

Culmination of Revolcadero Historico 2012

The already traditional Revolcadero Historico 2012 just finished showing a great surfing level. It was organized by Micha Surfboards with the support of Vans and Acapulco’s Municipal Government. The future stars of Mexican surfing attended the contest to demonstrate how good they are doing in several States and that the surfing level in Mexico is improving very fast. Among the contest there was a turtle release event and other activities to promote this touristic destination that is ideal for marine sports such as surfing.

Luis Rey Hernandez, who just recently won in Mazatlan, was the tournament star again by achieving first places in two different categories; somehow expected as he was at his home place running the waves he already knows and making several maneuvers as a reverse aerial that set the standard for the rest of the competitors. Luis is sponsored by Planeta Surf so we’ll keep following his stardom career.

Planeta Surf Magazine - Adrenalina Xtreme

Planeta Surf Magazine - Adrenalina Xtreme

COLORADA NATIONAL BODYBOARDING GAMES PRO AM 2012

By: Isaac Avila Cegobiano
Translation: Heido Sundstrom

This past August, Planeta Surf went off in search of the perfect wave to celebrate the 1st Annual National Bodyboarding Games in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca and witnessed the best selections from eleven states including: Baja Norte, Baja Sur, Sinaloa, Nayarit, Colima, Michoacan, Veracruz, Guerrero, Quintana Roo, Distrito Federal and, of course, the home state of Oaxaca.

BOOGIES, YES! BOARDS, NO!
Playa Punta Colorada, located at the north entrance of Puerto Escondido in front of the airport, remains untouched by human hands (although there have been a few civil leaders that would love to privatize the area). It’s a wave with right and left peaks and is dense and heavy on its best days. Plus, it breaks close to the shore, making it an ideal wave for bodyboarders.

FOUR DAYS OF COMPETITION
The contest consisted of four days of competition that would ultimately define the Mexican National Selection to represent us in next year’s ISA World Games. Special prizes for the open category included a direct pass to the World Tour IBA’s next stop in Zicatela, Puerto Escondido at the end of September.

START YOUR ENGINES, WE MADE IT TO THE FINALS
The bodyboarders shined, even though there were some heats where they didn’t take full-advantage of the waves and did very little maneuvers. The heavier heats, on the other hand, had them flying, getting covered by the waves and doing all kinds of showy tricks that their teammates and the public both enjoyed. The girls defined their championship with two series of competitions to see who would gain more points. In the end, it was Soledad Fernandez (Oaxaca) that won. Each final was full of excitement, but it was the 16 & under open category that proved to be the highlight, with two surfers from Sinaloa and two from Oaxaca battling it out. Hector “El Motor” Santiago, with his wealth of experience and excellent ability to maneuver through waves, had a close match with teammate, Chuy Silva, who was also in full swing (being first in each of his qualifying heats). And we can’t forget the seasoned Sinaloenses, Ivan Gonzalez and Rafael Aguilar, who won the competition in the 16 & under and 18 & under categories respectively, and were both credited for competing in two categories and taking home the honors. The Oaxacan master, Edwin Morales, demonstrated his experience by outperforming other widely recognized competitors and knocking back Jose Farias (Michoacan) and taking first. Out of all the states, Oaxaca and Sinaloa proved to be the most competitive delegations.