VIDEO & SLIDESHOW: Day 5 ISA World Masters...

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 19 July, 2012 : - - Action on Day 5 of the Nicaragua ISA World Masters Surfing Championship continued to reduce the number of competitors and further intensified the battle for Team Gold and the perpetual Eduardo Arena Trophy. Waves remained in the three to four-foot range, with plenty of long, open faces for big turns and the occasional barrel.

Australia, Brazil, Hawaii, Japan and USA remain solidly in contention for the Team Medal podium. However, with the level of surfing from some of the remaining athletes from Costa Rica, Peru, Puerto Rico and Venezuela – each of which has four remaining athletes – upsets are certainly possible.

The Americans remain as the only squad with a full team still in contention. Of the 26 teams that began the ISA World Masters, just 14 still have athletes in the event.

The stars of the day were the Hawaiian duo of Sunny Garcia and Kaipo Jaquias. They were paired together in both their Men’s Masters (over-35) and Grand Masters (over-40) Main Event heats, and came out one-two in both instances. Jaquias finished in first in both heats. Garcia seemed perfectly content to finish behind his teammate. Ultimately, as long as they were both advancing, the plan was working.

While a lot of the talk and focus has been on the Americans and Hawaiians competing, Brazil has quietly asserted itself as one of the strongest contenders for a medal. Armando Daltro is one of the former professional surfers who’s managed to steadily work his way through the Masters division Main Event.

Action resumes Friday, July 20, with a full day of Repechage heats. The day will conclude with the ISA Aloha Cup, a tag-team event unique to ISA events, featuring eight invited nations. Each team includes four athletes (three men, one woman) to compete in the semifinal/final format.

The event webcast will be live beginning at 7:40am local time (6:40am PST; 9:40am EST; 2:40pm in Paris; and 11:40pm in Sydney) with The Morning Show at isawmsc.com/live

Videos: 12/7 | 13/7 | 13/7 | 14/7 | Opening | 15/7 | 16/7 | 17/7 | 18/7 | 19/7

Slideshows: 11/7 | 12/7 | 13/7 | 14/7 | Opening | 15/7 | 16/7 | 17/7 | 18/7 | 19/7

The Nicaragua ISA World Masters Surfing Championship is made possible with the backing of the following sponsors: Nicaragua Tourism Institute, Gray Line, AmericanAirlines, Canal 13, Amnet, Hacienda Iguana, Taca, VOS TV, Municipalidad de Tola, Flor de Caña, INISER; the following cosponsors: Movistar, Dollar, Alamo, Comité Olimpico Nicaragüense, Hilton, Nuevo Diario, Guacalito, Condor, Servipro, Aqua Spa, CDNN canal 23, Nicasurfing; and the following supporters: Surfari Charters, Corona, Paso Pacifico, Renisa, Parmalat, Credomatic, Cruz Roja, Pantaleon, Canatur. The media partners are Pasión Xtrema, SurfersVillage and Surfos. The Official Forecaster for the event is Surfline.