COSTA RICA'S NATIONAL SURF TEAM TRAVELS TO THE REEF  PANAMERICANO DE SURF PERU 2006 COPA MOTOROLA

IN LIMA, PERU JANUARY 17-22, 2006

NINE TICOS SET TO COMPETE AGAINST MORE THAN 22 TEAMS AND THE BEST SURFERS FROM ALL OVER THE LATIN WORLD

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 14 January, 2006 : - - SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA -- Antonio Pilurzu, head of Costa Rica's Federacion de Surf (FS), announced today the nine-member Costa Rican National Surf Team that will travel on Monday, January 16, from San Jose, their country’s capital city, to Lima, Peru, where they will compete in the 7th bi-annual Pan-American Surfing Games. Officially titled the Reef Panamericano de Surf Peru 2006 Copa Motorola, the competition takes place January 17-22, and is considered similar in stature to the Olympics in that the best of the Latin America surfing world represent their respective countries for team and individual gold, silver, and bronze medals.  

Costa Rica’s team was selected on the basis of ranking points determined after the third date of the countrywide Circuito Nacional de Surf (CNS)—the Copa Mango in Playa Hermosa last weekend—as well as the various athletes’ levels in previous international competitions. The Tico delegation are: Federico Pilurzu of Tamarindo, Diego Naranjo of Jaco, Luis Vega of Jaco, Isaac Vega of Tamarindo, Jason Torres of Jaco, Juan Carlos Naranjo of Jaco, Lisbeth Vindas of Jaco, Andreina Samudio of Jaco and Jairo Perez of Jaco. These ladies and gentlemen will be accompanied by Pilurzu, who will serve as Team Manager. They arrive in Lima on Monday, January 16, begin practice and attend Opening Ceremonies on Tuesday, January 17, with competition set for Wednesday, January 18 at Playa Señoritas y Caballeros de Punta Hermosa. (We will keep you posted with updates.)

Costa Rica will take to the waves against teams from Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, Guadeloupe, Dominican Republic and Peru. The Reef Panamericano de Surf Peru 2006 Copa Motorola has been organized by the Asociación Panamericana de Surf (APA) and the Federación Deportiva Peruana de Tabla (FEPTA).

Juan Carlos Naranjo : photo Shifi Surf Shots

The Pan-American representatives for Costa Rica includes previous National Champions and lots of talent: Federico Pilurzu was the 2000-01 CNS Open winner and recently finished Top 10 in San Diego’s Matix Pro-Am; Diego Naranjo currently on the Association of Surfing Professional’s World Qualifying Series (WQS) tour was the Quiksilver Skins Pro of Costa Rica 2004; Luis Vindas made history at last year’s LatinPro Peru, by being the first person ever to win 1st place in the Open and 1st place in the Juniors, but it was his individual 2nd place spot in the 2003 Pan-American Games that helped his team rise to 3rd place overall; Isaac Vega is the current CNS Open rankings leader; Jason Torres aced out all the pros by winning the Best Barrel ­at the Quiksilver Jaco contest at 15 and now he’s 17; Juan Carlos Naranjo was the 2nd Place CNS Junior National Champion behind Isaac Vega and has been to all the international contests the last three years; Lisbeth Vindas, who last year ranked #46 on the WQS, is on that tour again right now instead of trying for her 6th straight CNS Women’s title; and Andreina Samudio is traveling to her second international competition after a year off for free surfing and training, which has already paid off with appearances in the Womens and Junior Womens finals in the CNS; and Jairo Perez, the 2005 CNS Boys Champion who last weekend came in 1st place Boys and Juniors in Copa Mango Hermosa.   

“I think we have a very competitive team, because it is one with names that have excelled during the last few months,” said Pilurzu. “This is especially important since Costa Rica placed 3rd as a team two years ago. We have great hopes that this group will be located in a very good place in the ranking of the nations once the Games are finished.”  

According to Pablo Zanochi, a journalist from the Asociación Latinoamericana de Surf (ALAS), the Peruvian nation is one of the Latin American countries that offers the best conditions for surf at this time of the year.  

“In Playa Señoritas y Caballeros, there are fast, long, tubular waves that are the perfect scenario for a championship of the magnitude of the Pan-American Games,” wrote Zanochi. 

Costa Rica’s National Surf Team, and the trip to Peru, is sponsored internationally by Red Bull, Quiksilver, Roxy, Billabong, Freestyle and Adrenalina. Costa Rica’s sponsors are: Mango Surf & Skate, Tamarindo Vista Villas, Cala Luna Hotel & Villas, Hacienda Pinilla Beach Resort & Residential Community, The Backyard, Chuck’s W.O.W. Surf Shop, Shifi Surf Shots, Liquid Solutions, Bevy Media Corp, Fischer Bros Surfboard Designs, Banzaii, Carton, Teletica 7, 911 La Radio, Surfos Magazine, and MOP Adventures.

ISAAC VEGA MAINTAINS OPEN RANKINGS LEAD AFTER COPA MANGO HERMOSA,

THE 3RD DATE OF COSTA RICA’S 2005-06 CIRCUITO NACIONAL DE SURF 

OPEN CATEGORY:
Isaac Vega: 2950 points
Durby Castillo: 2885 points
Vilbert Wingrove: 2740 points
Jason Torres: 2635 points
José Montoya: 2580 points
José Rojas: 2410 points
Ronulfo Suazo: 2175 points
Jairo Pérez: 2125 points
Josimar Fuentes: 2075 points
Nikolas Ruhlow: 2040 points
 

WOMEN CATEGORY:
Anna Garaway: 3500 points
Zephyr Robb: 2780 points
Dotty West: 2760 points
Kristin Wilson: 2630 points
Justine Javelle: 2149 points
Cristine Costa: 1970 points
Melody Mi: 1750 points
Rafaela: 1700 points
Natalie Bernold: 1645 points
Eve Meir: 1599 points
 

JUNIOR CATEGORY (Less than 18 years):
Jairo Pérez: 3960 points
Jason Torres: 3535 points
Carlos Muñoz: 3155 points
Anthony Flores: 2560 points
Nikolas Ruhlow: 2505 points
Diego Aragón: 2470 points
Giovanni Perini: 2400 points
Danny Bishko: 2395 points
Derek Gutiérrez: 2339 points
 José Calderón: 2286 points
 

JUNIOR WOMENS CATEGORY (Less than 18 years):
Angie Forigua: 4005 points
Lupe Galuccio: 3980 points
Natalie Bernold: 3120 points
Ariele Weller: 2755 points
Justine Javelle: 2693 points
Malia Galuccio: 2530 points
Julie Javelle: 2360 points
Deby Zeck: 2314 points
Kiara Chelleni: 2015 points
Andreina Samudio: 1775 points
 

BOYS CATEGORY (Less than 16 years):
Carlos Muñoz: 3820 points
Danny Bishko: 3286 points
Anthony Flores: 3275 points
Jairo Pérez: 3135 points points
Nikolas Ruhlow: 2845 points
Derek Gutiérrez: 2590 points
Mikael Torres: 2340 points
Anthony Segura: 2200 points
Ariel González: 2150 points
Jordan Hernández: 2056 points
 

GROMMETS CATEGORY (Less than 14 years):
Carlos Muñoz: 4230 points
Danny Bishko: 3650 points
José Calderón: 3225 points
Mikael Torres: 2663 points
Anthony Segura: 2650 points
Joshué Rodríguez: 2265 points
Manuel Mesén: 2178 points
Alberto Muñoz: 2100 points
Roberto Jiménez: 1775 points
Nikolas Weber: 1750 points
 

MINIGROMMETS CATEGORY(Less than 12 years):
Alberto Muñoz: 4500 points
Joshué Rodríguez: 3195 points
Manuel Mesén: 3040 points
Marcos Rojas: 2200 points
Tomas King: 2135 points
Marco Cungi: 1095 points
Lorenzo Ortega: 915 points
Parker Hundley: 670 points
Alika Galuchio: 610 points
 

MASTERS CATEGORY (More than 35 years)
Louis Maresca: 4250 points
Carl Harwin: 2000 points
Michael Cowary: 1460 points
Andy Seidenstraller: 1340 points
Wílliam Agüero: 1290 points
Edward Gerry: 860 points
Alex Galluchio: 730 points
Chuck Herwing: 670 points
 

LONGBOARD MEN CATEGORY
Juan Diego Evangelista: 3515 points
Rónald Reyes: 3000 points
Louis Maresca: 2645 points
Hannah Rico: 2505 points
Jerry Hirsch: 2465 points
Andrés Marín: 2348 points
Wílliam Agüero: 2214 points
Rex Barnes: 2095 points
Fleury Emilsen: 2020 points
Alex Castro: 1785 points
 

LONGBOARD WOMENS CATEGORY
Hannah Rico: 3500 points
Eve Meir: 2750 points
Zephyr Robb: 2345 points
Lisbeth Vindas: 1750 points
Emma Roll: 1095 points


Previous reports:
# 1 : Coming soon
# 2 : Coming soon
# 3 : Coming soon
# 4 : Coming soon  

Source: Costa Rica’s Federacion de Surf

The Gran Finals of the 2005-06 CNS will be in Hermosa Beach on April 7-8, 2006, where the champions will be crowned.  

More USA/Cen Amer. surfing news available here
Check the latest West Coast Surf Reports and Forcasts
Subscribe to Surfervillage News-Alerts

Ellen Zoe Golden
EllenZoe@aol.com

FSCR Contests - Surfersvillage